High altitude steamed Génoise collapse

Following the high altitude pressure steamed génoise win yesterday it occurred to me the steam might be the winning element and not the pressure so another batter is made the usual way and cooked by steamed but without pressure. The cake collapsed but not as badly as without steam. 

Had the experiment worked then another experiment would be in order to check if more moisture while baking in a regular oven would work, as with bain-maire. The way the cake collapses without expanding first as expected, desiccated as if moisture sucked out while baking so dryly causing collapse without any preliminary expansion. It's very odd. If dryness is the problem then perhaps more liquid in the batter would work too, the eggs can hold additional liquid, but it appears that moisture is not the problem of collapsing this way. It does appear to be both pressure and dryness including the dryness of our flour.  

What is odd about all of these tests, the batter is delicious with its raw egg and raw flour and its beurre noisette but the cooked cakes, baked or steamed are not nearly so delicious, their texture not nearly so attractive. They are sponge. Fairly good tasting sponge and that's it. The thing that makes the baked product excellent is the syrup used to be held by the sponge. The sopping wet cooked and dried cake has an entirely new texture depending on what and how thick the soaking liquid, the real thing you'll be tasting and consuming. The batter itself, by itself could be used as a sauce for any number of delicate things. Adjusted with lemon it would be truly excellent sauce. The surprising thing is how good raw flour tastes.  I expect the powder needn't be flour, its gluten completely undeveloped. The cake is flour particulates suspended in egg foam with equal part sugar, that is the structure, and with toasted butter throughout. The powder could be almond flour, corn starch, dry beans turned to powder. I suspect that flour specifically is not essential. The batter could make an excellent foam sauce, say, almond lemon for fish. 

High altitude pressure steam-baked Génoise win, Boston cream pie

A small size spring form pan is placed inside a pressure pot for sea-level pressure at high altitude. The steam cooks and sets the cake nicely and reliably. 

It appears water dripped onto the cake in the center while cooking resulting in a crater that differs from the usual bubble-pops on the surface. 

Ganache is used to patch the holes.

Custard is fun. This is lemon-vanilla. It has three things that thicken the mixture where any one will do, corn starch, the thing most boxed puddings have, egg, the stuff of proper custard, and lemon juice which is the most fun of all, when squeezed in the custard thickens right there at hand, a marvel to behold. 

Something is wrong with the ganache. Maybe it was the powders I added, cinnamon and instant coffee in the cream and milk. Maybe it was the butter. It stayed gloppy and never poured properly. And this proves it's probably best sometimes to measure. But why? It always worked before. It can be scrapped off if it's too much chocolate.

Again, the light in the room changed dramatically and suddenly, I turned to look and saw this.

Genoise fail

Three dozen jumbo eggs and six cakes later all attempts at genoise collapse in the center while baking. This is following directions explicitly, directions varying cook to cook as they do, one sees the full range of possibilities in examples provided on Youtube, the range of possibilities is quite broad in recipes online and in books. They all say basically the same thing. Forums on collapsing genoise cakes specifically ALL SAY THE SAME THING and NONE of it is helpful. 

Mind, this is occurring in Denver. High altitude.

None address high altitude baking and necessary adjustments. None address adding a little more flour for structure or increasing initial temperature to compensate. None of the forums suggest anything useful. Not one. 

I don't want to hear about under beating the batter.

I don't want to hear about over beating the batter.

I did both of those things with the same result. 

I don't want to hear about beating for insufficient length of time, that it must be at least five minutes.

Nor about beating on too high to foam.

I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR about opening the oven door. I never did that. Not even to check. I can smell when the cake is done.

Nor about oven temperature certainty. I am certain about my oven temperature.

Or about the temperature of the batter itself. I use a precise thermometer and tried all different temperatures, using hot water to soak eggs first, and using bain-marie to control temperature of eggs precisely.

Nor of the temperature of eggs starting out. I tried the entire range.  

