9 Common Cake Baking Problems and Solutions
Perfection in baking is not for everyone. We all know that the baking process does not always go as planned. We fantasize about baking a light and fluffy cake, but we end up making mistakes, and the cake baking develops into a dense block that is far from flawless. The second most common error while cake baking is taking the pan out of the oven before the timer goes off. Just when everything appears to be going pretty smooth, you see the lovely golden brown you imagined, and when you pull the pan out of the oven to discover it is still unbaked. You were only disappointed after you departed. Cake baking mistakes are easy to make, but thankfully Baking Course in Delhi gives you a chance to develop your baking skills. You will learn the art of baking and get to know valuable techniques that can help you enhance your abilities and make you a better cook in the long run. Cake Baking Mistakes to Avoid for Perfect Results So let’s have a look at some typical cake-baking mistakes. Too Dense If you’ve ever baked a dense cake that never seems to rise properly, there are a few reasons why this can happen. Cake flour may have been substituted for all-purpose flour, or too much sugar was used, but the most common reason is that not enough air was incorporated into the batter. Here are some tips on how to add air back into your batter while the cake baking process. When making cake, the first thing to do is to mix the batter. If your recipe calls for oil, try not to rush this step. Let the air bubbles form! A poor leavener is another cause of dense cake. Perhaps your baking powder or baking soda is outdated and ineffective. To help the batter rise and keep the air in during the baking process, you’ll need a decent leavener. A well-risen cake will not be dense! Too much flour adds dryness and heaviness to cakes and a collapsed structure. To keep your cakes light and fluffy, make sure you’re using cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. This recipe uses cake flour, but feel free to swap in all-purpose flour straight out of the bag if you don’t have any on hand. A hot oven will make your cake rise like a champ. Preheat the oven for at least 20 minutes before putting your cake in for the best results. If you have a convection oven, preheat it to at least 325°F instead of 350°F. A fan-forced oven needs less time to come up to temperature than an old-fashioned regular oven, so keep this in mind when testing your oven with an oven thermometer! Cake Overflows The heat from the oven seems to make the batter rise up and over the edge of a burnt pan, causing it to run out of the cake onto the bottom of the oven (and I’m sure you know what that can do). Filling your pan with less batter is the simplest remedy to this cake baking problem. Filling a cake pan halfway to two-thirds of the way up the edges is a good rule of thumb. A Sunken Cake While your cake may look nice on the outside, there could be a problem lurking in the middle. This happens more often than you might think. Two quick tests can help prevent a collapsed cake: 1.) Stick a toothpick or knife into the center of your cake. If it comes out cleanly with no sticky wet batter on it, then it is baked all the way through; if there is still batter on it or if it comes out gooey or wet, then give your cake another 3-5 minutes in the oven and retest again until fully cooked 2.) Use an instant-read thermometer (preferably digital!) to test for doneness. Once baked through, place a thermometer in several spots throughout the center of the cake; temp should be between 180-190 degrees F. Many things can cause sunken cakes while cake baking. They could be underbaked, over-baked, or if you put too much batter in the pan. To avoid this problem, make sure your oven is at the correct temperature, do not open and close the oven door too often and use ingredients as directed; otherwise, your cake will sink! Additionally, your cake will not maintain its shape and sink if your batter is not firm enough due to skimping on ingredients like eggs or flour. Lastly, it may also be caused by an air bubble formed during mixing and rising in the oven. This bubble needs to pop for your cake to settle evenly once cooled, making for a sunken appearance. Stuck to the Pan One of the most common cake baking problems is when a cake sticks to the pan. Although there are various reasons for this, one easy solution to try is to grease the bottom of your pans with shortening instead of cooking spray. It will help keep your cakes from getting stuck to enjoy a perfect dessert every time! Crusty Edges You may not know it, but a little bit of non-stick greasing goes a long way. If your cakes are tasting burnt and dry when they come out of the oven, it is likely because you’re making a mistake with the pan spray or grease. The most important part of greasing a cake pan is where you put the cooking spray – too much on one side of the cake, and it will cook unevenly. You should coat both sides with a thin layer of canola oil cooking spray so that heat can transfer from both sides evenly! Cake Batter is Too Stiff Adding too much flour when making cake batter will make your cake come out in a tough, dense texture. The stiff, sticky batter is usually due to adding too much gluten to the batter, which happens most often when over-mixing. Mixing for too long can also











