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.

 

[spiceman1957]

You're right Butch-inNJ

about King Arthur Flour. There is flour and then there is King Arthur Flour. Terrific product. My late mom taught me a few things about making a cake from scratch as well as baking breads. 1. Have everything out at room temp. 2 Measure exact as she would tell me baking is all about science. My mother would even weigh the flour as she thought it was more accurate than using a measuring cup. Start with flour and end with flour when mixing. 3. Line the pans with wax paper. 4. Fill each pan as accurately as you can to avoid a lop-sided cake. 5. Drop the pans (lightly) with the batter in the pans on the counter to get out all the air bubbles. 6. When the cake start to pull away from the side, it usually a good indication that it is ready to come out of the oven. I glad to see here that "guys do love to bake"

 

[norgeway]

guys who love to bake

Don't you HATE that commercial about guys dont bake,stuff like that dosent usually bother me, but that one does,.

 

[mixfinder]

Drop that sucker!

Quite frankly, I don't understand clanking the cake pan on the table to get rid of "air bubbles." Firstly, they can't really occur in a butter cake. Beating, beating, beating, beating, to create those precious bubbles only to knock them senseless before the oven. Paula Deen does it, my hillbilly grandma and aunts on dad's side all did it and it was quite fashionable in the American kitchen of the 50's to rap the cakes on the edge of the counter. Try it in your own kitchen, whack one layer and not the other and see if there is a discernable difference. Air pocket are a big deal with Angel cake, leaving craters along the sides of the cake. In that one you gently cut through the batter with a spatula to ease the batter against the edge of the pan. Let's give it a whirl in the days ahead, whacking one layer and not it's brother and see if its real or a rural legend. It is definitely more prevalent in the Southern kitchen.

 

[maytagbear]

The King Arthur

catalogue and website are magnificent. The website has a truly lovely searchable recipe archive.

Ma got a kick out of how I read and re-read the print catalogue.

No matter if a person bakes breads, cakes, cookies......

Lawrence/Maytagbear

Link is to KAF website.

http://kingarthurflour.com

 

[toggleswitch2]

~Don't you HATE that commercial about guys dont bake,stuff like that dosent usually bother me, but that one does,.

Taylor, laundry men, bakers, chefs.

Funny how when a man does it for money (to make a living), all of a sudden it's prestigious

 

[jeffg]

Kelly, what's your opinion of lard as a cake fat? I mean purely from a taste/texture perspective, ignoring the health concerns.

My dad's mom refused to use anything else, and she lived to be 86.

 

[mixfinder]

Perspectives in Lard

My self, I use nothing but Lard-Lite! Fat is fat is fat is fat, your digestive process is no respecter of EVOO. Components like saturated fats and transfatty acid are not good for most people unless you work 18 hour shifts in Antarctica. Jeff, the biggest concern with lard is not knowing your pig. The best leaf lard comes from a younger pig that has been neutered. Nothing on the face of the earth, with the exception of Patchouli oil stinks as bad as lard or meat from a mature "intact" boar. That said, no baked good is as tender or moist as when it made from lard.
Its closest comparison would be high fat content butter, like the European style. We had pigs, chickens and beef that provide meals as well as lard, eggs and milk. A pig and a chicken walked past an orphanage and saw the hungry children. "Let go give them bacon and eggs for breakfast" said the chicken. "That easy for you." said the pig, "For you it’s a gesture of kindness; for me its total commitment." So would I buy Manteca off the grocery shelf to make pie, cakes or cookies, probably not? If I could get my hands on some home butchered lard its all good. Lard rancidifies rather quickly so it must be kept refrigerated. Mom even put bacon grease in cookies and cakes that were strong flavored, like Peanut Butter, Molasses spice or chocolate. I believe about 20% of what is urban legend and bandied about by Center for Science in the Public Interest and others like them. I believe minus 10,000 of what I see and read of commercially marketed "organic" products. Not even God can make 1,000 organic tomatoes the same size, ready at the same time and ship them across the country with out a blemish or spoilage, in the dead of winter. You really think that Whole Food produce so beautiful, lush and expensive is organic? Oh lord look what I've done. Gone off course and become a radical. A free radical, bane of the immune system.

As the threads grow you can see I have a revolving door of appliances.

 

[jeffg]

Kelly, thanks for the info. My grandma's cakes did seem to have that special something, they were feathery and more satisfying than anyone else's. Maybe it's that fifth taste-bud type that humans have, the one for meat fat?

She always got her lard from the butcher. I never saw a single package of Manteca in her cupboards or fridge. I buy it once in a while, but only to season or reseason cast iron cookware.

 

[mixguy]

Chicken fat used as shortening

One of my aunts used rendered chicken fat in place of butter in her baking and it was not noticable in her yellow cakes. She did this when there was no money to buy butter or shortening and the milk from the cows on the farm was lean. She made a chocolate fudge frosting that I have yet to master making! I have yet to get the timing right, it "turns" or solidifies before I can finish frosting the cake! I have have even tried using a hot water bath to slow the frosting cooling. She would bake thin cake layers rather than splitting or torting. I just need to practice more to get the timing right. Her cake pans were shallower than that is the norm today being 1 & 1/4 inches deep and were made of steel and had the attached knife to make sure no cake stuck to the pan. My mother bought a set of 3 nine inch Wearever aluminum pans with the knife blade but they were detachable for easy cleaning and of heavy guage and a sturdy rim. These pans had fairly straight sides. They were used to make the famous 1, 2, 3, 4 Cake using Crisco shortening, and all-purpose flour. Another aunt always used lard to make pie crusts and no one else in the family had a flakier pie crust. All of my mother's family including my grandpa, knew how to bake and they all had specialties that they and brought to family gatherings as well as holiday meals.

 

[mixfinder]

Fudge Frosting

We made one at home:
Chocolate frosting
Combine
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup evaporated milk or heavy cream
1/4 cup Karo Syrup
Combine in a heavy sauce and stir over medium heat until the frosting comes to a full boil. Lower the heat to medium low to maintain a steady boil and do not stir any more to prevent sugaring. Use a candy thermometer or cold water for soft ball test to make sure you have reached a soft ball stage. Remove from heat: Add
1 teaspoon vanilla
Let stand for 10 minutes and then beat with mixer until icing begins to lose it's gloss. Working quickly, frost the cake before icing sets. If icing is gets too firm, thin it with heavy cream.

This recipe makes an oustanding Sour Cream White Icing. Omit the cocoa and replace the evaporated with real, let it sour, sour cream. You can make soured cream by adding 2 tablespoons of buttermilk or yogurt to 1 cup of sweet heavy cream. Let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours. It should have a nice sizzle and tang on the tongue.

Here she is, the mom all us kids adore. She is in stage 3 Alheimer's and I go every week and stay Sunday through Tuesday to manage all things medical and to give dad a break.

 

[qsd-dan]

She is in stage 3 Alheimer's

What a shame

My condolences.