Worry no longer new bakers. Help is on the way. We know how difficult it can be at times to bake a good cake. So here are some baking tips for you!
Why do my cakes sometimes have a heavy layer on base?
It hapes when the butter is over-softened or over-beaten. Have the butter at room temperature and beat the butter until pale and creamy or for 3 to 5 minutes only.
To achieve room temperature butter:
- coarsely grate the butter into the mixing bowl
- Medium heat butter in 5 sec burts
Use electric beaters instead of food processor to aerate the cake mixture.
Why does the base of my cakes burn?
It is caused by a dark cake pan or the cake is too close to the element or over-greasing.
Grease pan lightly with softened butter and line the base with baking paper cut to fit. You can also use two or three layer of baking paper if needed.
Bake cakes in the centre of oven. A fan- forced oven can help reduce burning on the base.
Can i swap cake pans?
To swap round and square cake pans on another, you need to increase or decrease the pan size by 2 cm.
Fill cake pans no more than half to two-thirds full. This is important for lighter cake batters and cupcakes that expands during cooking.
Why don’t my cakes bake evenly?
Every oven behaves differently. Some cook more evenly using the fan-forced function, in which case you will need to reduce the temperature given in the recipes for a conventional oven by about 20c.
If your oven has hot spots, rotate the pans or tray halfway through the cooking time.
Why does a cake crack?
Round or square butter cake will rise and crack in centre is due to a pan that’s too small.
Loaf, bar ring pans will crack because of the confined space of the pan or overly hot oven.
Why does a cake dome?
Domes are caused by too high oevn temperature, making the cake rise too quicky. This hapens often with fan-forced ovens, so reduce the temperature by 20c
Why does my cake have large sir holes?
It is due to the butter mixture not beaten enough or too much air was incorporated when folding in the flour.
Tips to prevent large air holes:
- Tap the cake pan on the bench firmly once or twice before baking.
- For a sponge, “trickle” the base of the pan with fingertips.
Why does cake sink?
This can occur due to:
- Oven temperature was too low
- The cake is not cooked through
- The recipe was out of balance; too much sugar, butter, raising agent
- There’s not enough flour in the recipe
- Opening the oven door too soon in the baking process
A cake that sinks while still in the oven is usually caused by too much raising agent– the mixture is too light to support its own weight.
Use Cold ingredients
The temperature of your ingredients is important. Always use room-temperature ingredients, especially eggs and butter, unless the recipe states otherwise.
Too cold butter can affect the fluffiness of an item. Avoid using the microwave to soften the butter too quickly, as it may melt the butter to a watery consistency that won’t cream properly with sugar to create fluffiness.
Inaccuracy in Measurements
Using a cup is simpler than painstakingly weighing and measuring ingredients in grams and milliliters; but it isn’t quite accurate.
Always use the correct size, the standard measuring cup or use a reliable kitchen weighing scale.
Misunderstanding of Terminologies
Each terminology in baking represents a specialized way of putting ingredients together that has its own significance in a recipe.
So, before you start baking, do some research and gain some basic knowledge about baking!
All the info is based on our experiences in our baking journey. Do let us know if you have any extra insight.
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