They are some common questions that everyone wants to know about baking. Even some of the professional bakers ask some of these questions so in today's article I will answer all the unanswered questions asked by bakers all over the world, which are:
Why do cake sink?
Cake Sink because of two reasons, the first reason is adding too much baking powder while baking, The second reason is opening the oven door few minutes into baking.
Why do cakes burn on top without cooking in the middle?
There are two reasons why cakes burn on top without cooking to the middle, the first one is when the baking oven is too hot, the second reason is when the oven is crowded, don't put too many tins inside one oven, this may result to poor air circulation and that can cause a top burn.
Why do some baked cakes have speckled tops?
Baked cakes have speckled tops because of Large granulated sugar used, most times it's caused by the mixture not creamed sufficiently leaving undissolved sugar. Take your time to mix properly.
Why do cakes have soggy tops?
Adding too much liquid, milk etc and the quantity of the eggs used can make a cake have Soggy tops.
What makes a cake come out dry and less moist?
Cakes come out dry or less moist because of too much baking powder and most time when it is over baked. To avoid such use the right measurement of baking powder and bake in moderate heat.
What makes fruit cake sink to the bottom of the pan?
This can occur when the cake mixture is too light or the fruit is too large e.g glace cherries etc
What caused a cake not to rise?
This occurs only when there's little baking powder or an old exposed baking powder is used or the oven is not properly preheated, another reason that can cause a cake not to rise is when the cake
The mixture is too stiff, over beaten and air knocked out, sometimes maybe the quantity of your mixture is small
When cakes have a crusty ring round the sides
Crusty rings are caused by over greasing the tins can.
When cakes have holes or tunnels forming in the centre
This occurs when the cake is over mixed, uneven mixing when folding in the flour, a mixture that is too dry can trap a pocket of air and this will also happen if the rising agent and flour are not properly sifted together.
When fruit cake has a hard crust on top
A crust will form if the oven is too hot or if the cake is baked for too long or too near to the top of the oven. A fruit cake baked for several hours must be protected with several layers of brown paper or newspaper wrapped around the tin to prevent a crust from forming.
When the cake slopes to one side
This occurs when the oven is not thoroughly preheating or not positioning the cake in the centre can cause this or a defective bent oven.
Written by: Chef Primeness (Ogar Matilda Ngukuran)
