My cake has come out wonky!
Unevenly risen cakes can happen for a number of reasons. For me it’s most likely that the oven shelf isn’t level – the first step is to check! They can also rise unevenly if the raising agent (bicarbonate of soda or baking powder) is old and losing it’s efficacy or hasn’t been dispersed through the cake mixture evenly.
My mixture has curdled…
It’s important that all the ingredients are at room temperature when working them together. If the butter or eggs are too cold it can result in a curdled mixture. Add the eggs slowly, beating well after each addition, to allow the mixture to aerate rather than becoming a liquid sloppy state. Mix, mix, mix is the key to avoiding the dreaded curdle! Adding something very acidic to a cake mix such as lemon juice will cause a curdle. At the end of the day don’t worry too much – it’s best avoided if you can but if not your cake will still turn out pretty well!
My cake has a volcano effect on top
The oven might have been too hot or the cake too high up in the oven – this can also be the cause of cakes burning on the top. The crust has baked and set before the cake mixture in the centre, and as it bakes through the mixture expands. As it has nowhere else to go it bursts through the top, creating the volcano dome effect. It’s a good idea to keep an eye on your cakes whilst baking, peeking through the oven door if you can and if they’re beginning to brown too much cover with a sheet of foil for the remaining baking time, or dropping the oven temperature just slightly. Domed cakes can generally be rescued by slicing off the top and disguising with icing.
My cake top has a crunchy ‘skin’
This will happen if the butter and sugar weren’t worked into the cake mixture well enough. The butter and sugar can end up on the top of the cake as you scrape the bowl clean of cake mixture. Make sure your mixture is thoroughly even before filling your cake tin.
Disaster! My cake has sunk in the middle
Cakes sink when they have too little flour or too many eggs in the mixture so it’s important to check and weigh your ingredients correctly. Avoid opening the oven door whilst baking as the draught and sudden temperature drop caused by doing so can cause a flop!
All the fruit has sunk in my cake
Fruit will sink if the cake mixture is too wet. Make sure the fruit isn’t in huge pieces as the weight of them will cause them to sink. Make sure the pieces are dry and toss them in a tablespoon of flour before adding to the cake mix. To reduce the wetness of a cake mixture make sure you are using the size of eggs stated in the recipe.
How big is my loaf tin?
Unfortunately manufacturers have yet to standardise loaf tin sizes which can make life a little tricky sussing out the capacity of your tin A good way to check is to measure how much water your tin will hold. A 900g (2lb) loaf tin will hold just over 1 litre (36fl oz) of water and a 450g (1lb) loaf tin will hold just over 500ml (18fl oz) so you will know if your tin is suitable for a certain recipe or not. Just remember that if your tin is very deep, or very shallow, then you will need to keep a good eye on the baking time and put all your ‘testing for doneness’ skills to good use!
Using up Eggs
It always seems such a waste to be left with egg yolks or whites at the end of a recipe and not have anything to do with them. Here’s how to use them for custard or meringues – always useful and delicious!
Meringue – Whites
1 Whisk the egg whites until they start to look foamy. Continue whisking, adding the sugar 1 spoonful at a time, allowing each to be whisked in before adding the next until all the sugar has been added.
2 Whisk until the whites stand in firm peaks. Pipe or shape your meringues and bake in the oven at 120°C (fan)/140°C/275°F/Gas Mark 1 for 11⁄2 –2 hours for a Pavlova and 1 hour for smaller meringues.
Custard – Yolks
1 Whisk together the egg yolks and caster (superfine) sugar in a large jug and set to one side.
2 Heat the milk and cream gently until just below boiling point. Whilst whisking continuously, pour the milk/cream slowly over the egg yolks and sugar until they are well mixed together.
3 Return the mixture to the pan and heat gently, stirring continuously to prevent the egg from scrambling, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Creaming Method
Creaming method cakes are made by beating sugar into butter until light and fluffy. The creamed mixture should almost double in volume and will go very pale. Time spent getting this stage just right and incorporating lots of air is the foundation for any super-soft and light cake.
Victoria Sponge
The perfect Victoria sponge seems to be the holy grail of baking – if you can achieve a well-risen, golden, fluffy sponge you can conquer anything! There are a couple of tricks to help you on the way: the creaming of the butter and sugar and good-quality tins. Follow the steps and you’ll soon be the grand master of fabulous sponge cakes.
Makes one 20cm (8in) cake
Prep: 25 minutes plus cooling
Bake: 30 minutes
Oven:160°c (fan)/180°c/350°F/Gas Mark 4
Ingredients
Cake
250g (9oz) very soft butter, plus a little extra for greasing
250g (9oz) caster (superfine) sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs, large
250g (9oz) self-raising (-rising) flour
2
