My personal WMD. HELP!

[MuseRider]

Hey all! I was just baking cupcakes. The batter looked kinda strange but I have encountered strange batters before, no problem. I rechecked everything I had done. OK, not a problem. After about 5 minutes in the oven (I have 2 ovens and put some in each) they looked like they were doing what they are supposed to do then about 10 minutes later BAM! Every last one of them exploded all over the ovens! Does anyone have any idea what could have caused this? I have always enjoyed baking and have done enough to have seen about everything but this.

[havocmom]

1. try cutting back on the amount

of C4 you use

[MuseRider]

3. Funny you should say this!

My husband learned as a youth to make his own fireworks and has made M 80's for the last 10 years or so (they are quite loud). I asked him if by any chance he ever uses some of my kitchen ingredients or tools thinking perhaps a little black flake had gotten into it. He says no but you know how it is.

[havocmom]

5. Yeah, I know how it is

Got Havocdad interested in cooking by explaining that the food processor, blender and rice steamer are actually power tools! But when he helps cook, he now insists on wearing protective eyeware (possibly a good idea in your kitchen, considering current events.) I would make your husband get his own mixing bowls for his 'projects'.

Really, SOteric has a point, sounds like a bit too much levening, but then that doesn't preclude my original theory either. :evilgrin:

Did it call for baking powder and baking soda both? Could either be old?

My first husband was making brownies once. Luckily I was in the dining room writing where I could keep an eye on things. Just barely stopped him from adding
2/3 CUP of baking powder instead of the 1/2 tsp and 2/3 cups of flour on the recipe. Looking back, I should have just let him do it his way. Would have saved all the hassel of the divoice later (and Iwould have still been benificary on his insurance.

[MuseRider]

6. Funny!

LOL! Just baking powder, I used the amount it stated and it is not old. Maybe it was an incorrect date. Sorry, I am just so puzzled and it is such a mess that I hoped to not repeat it.

[havocmom]

7. ever use that particular recipe before?

Could be an error in the cookbook. It happens. "Joy of Cooking" if I recall, Julia Child, as in "Frist we pour a little brandy into the cook..."

Ever see any out takes from her TV show? More than one involved fire not where it should have been!

How much shortening did it call for? And electric or gas oven? If electric, could you have had a power surge which would cause the oven to overheat the mixture? (We get very uneven power flow where I live. Really raises havoc with baked items needing precise temps.)

[MuseRider]

8. Nope, not Julia

but I do remember trying to be home and awake to see her shows on Saturday mornings. She was hysterical. The one where she was talking about the different kinds of birds and she sat each naked bird up on the counter according to size with their little legs hanging down. I was laughing but almost wet my pants when they started to topple off and make that wet smacking sound on the floor.
To answer, new recipe for me and yes I suppose it could have been a power thing we are not in the city but not far out however our services are not always reliable. !/2 cup butter was all it called for.

[havocmom]

9. damn, I must've missed that episode

OK, not too much shortening and answers Havocdad's question ("Did she use vegetable oil or 30 weight?") There is not a straight man anywhere in the house today

My guess is either a bit of residue from your husband's last batch or a fluke caused by superheating somehow.

come, we have mimosas together and forget about cooking today.

edit: typos and, no I haven't had a mimosa yet, I just can't type worth a dime

[MuseRider]

12. I'll be there

as soon as I am done scraping this mess off the ovens. Mmmmm mimosas! Thanks. 30 weight, typical male response. My husband looked at the mess, laughed and said , "Have fun cleaning that mess up!"

On Edit He still denies using my cooking things to make his M80's but has begun to look a little sheepish about it.

[SOteric]

2. I'd need to see the recipe, and any ingredient changes

you made, but off-hand, I'm guessing they were over-leavened.

I'm also curious what you mean by 'strange.' Did it bubble? Was it thicker than usual, thin? ...

[MuseRider]

4. It was a recipe from

The Joy Of Cooking. I made it exactly like it said, no changes at all. It was wet looking, like an oil cake, a bit thin. I checked and rechecked and didn't try to change anything. I learned my lesson early on that one. It is quite funny since my baking skills far exceed my regular cooking skills.

[dofus]

10. Post the actual recipe

and see if any of us here can figure it out. Also, replay the entire making process in your mind to see if you goofed up proportions anywhere.

[MuseRider]

11. Here it is

2 1/4 cups cake flour sifted
Resifted with:
2 1/2 t. double-acting baking powder
1/2 t. salt
Cream until fluffy:
1 1/4 sugar
1/2 cup butter
Combine:
1 cup milk
1 t. vanilla
Add sifted ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the liquid combination. Stir the batter until smooth after each addition.
Whip until stiff, but not dry
4 egg whites
Fold them lightly into the batter and bake in layers, about 25 minutes.

That is it, I checked into using this for cupcakes and the book said most can be used but my guess at this point is this one was not suited for cupcakes. Everything I did was checked and rechecked and re thought out again after the explosion.

[havocmom]

13. doesn't sound like the recipe should have been bad for cupcakes

Eggs older than usual? Any chemistry buffs out there: Could slightly aged eggs be a cause? They seem to smell a bit sulfur-like if they are older. Could that make them explosive?

(Grasping at straws here)

[MuseRider]

15. Eggs were OK

unless the range fed chickens they came from were scratching on explosives! I guess it is just one of those things that happens now and then. I'll bet we had a power surge or something.

[dofus]

14. Hmmm,

Doesn't seem like the batter ought to have been a bit thin, not with those proportions. And I've used eggs a good six months old with no ill effects. If you'd actually used way too much baking powder I can imagine the explosion.

Just chalk this one up to the kitchen goddess being irritated at you.

[MuseRider]

16. The eggs

were large but isn't that what is usually called for? Unless it says differently that is what I always use. I must have pissed off the goddess for sure because I am at a loss. Thanks for your help everyone!

[SOteric]

17. Was the cake flour

self-rising? - Which is actually cake flour with baking powder added.

Could you have inadvertintely read 2.5 t as Tablespoons rather than teaspoons...?

[MuseRider]

18. It was cake flour

and that is what was called for. I checked the spoons I used and no, I didn't make that mistake. That was the first thing I thought of. I still think my husband used some of my utensils to make M80's, he is not good about washing things after, kinda wipes them off. I mean these things BLEW UP! The only thing left in the cups was a thin coating of the batter, the rest was everywhere! A real mess.