Thursday, June 11, 2009

Banana, Rum and Raisins Cake - Help! Cake Storage Tips Wanted


If a cake could kill, I would've been killed by this loaf of cake. Why? Was it just too damn delicious?
I wish.

OK, it was delicious when it was freshly baked, cos let's face it. Banana + Rum + Raisins? It'd take a lot to ruin such a winning combo.

The disaster happened the day after. I baked this large loaf for my daily breakfast at the office. Two thick slices each morning with my hot coffee. Yum. At least, that was the plan.

Previously, I never stored any cake in the fridge, cos based on my experiences so far, nothing good came out of that. But in this summer heat, I thought I had to rescue the cake from getting ruined too quickly. The next day, I happily took out the cake out of the fridge, transferred two slices into a bento box, and carried it to work. Hopefully, all the initial deliciousness would be restored by the time I reach my office.

Unfortunately, they didn't recover.
They dried out and hardened. I mean ROCK HARD. I could kill being hit on the head by that loaf. Hmmm, maybe not exactly subdural hematoma lethal, but at least it could inflict some serious bruising and swelling.

I tried microwaving cakes before, and again, it could never recover anywhere close to when they were freshly baked. Is it just mission impossible, or am I doing it wrong?

When I got home, I took out the rest of the loaf, placed it on my kitchen table and wait for it to return to room temperature, as advised by some online resources. It did return to room temperature, but the texture never recovered. It stayed persistently hard.


The recipe is the same as my previous soft and moist banana cake, I just added 2 tsp of rum and a couple handful of raisins.

Guys, helppppp! I desperately need some true and tested cake storage and reheating tips T_T

Whatever it takes, I'll try it.
Hmm...as long as it doesn't involve storing the cake in my underwear drawer.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh yuummmm! Love banan cake and with rum and raisins = even better!!
Pity about it going rock hard haha. Sorry I don't know any secret storing techniques but I can help you store this cake in my stomach ;)

and LOL at underwear drawer 0_o thats a bit kinky

pam said...

Whenever I'm baking something like that I know I want to stretch over a period of time, I store it in the freezer shortly after it cools. I individually wrap 2 slices in wax paper, and then store all of those in a big ziplock baggie. In the morning I take a package out and set it on the counter, by the time I am ready for it, it has thawed.

eliza said...

kirain di wrap pake plastic gak bakal keras, biasanya aku double wrap terus bungkus lagi pake alu foil.

Cookie said...

I usually just store my cakes in the fridge and by the time it warms up to room temp, it's not hard anymore. Have you tried reheating it a bit in the microwave with a damp paper towel over it?

daphne said...

RUM in cakes- I LIKE!

What I usually do is to cool the cake down completely and if there isn't any frosting, just store in room temperature for 2 days. I reheat it using the microwave or our toaster bread machine.

Jennifer said...

Yummy!!!! I always seem to forget about rum and bananas in baking! Thanks!

TS of eatingclub vancouver said...

Did you place it in an air-tight container? Like Pam, sometimes we would cut the bread/cake into slices, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and store in the freezer. We thaw in room temperature... it usually doesn't take long.

Anonymous said...

what i do is, if the cake is still hard at room temperature i will steam it , taste nice!

lina said...

that looks great! Ive never had cake storage problems cause i eat it all at once ;)

My Taste Heaven said...

yum yum~~~never tried that before!!

Jo said...

Great recipe. Like some of the rest, unless it is a fully frosted cake, always store it in an air-tight container. But wrap it in foil before doing so. Before serving take it out from the fridge and bring it to room temp. The fridge will dry out your cake and this includes bread as well in not stored properly.

Epilicious said...

Looks yummy... my friend's mom used to keep white bread in the fridge to keep it longer too. I saw her once heated some bread for us using a steamer. Probably u can try it out.

Babe_KL said...

i usually store them in air tight container before putting in the fridge. it never dries out this way. storing them uncovered will definitely dry them out.

by the time you reach office, your cake will be all nicely thaw out, well unless your office is only 5 mins away from home hehehe

MamaFaMi said...

Have you tried steaming it just for a while? Perhaps it'll help...

test it comm said...

Strange, I have never had a banana bread go rock hard like that. I normally slice the loaf shortly after it comes out of the oven and place the individual slices into their own ziplock containers and then put them in the fridge. When I pull them out of the fridge for breakfast I normally give them 30-60 seconds in the microwave and they are just as good as if they came straight from the oven. I have not however tried bringing them to work for lunch.

Jack T said...

the cake is perfect

Anonymous said...

That. Looks. Amazing. For storage I'd try a couple layers of plastic wrap. If you're putting it in a container try a slice of apple or a soaked brown sugar bear in the container to keep it fresh. :)