help needed - chocolate cake failure

[eskimofriends]

hi
i don't bake often and when i do i stick to tried and tested recipes
just broke that habit and followed a new recipe for a double chocolate cake to sandwich together with frosting - dh's birthday on sat
followed the recipe to the letter - but both halves are a bit burnt on the sides, and a lot flatter than the picture in the book
what did i do wrong? could it be the oven? in too long? really stumped...
how can i do it again with better results?
hope the creative cooks of mn can help

Sound like the oven was too hot. What a shame! Is it salvageable? Icing is a great disguise.

Agree burnt edges are a sign of too high. Should be max 180/gas 4 middle shelf and if it is a sandwhich then 20mins for a standard to 40mins for a wetter real chocolate mix. Use a timer to be on the same side.

Quality of tins - highly recommend Masterclass/silverwood.

Do you think its risen enough? Could you redo? I would recommend a recipe from BBC goodfood website. www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3092/ultimate-chocolate-cake

The following one can be made using 20cm round x2 sandwhich www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4689/chocolate-cake

scale down
smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/07/you-are-owed-chocolate-cake/

Eskimo, do you have a fan oven or normal? if its fan you always lower the temp by 10 and for alittle less time than the norm.

thankyou thankyou thankyou!
that was so helpful. I did the recipe again - i have a fan oven so i reduced the time and temp and the cakes came out perfect! i'm going to ice them when they're cooled down - and surprise dh in the morning
thanks so much again

Other thing to note is cake is very rarely bad. Even if it's flat, you could still eat it - trim off worst burnt bits, sandwich together with something 'moist' to mask any dryness. Or ice it and hide the lot.

Or, you could use the cakey bits for trifle sponges. Or cut bits out as ersatz whoopie pies, or use for ice cream cakey sandwiches. Or even blitz up and use as the beginnings of cake pops.

Your welcome Eskimo, i also have a fan oven, and for ages stuck to the normal temps as it says in the books, i was gobsmacked when things went wrong as i always followed recipes to the book, so did of looking into this, lowered the temp, lowered the cooking time, results were perfect, i make alot of cakes for people so they have to be right, and now they always are.

As far as your flatter than norm cakes are concerned Eskimo, i always cream the butter and sugar first for at least 5 mins or longer doing that makes it so much lighter and fluffy, i bought a stand mixer with a beater and i wouldnt be without it now.

Eskimo, how did the cake turn out?