9.110
General Baking Guide
Trouble-shooting - fruit cakes
PROBLEM
POSSIBLE CAUSE
Fruit sinking to the bottom
Low oven temperature which may cause the cake
to take longer to set, allowing the fruit to sink. Or,
too much liquid, or raising agent. The fruit may
not have been properly washed and dried.
Cake sinking / dipping in the
centre
Too much raising agent in the mixture. Too hot, or
too cool an oven. Or, not enough liquid or insuf-
ficient creaming.
Surface cracks
Too small a tin, or too much mixture in the tin.
Too much raising agent in the mix, plus not
enough liquid or insufficient creaming. The oven
may be too hot.
Hard outer crust with a damp
patch inside
Oven too hot, therefore the cake baked too
quickly. Too much sugar, or insufficient liquid.
Burnt outside
Oven temperature too high. Oven too small for
the size of cake. Insufficient protection around the
tin. Cake baked on too high a shelf.
Texture with pronounced holes.
Too much raising agent. Flour unevenly mixed.
Texture too close and cake insuf-
ficiently risen.
Not enough raising agent. Not enough liquid. Too
cool an oven. Insufficient creaming.
Cake crumbles when cut
Not enough liquid. Baked for too long. Not enough
sugar. Too much baking agent.
Too dry
Over baking. Insufficient egg or liquid. Too much
raising agent.
Trouble-shooting - sponge cakes
Domed top
Insufficient creaming of mixture. Cake baked on
too high a shelf position, or at too high a tem-
perature. Paper liners can cause the outer edge
not to rise and the centre to peak.
Hollowed / sunken top
Too much raising agent. Oven temperature too
low, or incorrect shelf position. Cake removed
from oven before it’s cooked. Use of soft tub
margarine.
Very pale, but cooked
Oven temperature too low. Baked too low in the
oven
Overflowing tin
Tin too small for the amount of mixture
USING THE OVEN/GRILL - MULTI-FUNCTION
