i thought i was a great baker, i'm so sad!

[Hther]

i was almost famous for my baking.

my cakes were amazing, so light, fluffy and really moist.

now i have moved house and discovered it must have been the oven at the old house cos i can't make wonderful cakes anymore; i have tried several times, will i ever make wonderful cakes again?!

[stuffitlllama]

yes but you had the knack of your old oven

you have to learn the knack of the new oven

that's all!

[stuffitlllama]

actually when I just read the title I thought "I bet she's got a new oven"

[StirlingTheStrong]

I was the same but got myself an oven thermometer and it showed that the temp on the dial was completely out.

Lakeland sell them, or I got mine from Debenhams, I think. They are only around £5.

Made a heck of a difference with my baking

[Hther]

actually i am just using my old oven again!

i always hated electric cookers, but in my last house i couldnt have my own gas cooker as there was a fitted one i couldn't remove so i used that, it was gas hob, elec oven and grill (combined).

now i am using my own gas cooker again, are electric ones better for cakes, looking back i only remember making moist fluffy cakes once before, until i started using the electric one

[Podrick]

Fan ovens are a pain because your cakes don't rise evenly ime

[Hther]

the one that made lovely moist cakes was an electric fan oven! i was desperate to se my gas cooker again now i want an electric one!

[Podrick]

Oh! My big cakes are lop sided in my fan oven!!

[Hther]

the best thing i made was ginger cake from recipe on here, was very popular, first one i made was best because......

i misread the oven temperature instead of 300 degrees F, i did 300 degrees C wondered why after 10 mintes it was very dark, thought i'd ruined it, took it out while oven cooled down, then put it back at right temp, it was absoltely delicious i really want to make another but i can't anymore

[Tinkjon]

I have this problem too! I thought fan ovens were supposed to cook more evenly than others but not ime!

[Hther]

maybe there is something wrong with my oven actually.

i cooked something taht should take half an hour., it took 90 minutes!

[StirlingTheStrong]

Thermometer!!!

[isenhart7]

I agree-is probably your oven. I have two ovens but only bake in one as other is crap. Thermometer should help!

Podrick-I use cake strips to insulate cakes so they aren't uneven but you can make your own out of an old bath towel:

Make a 2-inch wide strip from an old heavy towel, soak in cold water and wring out, then wrap tightly around the pan, pin in place, pour in batter and bake as usual. Remove the wrap after the cake has rested in the pan 5 minutes and your cake layers should be even!

[Ivykaty44]

Get the oven serviced, this should help.

[Ivykaty44]

When you got the corgi registered person out to fit the gas cooker did they say anything about servicing the oven?

[TrillianAstra]

I have a gas oven and it is rubbish. I also have a thermometer because it doesn't make the right temperature. It heats from the bottom FGS, everything cooks so weirdly.

[frustratedmom]

Just to make you feel better. I changed a recipe to make it milk free at christmas. It came out tasting of soap. I'm not joking! allthe other adapted recipes were ok. All i did was swap butter for milk free marg. didnt think it would make a difference. One mistake I am not going to live down in a hurry

[Hther]

haven't logged on for a while, no it wasn't serviced properly as far as i know, he just said it was working and safe

it had been stored in the garden for a while well wrapped in plastic sheeting and i was afraid this cold cause a problem but i had stored outside for mch longer period once before and it was fine afterwards.

i haven't bought a thermmrter yet, maybe i need a new cooker; are electric better for cakes? i prefer gas hobs so maybe i should get one of these combined gas hob, electric grill, rather than another gas cooker?

[Hther]

bump

[Hther]

anyone? I really think i need a new cooker.

Electric or gas oven? Which makes the best cakes? I am suffering serious withdrawal symptoms from not eating delicios cakes!