SOS! Cake baking emergency

[Jamesblema]

DDs birthday is tomorrow. I’m baking her cake tonight. I’ve just gone to start weighing ingredients and the battery on my scales ran out. My bicarbonate of soda is out of date too 😱

I have baking powder, cocoa, caster sugar, eggs, stork, butter. I also have cup measures.

can anyone magic up a recipe that is in cups and doesn’t involve bicarbonate of soda?

I also can’t nip to the shops because I’m on my own in the house and she’s in bed

You could Google cake recipe in cups?

Have you got any flour?

If you use Google as a converter (make sure to tell it what product you're weighing!) it'll give a cups to grams ratio.

https://bakefromscratch.com/basic-1-2-3-4-cake/

I'd use the bicarbonate. I don't hold with best before dates, if it looks and smells ok I'd use it!!

The bicarbonate of soda will be absolutely fine to use

I have never in my life looked at the dates on a tub of bicarbonate of soda - it might not work 100% but its a basic chemical so I won’t go off!

Have you got a yoghurt as you can use the pot as a measure I this lovely cake, you can double up the recipe and cook in a round tin rather than as a loaf cake.

https://theclevermeal.com/yogurt-cake/

Take the battery out and rub it before popping out t back in. Worked for me recently

If you’ve got self raising flour you don’t need bicarb.

With plain flour, baking powder is fine, lots of recipes don’t use bicarb. (Baking powder is bicarb and cream of tartar with a but if cornflour, generally)

You'll need flour.

Also Nigella’s website allows you to choose cup measurements

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/old-fashioned-chocolate-cake

Test it with a bit of white vinegar or lemon juice, if it fizzes it's still good. This type of thing is usually good long after the date.

Depends how out of date. If absolutely ancient, it won’t rise.

If a month or three, no matter.

I’ve got self raising flour. Stupidly threw the bicarbonate in the bin

Yep, the bicarb will be safe to use, as in it won't make you ill, but it won't be as effective - it loses its raising power over time, especially if the pack has been opened a while. I've never used bicarb in a standard sponge recipe though, just baking powder.

Can you borrow batteries from another appliance in the house?

Yep, I do this all the time!

Bicarb lasts forever unless it gets damp.

i Do have plain Greek yogurt

Bicarb has a best by date? I reckon on being a bit of a baker and have never noticed, wouldn't worry about that at all unless you are talking about years. My mum didn't own scales she used a tablespoon to measure. I bet that's on Google somewhere. I think a tablespoon was an ounce but not 100% sure. An egg is 2 ounces. So a victoria sandwich would be 2 spoons for each egg of sugar and flour, block butter is easy but not sure about soft spreadsheet

YES!! This is what I need. You are lovely and fabulous

A Victoria sponge is equal quantities of everything.

I work in ounces, when I'm scaleless (I know it's old fashioned, but it's easier to estimate.

1oz = A heaped spoon of flour or a rounded spoon of sugar and an egg is about 2 oz.

So for a small vic sandwich you need

• 3 eggs
• 6 heaped spoons of flour
• 6 rounded spoons caster sugar
• 180g of a pack of butter (they usually have 50g measurements or use about 2/3 of a 250g tub.

A level teaspoon is optional. As is a tablespoon of milk to make a wetter mix.

Wizz everything together, bake and enjoy! Happy birthday to the birthday girl.

A level tsp baking powder is optional I meant!

Main thing with sponge is equal amounts of everything so if you did 1 mug flour, butter, sugar & 4 eggs it should be fine. Add a bit of milk if it seems dry, more flour if too runny. If you're using self raising flour a teaspoon of baking powder is enough, plain flour more like a tablespoon (doesn't matter if it's out of date it lasts forever really). Cocoa should be part of the flour amount so maybe 1/3 cocoa and 2/3 flour

Yes, warm it in your hand for a moment before putting it back in.