Cake making whats the secret???

[Chippychop]

I am rubbish at making sponge cakes. They never rise and are crispy on the outside. Todays effort was a Chocolatemarble cake from bbc good food website. I followed it to the letter, using my new food processor, butter was soft and eggs room temperature, mixture didnt curdle. I think it tastes ok but not like my neighbours which was light fluffy and massive. Over to the experts.......

oven too hot? do you use caster sugar?

i mix cakes by hand, soften butter and sugar, then add eggs one by one and beat inbetween. then gradually add flour. then into cake tin

do you sieve flower (from height)? Is your oven dodgy - I say this because it is crusty on the outside but can't think why.

Do you open the oven to see how it's doing (this will cause it not to rise). Never open door until at least 3/4 of way through cooking. Do you put the mixture in the oven as soon as it is mixed (leaving it will stop it being fluffy). Are you tin sizes the right size for the recipe?

I often resort to sticky chocolate cakes/brownies that are meant to be sticky and gooey rather than light and fluffy.

Sometimes it work and sometimes (when it matters naturally) it doesn't but it shouldn't not work all of the time.

if your cakes are cripsy and flat i would think this is a combination of any of the below reasons;

your tins are too large for the size of mixture
you have cooked them 2/3 mins too long
you have over-greased the tins
you've over beaten the mix once the flour has gone in
your eggs may not be a fresh as you think

hth

I used caster sugar and sieved flour but not from a height. Can you over or under wizz it in the food proc??? I wizzed until it was smooth and creamy. I'm wondereding if the oven was to hot...its fairly new and seems to cook things quickly. May have another go....

My 'secret' is to make sure that the butter and sugar are REALLY well creamed together. Using room-temp butter will help, but then you do need to mix the mixture for a good few mins - exact time will depend on labour saving device used; or not if you are old school! You want to see the butter/sugar mixture significantly lighten in colour, and if you were to rub some between your fingers, the sugar would be dissolved.

Then, per DB, add eggs one by one, mixing well in between, with a spoonful max of flour. Add the rest of the flour (sieved) and then mix as little as possible so as to keep all the air in your mixture.

Then, place in pre-heated oven straight away. Do not delay, as the rising agents start to activate once the flour is mixed in.

Crispy on the outside? Do you have a fan oven, and do you adjust the time (down?). Or maybe your oven runs hotter than you think?

Yikes! Messed up that bolding there, didn't I?!

....and make sure that the four is fairly fresh, check the best-before date.

I mean FLOUR!

Sieve everything. And I think the fat you use makes a huge difference. I never use real butter for sponge cakes, I always use Vitalite and save the butter for the icing

And I second beating my hand too. I do it because I'm too tight to buy a mixer, but I also find it enormously satisfying. I clearly need to get out more

I always use butter!
I only really started baking last summer, but am quite good at it, though I go for flavour over looks which is why I favour butter.
I use a mixer too, a Kenwood Chef which I love.

I second the point about not using real butter: Flora Butterly or Stork really do make better cakes - and I just put all the (sieved) ingredients in the bowl and whisk - done in 5 minutes. Just made a triple decker chocolate number for my DDs birthday today.

Crispy on outside - cooked too long, or oven too hot (do you have a hot fan oven? I had similar problems until I started baking at 20 degrees cooler than stated in the recipes)

Cake too flat - make sure the flour is properly sieved - or cake tin too big

secret ingredient for light cakes every time: if you're using self raising flour, still add half a teaspoon of baking powder

I read on another thread on here some time ago, about using an electric whisk to cream the sugar and stork together, until it went pale, light an fluffy, then whisk in the eggs, then gently fold in the sieved flour. Worked a treat! I got a really light, fluffy, moist sponge out of it and I never looked back!

Can't remember who suggested the electric whisk, but whoever you are, thank you.

Ok will buy more eggs tomorrow and begin the on slaught!

Pallymama can you send me your recipe?

Seiving flour is a complete waste of time, makes absolutely no difference unless you want to get knibs out. Adds to washing up!

Good quality ingredients - good butter, fine flour, top quality eggs (farmgate best - nice bright yellow yokes), Best chocolate - high cacoa (couveture chocolate), pure Vanilla, I sometimes add a chocolate essence. Sometimes searching for better ingredients at a nice deli instead of some of the rubbish found in the supermarket.

Over mixing is the problem. I have the most success by a quick blast in haste. Be very careful adding more baking powder - if over done it leaves a nasty bitter taste and the cake can deflate once out of oven. Lots of recipes I use add a tiny amount of baking powder.

Agree that good baking tins are a good investment such as silverwood/JL/Mermaid. Burnt edges are a sign that the time heated up too quick. Suppose some people would use a ban-marie to stop this.

Make sure you do everything quick, once the baking powder is wet in the mix the bubbles are starting to develop hence you must not go off and leave it. Staight in oven asap.

Also some cakes taste better with age, I find a rich chocolate cake tastes perfect after a couple of days once all the ingedients has fussed together.