Cakes, bother them

[adaeze]

Oh wise and talented flist,

Why is it that *every single time* I attempt to bake a cake, by any variation of the "cream butter & sugar, then add eggs" method, the wretched mixture always always always curdles?  I did *everything* by the book this time, eggs out of the fridge last night to be sure they'd be room temperature, butter & sugar creamed till they were as light as a feather made from hydrogen, and as fluffy as Exceptionally Cute.  And yet still, at the first hint of egg, it curdled.

I know it's not the world's greatest disaster, and I know the Christmas cake will taste just the same.  But it's the principle of the thing - just once in my life, I want to make a non-curdled cake!

Comments

[didiusjulianus.livejournal.com]

I'm probably not the right person to ask/answer, because of recent times, I just simply do no "do" baking.

But...none of the simple cakes I made before such times (including fruit/Christmas cake type) ever curdled. But nor do I recall them ever having cream in them so maybe that is why. Maybe you need to give up on that sort of recipe, there are lots of other cake recipes out there.

How are you creaming it? If by hand, try a really good mixer; if a mixer is the problem, try by hand.

And of course, if it doesn't matter tastewise, it doesn't matter period, really, does it so maybe it's a question that doesn't need answering.