Why do my cakes turn mouldy?
My cakes get really mouldy/sticky within days if I don't refrigerate them during rainy season or when it's too hot. My cakes pass the skewer test before coming out of oven. This has happened for most of the recipes I have tried.
I try to make my cakes with lesser sugar and wholewheat floor instead of white floor. My temperature knob is wrecked - takes twice as long to bake. Has any of it got anything to do with my cake rotting sooner?
Any thoughts?
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This is completely normal. Cake is a perishable item, much like almost any prepared food. It will spoil if left out unprotected.
Although during the baking process, almost all bacteria and molds that are present in the batter will be killed or reduced to trivial numbers, there are still countless mold spores present in the air.
The cake can also absorb water from the air if it is very humid (you mentioned the rainy season).
If the cake does absorb water (as opposed to drying out and getting hard), it will present a hospitable environment to the mold spores that settle from the air, and they will begin to grow. Very warm conditions only help to accelerate this process.
This is essentially the same process described in the answer to this question:
Is bread that can go mouldy better than that which does not?
Two of the best sources for shelf life agree that an non-refrigerated cake should last 1-2 days. These sources probably assume prevailing conditions in the US, including air conditioning in the summer. They are also looking at quality; cakes are also subject to staling.
Eat By Date - How Long Does Cake Last
Still Tasty - Butter Cake, Unfrosted
Sugar helps to preserve cake. What you would need to reduce are the invert sugars or glucose, as they tend to increase the moisture of the cake and can make it prone to mold attack when the surrounding temperature increases.
When I use less sugar in recipes, my cakes also turn mouldy within 2days max!! So maybe sugar helps in preserving cakes
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