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My contribution to the family Easter feast was a carrot cake, in honor of No. 1 sister’s birthday this week. The cake tasted great, but it had an unusual, um, shape, and I’m hoping you can help me figure it out.

The recipe was this one, which I got out of the Gourmet Cookbook but was too lazy to type for you. Never having made a carrot cake before, I decided I’d follow the recipe pretty exactly, which means, in this case, I actually sifted the flour and other dry ingredients, which I never do. My only divergences: I substituted shortening for butter to prep the pans, and instead of using 2 cups all-purpose flour, I used 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. Big deal.

It’s an easy recipe. All you do is sift (if you must) and then stir everything together before baking.

Two other things, in case you think they’re relevant: I omitted the optional raisins per No. 1’s preference, and I forgot to set the timer. Or maybe I set it and didn’t hear it go off as I was in the grip of This American Life. But, again, big deal. I knew approximately when I put the cake in the oven, and the scent reminded me it was getting near done. Furthermore, when I realized that I was looking at the clock, rather than the timer counting down on the oven, I opened the oven and tested it with the toothpick. I seemed done to perfection. Except for one thing…

Can you see the problem? I didn’t have time to set up the appropriate raking light, but I’m hoping that the shadows across the top in this photo show what appears to be a rather sunken middle.

Before you jump to the conclusion that the cake was underbaked, let me assure you it wasn’t. No gooeyness, no excess moisture, just low altitude in the middle. In fact, it seemed more as though the edges had risen too fast, rather than that the middle had sunk. Both layers had the same concave profile.

In the end, we (I and my daughter the self-appointed cake decorating expert) decided to use the low point to our advantage. We dyed some coconut and made a nest in the middle, decorated with a few jelly bean eggs (which would not roll off, thanks to the cake shape) and then, darling daughter did the lettering, which I must admit she’s quite good at. Sister No. 1 didn’t seem to mind that her birthday cake had some Easter-ish implications.

The cake decorator and final product:

Now, would somebody explain the sinkhole? Is this a typical carrot cake problem? My baking powder was fresh. The texture was fine. I’m mystified. Oh, and if you have any tips for using the luscious leftover cream-cheese frosting (OK, I cheated; it was Neufchatel) let me know. I couldn’t bear to throw it out, and if you don’t have any ideas, I may have to wait until it molds before I can throw it out.