My wife bakes the greatest-tasting cakes, but sometimes they fall. I know that you have explained this problem before, but for the life of me I cannot remember what the heck I did with your explanation. Forgive me ... sometimes I have trouble remembering where I hung my coat. Could you please tell me again why cakes are prone to fall?
Sorry for such a long delay in answering your question. Don't feel bad about forgetting where you hung your coat, because I misplaced your letter! Now let's get down to that cake issue before we forget it. As much as I'd like to say that there is one simple answer, I'd be the one falling down if I told you that. So let's go over some common reasons that cakes fall.
Overbeating. Beating the ingredients too much will incorporate too much air in the batter, making it prone to fall.
Underbaking. If you don't bake your cake long enough, the center of the cake will not get completely done, and, oops, there it goes again. If you have a problem with the edges turning overly brown, then turn your oven down and increase your cooking time.
Too much sugar. This stuff turns to liquid when cooked, sinking your cake and your hopes along with it.
Overgreasing. If you slather too much butter or shortening on your pan before you add the batter, you might wind up with another valley of discontent.
Too much baking powder. People get worried that their cakes won't rise properly and add too much baking powder. It actually has the opposite effect and guarantees a dip in your road to success. A good rule of thumb is to add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to 1 cup of flour.
My mother used to make a pot roast with what she called "a round of beef" or a "beef round." I have looked for that cut and can't find it. Can you tell me what it is?
Technically speaking, your mother was making a pot roast to feed 75 people. What a woman! A beef round is basically the whole leg of a cow. This cut starts at the rump and ends at the ankle. Actually, I'll bet your mom was a lot like mine and had her own terminology or was using the terms of the time. In my house we had roast lamb. It may sound like my mom cooked the entire animal over a pit in the back yard, but it was her way of saying she was making lamb shanks in her cast iron Dutch oven.
A real beef round, or hind leg, consists of six major sections that are normally divided up. There is the rump, top round, sirloin tip, bottom round, eye round and heel round. All can be used for pot roast, but I'll bet you Mom used what I believe makes the best pot roast, and that is the rump roast.