How to bake a cake..........

[butch-innj]

Whenever I bake a cake it always humps up in the middle.
Why?
I have 2 homemade cakes that I've been making for years and I've tried everything including pushing the batter from the middle to the edge so theres a well in the middle to wrapping the outside edge with wet materiel thinking that the edges of the cake bake first and that pushes the batter into the middle of the pan so it bakes up higher.
There must be a reason why this happens.
Does this happen to anyone else?
How is this problem solved without cutting off some of the cake to make it flat.
It always happens to my homemade banana cake and chocolate cake.

 

[petek]

For cakes that are to be frosted or iced you turn then over out of the cake pan and the flat bottom becomes the flat top. You can do the same with the second layer or leave it upright so the cake has a rounded top.

 

[toggleswitch2]

yay to a good flip-flop!

 

[butch-innj]

petek........

I already do that....but.....they are SO rounded on the top that when I flip the one over (so it'll be the bottom layer with the flat side up) then the flat side cracks down the middle.
I must be doing something wrong during the initial baking.
I even went out and bought expensive baking pans (very shiny heavy duty aluminum) like I see the cooks on TV using, thinking that might make a difference.
It didn't.

 

[polkanut]

When you add your leavening ingredients, i.e. baking powder, baking soda, are your measurements exactly level?

 

[butch-innj]

Yes,

I do measure everything exact.

 

[mixguy]

Oven too hot most likely

Try cutting back on the oven temperature of your oven 15-25 degrees. Your oven may not be calabrated exactly. If this a new issue, this may be a sign of thermostat failure. Reducing temperature is the most likely cure if the recipe has been successfully been made before in another oven at the same altitude.

 

[washerboy]

try this

I took a cake decorating class several years ago..the instructor told us to use dental floss to trim the "hump" level.

 

[iheartmaytag]

Dont grease the sides of the pan

Only the bottom. This way as the cake cooks it can't pull away from the pan and hump itself. I mean make a hump. When you go to remove it from the pan just run a sharp knife around the edges and out it pops, without the hump.

You can also try decreasing your baking temperature by about 25 degrees. It will take a bit longer to bake, but won't have risen quite as rapidly. I do both, lower temp, don't grease sides.

Try it--It's a good thing.

 

[butch-innj]

Mixguy.....Washerboy

I had the gas company come to my house and calibrate the oven
for me....AND....I bought a thermometer that hangs in the oven
too....the temp appears to be correct but I guess I could cut
the temp back a little and see what happens.

WASHERBOY -

I always wanted to take a cake decorating course but never have gotten around to it. I hope you enjoyed it and it was a good experience.
I bought one of those leveling devices that I think Wilton makes that you can adjust and it uses a thin wire to cut thru the cake to level it with.
BUT....I just can't figure out why my cakes do this. I see cooks and chefs on TV and theirs always comes out perfect.
I must be doing something wrong. The cakes are always very good and I get compliments on them but this is just frustrating to me.

 

[mixfinder]

Mixguy win!

Baking in an oven that runs hot can cause the humps, further exacerbated by greasing the edges of the pan, darkened pans and batter that tends to be a bit dry. Begin by investing in an oven thermometer and making sure you are between 325 and 350. The larger the cake pan the lower the oven heat. You can overwrap the exterior of the pans with aluminum foil to reflect radiant heat. Wilton sells pan wraps with are terry cloth strips that resemble a sweat band. They are soaked in water and then wrapped around the edges of the pan to slow browning, a real problem in baking larger layers for wedding cakes. You can replicate the same thing with strips of an old bath towel secured with string. You may try increasing sugar by 1/4 to 1/2 cup as sugar makes batter more moist or slack. Line the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper and cool cakes in the pan resting on a wire rack. I use a long bladed knife and cut across the top of the layer to remove humps, using the edges of the cake pan as a template. Overwrapping the cake with Saran wrap the second it comes from the oven and still in the pan makes the cake super moist and more compact for aggressive decorating.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Older ovens with mechaincal thermostats DO tend to start runing hotter as they mature.

(As opposed to the rest of us who cool off after 40).

 

[scott55405]

Speak for yourself Toggle ;-)

Anyway, so what do newer ovens use? Is it some sort of computerized microchip thing?

My Caloric holds its temp perfectly. I do have to set it 75 degrees below only because the temp dial is not original and doesn't match up correctly. I don't like gas ranges, but this one overall is pretty good.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Well actually MEN cool off after 40. WOMEN get hotter...
(ducks and runs).

Yes sensor and chip thingy. UGH!
Really expensive and not very long-lasting!

about $300+/- to replace IIRC.

 

[norgeway]

cake problems

I found out the hard way ,if you want a really light ,even texture,and to do away with the hump.....buy yourself some Swans Down cake flour, even if the recipe calls for all purpose,use cake flour,also do not try to bake with margerine,it wont work ,my grandmother baked with it and did fine,but there is more water in what you buy now so you end up with a sad streak a lot of times,if you really want perfect texture,and butter flavor too,use butter flavor crisco,makes the best texture,also ,get you a old stove and mixmaster mixer, I use a 59 Caloric.

 

[butch-innj]

I've never.......

baked anything with cake flour.
Isn't that different than regular all purpose flour?
Don't you have to use a different amount or something?
I've always used King Arthur flour (a little pricey) but it works for me.
I'm not complaining about the texture of the cakes I bake...just that durned hump !

 

[norgeway]

cake flour

Cake flour is much finer and lighter than regular,it is made for one thing ,cakes,try it ,it is not expensive and really does make a huge difference,you are reccomended to use slightly more of it when substituting for all purpose,I just use it cup for cup,as far as I know,you have 2 brands available,Swansdown and Softasilk,both are good,I use swansdown,here in the south for all purpose most people use Red Band or White Lilly, I use Virginias Best,both self rise and A.P., seriously,try a box of cake flour,it really does make a difference,...Hans Craig

 

[ronhic]

My tuppence worth....

The one thing that people havn't mentioned here is overmixing.

A batter that is either too dry and/or OVERMIXED will result in a peaked top.

If the recipe is an 'old' one...say that your gran may have made, it is entirely possible that you are overmixing ESPECIALLY if you are using a modern mixer.

If it were me and there is no 'mixing' time given, I would reduce the actual time you have been mixing it for by at least a third possibly half.

If there is a mixing time given, but it is an old recipe, I would try a time and/or speed reduction.

and if this doesn't work and gives you a heavy cake...you can always make a trifle or lamingtons out of it if it...

 

[mixfinder]

Beaten up

Its almost impossible to overbeat in the first part of creaming butter and sugar. Its the moment you add flour that you must take extra precaution to not over beat. If you've spent 20 minutes beating air into butter and sugar, you can knock it flat in 30 seconds. There is gluten in flour, more in all purpose and less in cake or pastry. When adding the dry ingredients, keep the mixer on low until everything mixed in and then increase speed to medium low for just a few seconds. Shut'er down, she done for! You can always separate the eggs and whip the whites separately from the batter. I mix the batter in the Sunbeam as it aerates better and whip the whites with the Kitchenaid. Folding them in gives the cake more lift and makes it more tender.