Cake baking and oven advice, please

[BigBirdsbird]

I'm a terrible baker, I'm not blessed with a light hand.
Recently attempted a cake for my parents anniversary and it was a disaster, it wouldn't cook in the middle, edges burned, into the bin with you.
I have an electric, non fan oven, I suspect I should have put both top and bottom ovens on but I've never done this for anything else I've cooked and I cook the odd muffin/banana bread that comes out ok.

So, I'm girding my loins and preparing to bake another cake for my boy's birthday.
Any thoughts on whether I should use both top and bottom ovens or am I likely to be incinerate it and refill the bin with cake?

Many thanks

You shouldn’t need both ovens on. It sounds like the oven was possibly too hot and the edges burnt therefore you took it out before the middle had cooked.
It might be worth investing in an oven thermometer as all ovens vary.

Just sounds like it was too hot, did you have the right sized baking tins for the quantity? It really makes a difference. Also make sure the oven is preheated and you don’t open it during cooking.

into the bin with you...I would have scoffed it all

I second getting an oven thermometer.
I sometimes put a bowl of very hot water in the oven as well, as I think it makes the air moister, like it would be in a gas oven.

Persevere, it's well worth it

You will need both elements on - the picture on the cooker is the box with a line top and bottom. Temp should be 170 ideally, if you use 2 shallower tins rather than one deep tin, if you are worried about burning then pop it one shelf lower than centre. . An 8 inch round single layer tin should take about 20-25mins to cook.

Yes, it is not unknown for people to accidentally "bake" something when in fact the grill was turned on by mistake.

There are several golden rules for baking:

1. It is crucial to get the right oven temperature. For a bog standard sponge cake in a non fan oven 180 degees C is the usual temperature. I agree that buying an oven thermometer is a good idea

1. Use the right size cake tins. For a 3 egg mixture I usually use 2 x 7 inch tins, greased and based lined with baking parchment

1. Weigh your ingredients exactly. I weigh three eggs in their shells, then use the same weight in SR flour, sugar and tub Stork then add a teaspoon of baking powder and some vanilla extract

1. Use the all-in-one recipe with the above ingredients. Just mix with an electric mixer until just blended. Do not overbeat or it will develop the gluten in the flour and the cakes won't rise

1. Bake for 25 minutes on the centre shelf of the oven. Test by sticking a skewer into the cake. If it comes out clean the cake is cooked. If not, just give it a few more minutes

1. Leave in the tin for a few minutes before turning out.

You are all very lovely, thanks so much for your advice, which has been duly noted.
Wish me luck!

Ginfordinner
Loving the tip about weighing the eggs and then the other ingredients, is this foolproof? Can I just add cocoa to the mix to make a chocolate cake?

Love the egg weighing also. ........lining your tin with baking paper or a ready made tin liner will make a big difference to the finished product. .

I never bake my cakes on 180, even though it's the standard recommended temp. I usually go for 150/160 depending on the size and bake for longer. Add water to your oven and do not open until at least 3/4 of the way through baking.

The egg method is foolproof, it's the original method for making a Victoria sponge. If you look at any vic sponge recipe, all ingredients are the same weight and they assume eggs to weigh 50g, eg a 4 egg recipe will tell you to use 200g each of flour, sugar, butter. Large eggs will weigh much more than that so you can customise the weight to be more exact.

Yes, just reduce the amount of flour. If, for example three eggs weigh 180 grams, then weigh out 180 grams of SR flour, then remove a tablesspoon of flour and replace it with a tablespoon of cocoa to make it up to 180 grams total. I got the egg weighing tip from mumsnet many moons ago. In the days before accurate scales this would have been how they measured ingredients for sponge cakes.

The other tip I forgot to write was to preheat your oven to the right temperature before putting the cake in.

Good luck

Weigh an egg cake. Weigh 4 large eggs, 8inch tins (greased with marg, bottom lined with baking paper), same weight of soft marg, caster sugar and SR flour. Eggs probably about 250g, use 1teaspoon of baking powder for each 100g of eggs (So prob 2 and a half Tsp for 4 eggs) and a good splash of liquid - usually milk but could be very strong coffee. For choc cake sub a quarter of the flour for cocoa. 180 degrees for 24 ish mins, til springy to touch.

@WoollyFoolly is yours a fan oven? I think the recommended temperature for a fan oven is 160 degrees. Fan ovens tend to dry things out more, so the addition of a steam bath would make sense.

This is the main reason I opted for a gas oven as I bake a lot and my sponges always come out light but moist.

How did the second cake go?

It's yet to happen, Saturday is BAKING DAY. Sunday is birthday day, I'm feeling sorry for all the recipients of a slice already.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond to this thread, It's made me feel a tad braver.

Hoping all goes well on Cake Day

Good luck

You are kind.

It wasn't a disaster!!
Although it does look like it was made by a toddler. However, I'm feeling like a winner and I have you all to thank

Picture, or it didn't happen

Seconded!

I would, but the name badly iced over the top would give away my superhero identity.

Imagine a squareish dog poo covered in sprinkles and you're mostly there.

Can you not blank out the name, or would that mean redacting the whole cake?

Was the recipient pleased? Did it taste nice?

It tasted pretty good and he was utterly thrilled, which is always good for the ego

Brilliant . Now what are you going to bake next?