my fairy cakes are all wrong.

[pipsqueakz]

I have tried all sorts of recipes and my cakes always spread go flat are dense or very fluffy but flat help!? Please.

Get a cupcake tray and make them deeper, cupcakes cook a lot better than fairy cakes (I find).

The secret is in the creaming of the butter and sugar (says my mum) .

OK thank you I will try the sugar butter creaming technique and get a cupcake tray. I will beat the pancake lousy fairy cake method I have sunk into.

Should I cut out the milk??

Use proper butter

Cream well - get loads of air in

Beat the crap out of the eggs and add bit by bit.

I never use a muffin tin for fairy cakes, only for cupcakes/muffins. I just put double cake cases on any old baking tin.

Do not ice until properly cool.

Was going to say, try the basic/traditional fairy cake recipe first i.e., without milk, see how that goes? Please let us know how you get on?

Cream the butter and sugar first, then add the eggs mix with an electric mixer, add the flour in small amounts, mix, add essence/extract and only add milk if needed ( a splash). Put in paper cases in even amounts. Cook for around 12-16mins in the middle of the oven at 180c

Recipes using sr flour are best

I will let you know how it goes. Gonna take butter out fridge in minute and gonna have another attempt when lo's in bed need to be stress free lol. I will try traditional recipe tonight. So 6,6,6 2eggs. 170°fan oven. Think I have s.r flour.

Are you using caster sugar?

You need to cream the butter and sugar until it goes paler in colour, then beat in the eggs a bit at a time.

Sieve the flour then fold into the mix a couple of spoons at a time using a large metal spoon.

If using vanilla add at the same time as the eggs.

So basically you put as much air in as possible during the first 2 steps, then keep the air in when you fold in the flour.

They should be cooked in 15 minutes.

Buns should be 200, whereas cakes 180 for 25-30 minutes.

Let them cool for a few minutes before lifting them out to cool on a cooling rack.

They are cooked when you press down on the top and it springs back.

Don't open the oven door while they are cooking. Do 10 minutes, then just peek to see how brown they are.

The only time I have had flat buns was when I used a cupcake recipe which had milk in. They rose and the collapsed but they tasted ok

And all the ingredients have to be room temperature

Yes am using caster sugar, I will try without the milk and see if they come alive lol.

My mum always taught me to use 2oz of dry ingredient to each egg. So if you're doing a 2 egg mix (12 cakes) then you only need 4oz of flour/sugar/butter.

Cream the butter and caster sugar well.

Beat in the eggs.

Fold in the flour.

Bake for 15 mins at 160.

I've never had a bad batch of cakes and I've been baking them since I was 9 years old!

If you're using SR flour then you've got way too much baking powder by adding another TBSP.

Have you watched them as they cook - do they rise then go flat? Not rise at all?

A couple of tbsps of milk shouldn't hurt - as long as it's not too runny when you put it in the cases.

yy to the 1 egg to 2oz ratios.

Hardly rise stay fairly flat

See here for some more troubleshooting advice:

good food

www.great-recipes.com/baking-tips/cake-baking-tips.html

I've never been successful with the all in one method either, it probably works better in a Magimix.

I'd suggest trying Stork instead of butter, there are no trans fats in it. Because it has a water content, it creates steam as the mix cooks, which creates bubbles of air, and therefore more lift!

I'd also suggest trying a slighter higher temp to cook them. When I want flat ones to ice, I cook them at 180 for 20 mins. If I want peaks, I cook them at 190-200 for 18 mins.

Update: cakes went like buns then sunk back into themselves. Tried one tasted like syrup sponge and left like a film on my teeth :( now I feel as flat as my cakes.

Thank you for the link doradoo.I will have a look.

Don't know if this is any help but ...

I always use Nigella's recipe, discussed and shown on this thread here

Really quick and easy in the Kenwood thingy.

They never fail.

Interestingly, she uses SR flour and baking powder

I try and get as much air in to the mix as possible by sifting the flour and beating the eggs.

Agree about everything needing to be room temp

Butter soft but not melting

Only add drop of milk at the end if mixture seems too solid (eggs were smaller than usual for example).

Would recommend that final mixture is "dropping" consistency ie will cling to beater attachment but is kind of falling off it too (if that makes sense).

Good luck!

Btw, I sometimes add a bit of lemon juice/zest and inside of half vanilla pod instead of vanilla essence. Works well.

Also use muffin tins with muffin cases but only makes 10 instead of 12 in Nigella recipe

if it goes up then sinks back in, it's too much baking powder.

I have this trouble a lot with baking as I can't buy SR flour where I live and have trouble with ratios.....

Maybe I shouldn't of put baking powder in with s.r. flour I just wanted to make sure they rose :/

Had adverse reaction maybe that was the nasty after taste I experienced?
Gonna get some stork and decent sr flour in the morning. I will crack this cake making malarky.!

I do everything to the weight of 2 eggs.... (ie weigh the eggs, the measure out your stork and sugar and flour to the same weight). Cream stork and sugar, add beaten eggs, fold in flour, add a dash or two of milk if its not "dropping consistency". Spoon into cake cases in a muffin tin, bake for 15-20 min at 180 (160 fan) no idea gas.... Until golden and springy!

You shouldn't need baking powder with sf flour & definetly omit the milk unless a very small splash is needed.
I use this standard recipe most of the time and it always works for me. And i second what a pp says about using stork, i use it myself.
125g butter/margarine
2 medium eggs
125g sugar
125g flour
A drop or two of flavouring
A very small splash of milk if needed, you may or may not need to depending on the consistency of the mixture.

Pre heat oven to 180c
Make sure all ingredients are room temp
Cream the sugar and margarine together until fully mixed and fluffy.
Add the eggs, mix with electric mixer.
Then fold in the flour a bit at a time, then for the food colouring and small splash of milk only if needed, mix again.
Spoon into paper cases equally, using an icecream scoop makes this easier.
Pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and risen.
Do not open the oven until atleast 15 mins has gone by! The cakes could sink in the middle!

Once cakes have cooked, take out from oven and leave to cool.
Never had any disasters with this recipe or method yet

Definitely too much baking powder - it blows them up too much and they don't hold their structure. Plus, if your oven is too hot, which is easy with a fan oven, they can sometimes appear cooked, but not be in the middle, which would make them sink, too. If your oven has a conventional option, it would be worth trying that out at 190.

For basic cake mix, I just do the equal weights thing, add a drop of milk if it's overly dry and whether I mix all in one or a bit at a time, by hand or with a mixer, it turns out fine

Thanks for your advice all, I will sleep on it and see what tomorrow brings. Sil is gonna give me a few pointers tomorrow too.