PROBLEM:
My
cake is too dry
Causes:
Too
much flour not enough butter or eggs
Solution:
If
your cake is dry to the point of crumbling when you remove it from the tin then
turn your cake into Cake pops instead. Add some buttercream or candy melts to
the mix and mould your cake into balls - there's no need for waste! If it's a
little bit dry and still edible cover it in a thick layer of buttercream or
icing and decorate with moist ingredients like butter, chocolate etc.
What to do next time:
Double
check how much flour you add to the mix. If you put too much flour in, the wet
ingredients will absorb the flour leaving your cake dry and crumbly.
Your
cake can also end up dry if you don't add enough butter or eggs to make sure
you follow the recipe correctly next time and always double check your oven
temperature.
PROBLEM:
My
cake has sunk in the middle
Causes:
The
oven door has been opened before the cake has set, The cake didn't go in the oven as soon as the
mixture was ready There’s too much raising agent.
Solution:
If
you interrupt the cake’s cooking process too often by opening the oven door,
the cool air entering the oven will disturb the center’s ability to properly
set. Other explanations for this baking mistake could be that the cake didn’t
cook long enough; that the full pan was allowed to sit out too long before
going in the oven, or too much rising agent was added to the mix, causing a big
rise that crashed once removed from the oven.
If your cake has sunk
in the middle but is cooked the whole through then there's not much you can do
about it. Just cover the top of your cake with buttercream to disguise the
concave in the middle. If you cake isn't completely cooked - cover it in tin
foil and bake for a further 5-10 mins - check it again after 10 mins or so and
if needs longer bake again. Your cake will still probably look a bit odd so get
the buttercream at the ready and no-one will have to know!
What to do next time:
Don’t
open the oven door. Double check the temperature on your oven and if all else
fails use two baking tins instead of one next time.
PROBLEM:
My
cake has risen unevenly
Causes:
Too
much baking powder Too much sugar (this will be apparent if the cake also has a
crisp, sugary crust) Too much Fat/Margarine Flour too soft Cake was knocked in
the oven before it had set
Solution:
Once
your cake has been cooked there's nothing much you can do about an uneven bake
other than cut off the top and level the surface with a large bread knife. You
can then cover your cake in fondant or buttercream to hide the cut marks.
What to do next time:
Next
time you get baking make sure you whisk your flour properly when you add it to
your wet ingredients. If the flour doesn't blend evenly it will make the cake
bake uneven.
Double
check your oven temperature too - if your oven is too hot this can have an
impact or if your oven is not working properly this can be a tell-tale sign as
the heat is not spreading evenly around your machine.
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