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Sometimes our butter cakes don't turn out the way we
expected. Maybe they are domed, or sink in the middle, or are
too heavy, or have holes. There are many reasons that cakes
fail and understanding these reasons will help to prevent the next
disaster. To find out more about techniques used in making
butter cakes go to the Butter or
Shortened Cake page.
When baking butter cakes, as with all baking, it is very important
to accurately measure or weigh all your ingredients. Having too little or too much
of any one ingredient will affect the outcome of the cake. Also, the correct oven
temperature is paramount to a wonderful cake. A perfectly measured and mixed batter
will fail if your oven temperature is incorrect. Therefore, if you find your cakes
are done before the specified time, invest in a good freestanding oven thermometer to
accurately measure the temperature of your oven.
Proper mixing of the batter will also affect the outcome.
With the creaming method, creaming the butter and sugar develops air cells in the batter, which helps give
cakes their volume and texture.
Sifting the flour with the baking powder/soda
prevents uneven distribution of the leavener which can cause holes in the finished
cake. When adding the flour to the batter, do not overmix or it will produce too
much gluten. Too much gluten causes a cracked and domed top.
Some common problems and their causes are:
DOMED or CRACKED SURFACE and/or TUNNELS -
- batter over mixed
- wrong type of flour or too much
- too little baking powder/soda or sugar
- oven temperature too hot
CAKE SINKS IN THE CENTER -
- batter over mixed
- too much fat and/or sugar or leavening
- not enough
liquid
- oven temperature too low
CAKE DIDN'T RISE (COMPACT TEXTURE)
- improper mixing
- butter and eggs wrong temperature
- too much or too little fat
- too little baking powder or baking powder is too old
- oven temperature too hot
- wrong pan
size
TOP CRUST IS TOO DARK OR HARD
- over baked
- wrong oven temperature
- too much
sugar, baking powder/baking soda
COARSE
GRAIN AND DRY
- oven
temperature too low
- too much
baking powder/baking soda
- too little
liquid
CAKE
FALLING APART
- too much
baking powder/baking soda, sugar, or fat
- improper
mixing
- oven
temperature too low
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