cakes - advice please.......................

[ilovearnold]

Hi every time i make a cake the outside seems slightly burnt and inside a bit damp!!! i follow recipe to the letter.i have to do by hand - no mixer.I wd guess that my oven is a bit odd but i cant work out wahts going on to adjust heat settings- dnt want to abandon cake making but they are just no good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!thanksx

sounds like your oven is too hot, or the tins are too close to the side of the oven (eg if you have 2 tins side by side, the outer edge of each is too close to the sides of the oven and burns)

do you line the tins with any baking paper?

yes i line them - i thought that was to stop sticking- does it have another function- sorry im hopless!!!!!!!!!!!!but at least admitting it as want to move on to greater cake making abilities- fingers crossed....if oven too hot even tho i follow the recipie heat ,how to i adjust,to nearer to waht recipie is asking for -as i dont know how to hot my particular oven is functioning with mind of its own !!

yes baking paper stops sticking but also can protect the edges from burning/ or you can cut a circle to cover the top if the tops are burning when the middle is still not cooked

try turning the oven down 10 degrees - if it is a fan oven it should be at a lower heat than the recipe says anyway

thanks will try all these tips - let baking re commemnce!!x

Ashamed is correct that you should have a fan oven at a lower temperature, typically 10 deg.C lower. Also, it could be worth buying an oven thermometer (only about £5) to check that your oven really is cooking at the temperature it says it is.