Nor about deflating the batter

Nor about how to fold flour into batter

Not about beurre nicoisse what it means, how to make it, or about how to get it into the batter, I've seen and done it six different ways. (including previous trials)  I've omitted it. I've used oil instead. I've used my hands, a flexible scraper, a rubber spatula, a bulb whisk.

I've tried cool oven up to baking temperature.

I've preheated oven, obviously.

I've tried super preheated oven for shock.

I've tried a nail in the center to bring heat to the middle.

I've tried different sizes and shapes of pans.

I don't want to hear or read about trimming the cake and using it anyway. 

I don't want to hear about how good the collapsed cake tastes nor how well it works.

Everything I've tried over a few trials including six today all collapse the same way as shown.

If there appear any comments suggesting anything trite, anything I can see for myself over fifteen YouTube videos and dozens of websites and several books, and now six more trials in one day trying all I can think of and all the same result, seeing it done successfully and explained in French and in Spanish and in Sign seeing it all performed successfully by, let's face it, not especially the brightest bulbs in the kitchen, dummkopfs actually, at sea-level, and all different ways with differing amounts and varying number of eggs, then those suggestions no matter how well intended will be deleted with extreme prejudice. And please, no sympathy, it's patronizing. And I don't want to hear your ease of successes either. I've already seen hundreds by functional idiots. 

One thing I haven't tried is baking it in a pressure pot. And I'm tempted to try that. 

I'm tempted to call Denver bakeries that offer genoise and ask them directly, wtf? Are you importing or what? I notice Brown Palace uses baking powder, a definite no-no, and it rated only three stars.

Other than that, I must say, the batter is incredible. Such a shame it doesn't work. With vanilla added the batter tastes like marshmallow fluff. Except better. It is a very good-tasting batter with amazingly inviting soft texture. It's worth making just for the delicious extraordinary fluffy batter. Something can be done with it at high altitude if not a regular cake. It holds up well, it could be piped into ring discs and baked then stacked. 

The goal is use the delicious batter to produce a layered Boston cream pie type cake. One way or another. I like this batter.

Steamed crumpets with fried eggs, hashed beef steak onion and potato

The temperature is low. The batter similar to pancake batter, so a very thick pancake. To speed cooking the pan is covered and water drizzled onto the pan. This steams up the entire inside cooking the sides and top equally while reducing heat of the pan by half to 200℉.  

One crumpet divided as an English muffin.

Hash is thinly sliced London Broil reduced to dices, onion, and baked potato reheated with its skin that turned out to be the best part. A few seasonings, chipotle powder sprinkled on top of the eggs. 

Butternut squash and leek soup, cheese crackers

This is why the vegetables are roasted first.

Odds and ends of chicken parts, how macabre, I'm pleased to have them out of the freezer. I have chicken broth but I want to get rid of these. Pressure pot makes quick work of it.

Here is where the Cuisinart shines, just load it up and let it run for five minutes but I did not drag out that heavy thing. The immersion blender does a less thorough job of it due to all the fiber to process and the volume. I don't care about the mixture being smooth as silk. I don't mind if some of the fibers remain. 

Taste-tested this and decided it needs substantial increased body, the type that butter provides.

And dry vermouth.

This changed the delightful butternut squash sweetness to noticeably less. Sweetness returned with mere teaspoons of brown sugar.

Crackers turn out damp like bread. They're returned to the oven and reheated but not baked and cooled in series repeatedly (three times) until they are completely dry, light, and crisp. 

My oyster crackers are square and they're cheese-flavored. 

One pint of soup.

Two tablespoons heavy cream drizzled around.

Cinnamon is great but it discolors the soup. It's good sprinkled on top. So is nutmeg. Chile flakes would be good, any kind of chile powder. The natural taste is sweet, the mixture can accept any number of serious adjustments. I was considering parsnips, carrots, and celery, and this time the full range of herbs is omitted. The rest, the bulk of it, can be changed to anything with tomato, avocado, tahini, peanut butter, fennel, chicken, bacon or ham, cilantro, mint, basil, cheese, citrus, anything.