URGENT - how to save a crumbled choc Madeira cake

[melsy]

Ive left one too cool for a while and its completely crumbled as Ive loosened it from the mould.

Would adding another whipped up egg to the 2n batch of mix I have out save it? Logic is telling me it needs more binding?

I have no time tomorrow to do another , so have got until Sat night to get it made or Im toast!!

Now I know why I havent attempted birthday cake zone for 5yrs!!

yep add another eg to the rest of the batter.

The crumbled cake can be rescued ant stuck back together with melted chocolate or icing.

Cakes are usually crumbly when the gluten in the flour has not developed enough to hold the structure together. This can be caused by too much fat or sugar, too little liquid or insufficient mixing. My first inclination would be to try adding a little more liquid to the mixture, as flours do vary in the amount of liquid they will absorb. If the cake is fine sometimes and too dry on other occasions this may well be the problem.
You should be able to add a tablespoon of milk or orange juice to the mixture if it seems a bit dry when the flour has been added, but take care not to over-beat the mixture at this stage. You could also reduce slightly the amount of oil as fat also prevents gluten forming. Go gently with the adaptations to your recipe though, you do not want to over-develop the gluten as this would result in a tough cake.
You should also check the oven temperature with an oven thermometer as an over-hot oven can dry out the cake mixture and watch carefully in the last stages of baking to ensure it is not over-baked. Lastly when the cake is taken from the oven let it stand in the pan for about 10 minutes. This will allow the structure to firm up before it is transferred to the cooling rack and should result in a more stable crumb structure in the cooled cake.
I hope this answer reaches you before the baking session and that it has provided you with some ideas. If the cake continues to be crumbly then you can use a good sticky frosting to help hold it together and just celebrate its crumbliness!

I just googled for that info, didn't write it myself

Yes , mix was quite dry in comparison to cakes made before. I also had te oven on wayyy to high and turned it down and rushed to put it in , even before it cooling.

Have added another egg and if this goes wrong then Il have to start again Saturday morning.

My 1st and last attempt 5yrs back of a birthday cake is chronicled on here in all its misery lol

Adding more egg will make it more chewy though, so bare that in mind (like a swiss roll)

hope it can be salvaged!

Thank you , I think the chewy will be a small mercy in comparison to not having this ready to decorate on Saturday , as have more choc treats to make and set and a DH ready to go nuts on me if I get msyelf stressed out!!!

To think 24hrs ago I had the chance to have a pro make it for £25 and look gorge, but Im doing party with a friend and she didnt want a nice showy offy shiny perfect thing sitting next to her lovely natural and cute homemade one, (much nicer I spose if you make it though that is lol).

Hmm may be more milk would have been better

Will let you know in an hour how this turns out!

I also added a half a tsp of baking powder to help it along a tad.

& buttered the surface of the mould this time also!!

When will I learn that Im not a baker!!

lol good luck

It does help if the tin is buttered

well , its looking more even and it hasnt cracked on top as much like the last one.

Just got to let it cool, out the silicone and get it onto the base in one peice.

I will do these things!

Thanks for the support

Did it work?

yer it stayed together & looked lovely iced, but it tasted bluerrghhh. I omitted to mention that I used wholemeal flour ,(trying to make it more nutrional), but it backfired as my littlest spat it out & it was a bit dry .

Lets face it , Birthday cake isnt all about the health lol, cake should taste of, well, cake!!!

The icing was nice!

Ill upload a piccy to profile later

oh shame.

God yes don't ever bother making cake with wholemeal flour, it's main nutritional benefit to adults is added insoluable fibre, which little kiddies shouldn't eat too much of anyway, so in future use nice white flour!