I
t’s every bakers desire to have
beautiful tasty cakes come out of
your oven, but when you don’t get
that desired result, then something
is wrong. Here are some mistakes
bakers often make that bring about a dis-
appointing cake and how you can fix it.
- NOT MEASURING YOUR INGREDI-
ENTS ACCURATELY
Too much flour or sugar can have a
bigger negative effect on the finished
product which I am sure you will not
like. So Follow the exact weights given
in a recipe and don’t use analogue scales
that are hard to read. Use Digital scales
that can weigh as little as 1g, also Use
calibrated measuring spoons and cups.
- SUBSTITUTING OR ADDING EX-
TRA INGREDIENTS
Don’t substitute one ingredient for an-
other as much as you can use the accu-
rate ingredients stated in the recipe.
- NOT CHECKING THE EXPIRY
DATES OF YOUR INGREDIENTS
For instance, if you use an expired
baking powder your cakes won’t rise as
it should
To check if your baking powder has
expired (that’s if you can’t find the expi-
ry date) mix 1tsp into 4tbsp of hot wa-
ter and see, if it bubbles up immediately
then it’s good if not then it’s bad.
- INGREDIENTS NOT AT ROOM
TEMPERATURE
Plan ahead and have everything out at
room temperature for a few hours be-
fore you start baking. Butter that’s too
cold won’t cream properly and eggs that
are straight from the fridge will make a
mixture curdle, resulting in a coarse-tex-
tured, greasy cake that doesn’t have a
good rise. If time is against you, put the
uncracked eggs in a bowl of warm wa-
ter for a few minutes to make it warm,
and put the butter in the microwave for
about 20 seconds soften it without melt-
ing it.
- NOT FOLLOWING THE METHOD
PROPERLY
People like the quickest way out, so
they tend to skip some process in bak-
ing.
If a recipe says beat eggs and sugar to-
gether for 5 minutes, or to wait for but-
ter to cool before adding it to a mixture,
then there’s generally a scientific reason
why, and doing otherwise will not give
you a great result. Follow the method to
the letter.
- NOT KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN CREAMING, BEATING
AND FOLDING
CREAMING
Creaming is mixing butter and sugar
together until it reaches the consisten-
cy desired by your recipe (usually ‘un-
til pale and fluffy’) It traps air into the
creamed mixture – the more you trap,
the finer the texture of your cake.
BEATING
Beating refers to the process of adding
eggs to the creamed sugar and fat. The
best way to do this is to beat all your
eggs in a jug first, then pour them into
the bowl a little at a time, so the mixture
doesn’t curdle. Remember, you’re trying
to incorporate and keep as much air in
the batter as you can.
FOLDING
Folding in flour and dry ingredients
preserves all the precious air you’ve
created in the cake batter so it rises as
high as possible. If you’re too vigorous,
you’ll also make the texture of your cake
tough, so Instead of a wooden spoon use
a spatula to gently fold in flour, but don’t
over-mix.
- NOT PREPARING YOUR CAKE
PAN PROPERLY
Different types of cake use different
lining methods, normally outlined in
your chosen recipe, so make sure you
follow the instructions. Ensure you
lightly grease the base and sides of the
pan with butter/oil, and put a circle of
baking paper depending on the recipe,
this helps your cake to come out of the
pan easily.
8.THE WRONG SIZE OF CAKE PAN
The size of the pan affects the cooking
time and how thick or thin your cake
comes out, too small and your cake
might burn at the top or overflow out of
the pan, while the middle is not cooked,
and when you Choose a pan too big,
it could end up giving you a thin, dry
cake. Always Use the size of pan stated
in the recipe.
- WHEN OVEN IS IN THE WRONG
TEMPERATURE
All ovens vary to a great extent, which
is why a lot of baking times are approx-
imate. If your oven runs too hot or too
cold, you may find that the cooking
times are consistently too short or too
long, respectively. You can get an oven
thermometer to help you solve this
problem. If you have a gas or a conven-
tional oven, cakes are best baked on the
middle shelf, as the temperature of each
shelf position varies
- OPENING THE OVEN DOOR TOO
SOON
It’s a good idea to allow your cake at
least 3/4 of the cooking time pass before
opening the oven, else your cake will
sink. If you find your cake isn’t cooked,
don’t keep opening the door every min-
ute to check, doing this makes the oven
lose heat and lengthens the cooking time
with each occurrence.
Wait at least another 5-10min, de-
pending on how close you believe it is to
being Done. Alternatively, if your cake
seems to be browning too quickly while
still raw in the middle, cover the top of
the pan with foil for the remainder of the
cooking time.
- TAKING TOO LONG TO PUT THE
CAKE IN THE OVEN
Cakes that don’t rise properly or have
a surface covered in little holes are of-
ten the result of not getting the cake
into the oven quickly enough. Once the
raising agents in the batter are activated
and start to bubble up (usually when the
baking powder or self-raising flour gets
added to the liquid mixture), you need
to capitalise on this chemical reaction
quickly so that the heat of the oven can
set the air bubbles in place before they
pass. Make sure your pans is prepared,
the oven is preheated and all your ingre-
dients are out before you begin baking.
- NOT USING A RELIABLE RECIPE
Having a very reliable cake recipe is
key to making amazing cakes, although
the internet has a whole lot of recipes
which a lot of people get to use, going
for a proper on site training is a fact to
getting great results and that cannot be
over emphasized.
(Culled from Naosam Delightful
Cakes and Events)
