Help from all you baking experts

[disneyfanatic60]

Twice in the past week, I had two round cakes not rise in the middle or deflat whichever it may be. I made a cake from a cake mix Saturday and my daughter made one from scratch yesterday. Both times, the same thing happened. The outside 2" of the cake rose perfectly, however, the inside was flat. The inside of the cake was cooked though.

I know my gas oven has always been off 25 degrees for years and we both adjusted the temp accordingly. I have had it happen on a rare occasion with a 9x13" cake before but it is rare. It's frustrating to have them not turn out and waste all the ingredients.

Does anyone have any ideas? I bake a lot and I am preplexed.

 

[SaraJayne]

Is it baking powder that makes things rise? I know if it is old, it loses it's "rising" power.

Have you checked the age of the powder? Or know you've had it a long time?

 

[kwelch10377]

Here are a few reasons that it could happen:

•Over beating the batter and incorporating too much air – the air can then cause a collapse.
•Temperature of the oven is too high causing the cake to rise too rapidly. Tip: Invest in an oven thermometer to check your oven temperature.
•Opening the door to check on the cakes before the batter is set can cause the cake to sink, as can closing the oven door too sharply in the early stages of baking.
•Placing the baked cakes to cool in a drafty place.
•Poor recipe, baking is a chemical reaction so the proportions have to be correct (a lot of times it is because of too much baking powder or if there are egg whites they haven't been incorporated well enough)

 

[LuvOrlando]

I remember reading about this a long time ago and checked my book "How to repair food" and it said the same thing about the baking powder. If it is cooking unevenly, which can cause the same thing, it says to lower the heat 50 degrees and cook another 15 minutes.

I seem to remember the over-beating thing too, from Tyler Florence on his TV show I think. He said it about breads, that if you manhandle stuff too much you break down the gluten (I think it what he said anyway) and then you'll get a mess so I guess it applies to anything with flour.

 

[HsvTeacher]

It sounds like the baking powder lost its rising power, because the cake rose around the edges and not in the middle. Since you said you used a cake mix, I bet it was close to or past the expiration date.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Are they new cake pans? They may bake differently that what you're used to. You can buy "bake-even strips" at Michael's or Hobby Lobby that you wrap around a pan to insulate it and get a more even bake.

 

[GaRain]

All great suggestions and right on the money.
If you were doing a made from scratch - don't forget to sift your dry ingredients to get an even distribution.

 

[disneyfanatic60]

Thanks for all the input. The cake mix was not old so I am ruling out the baking soda option. Funny someone mentioned the "pans." These are new pans and I was wondering if they had something to do with it. I do have an oven thermometer and have for years because my temp was always running 25 degrees higher and I do a ton of cookies and pastry baking and I adjust accordingly. I read somewhere it could be too much non-stick spray in the pan but I sprayed the pans last night and I "barely" used any so I am ruling that out too. I am going to buy a new oven thermometer just in case to replace the one I have. I just hate seeing ingredients going to waste when this happens! Thanks for the input.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

If it was the baking powder, it would more than likely not rise at all. I'm guessing over mixed or temp.

 

[Ponygirl]

You weren't jumping rope in the kitchen while the cake was baking, were you? When I was little, mom always said if we run or jump around in the house that we would make her cake fall. I'm pretty sure she used this as an excuse to get some peace and quiet!

Otherwise, I would have to go with the new pans causing your problem. Hope you can figure it out as it is very frustrating to have your hard work fail.

 

[emer95]

You weren't jumping rope in the kitchen while the cake was baking, were you? When I was little, mom always said if we run or jump around in the house that we would make her cake fall. I'm pretty sure she used this as an excuse to get some peace and quiet!

Otherwise, I would have to go with the new pans causing your problem. Hope you can figure it out as it is very frustrating to have your hard work fail.

That just put the funniest image into my head!

OP, I'm a baker too and I'd be so upset if that happened! You got a lot of good suggestions. I hope you find a solution!

 

[Judy Judy Judy]

I bought two new cake pans and made a cake last week. Not saying this is your problem but then again it just might be. My cake pans caused the cake to cook very quickly and it rose on the outside but not in the middle but the crust was golden brown all over. I think the temp was to high and the new pans caused mine to cook quickly and not evenly.

I go with lowering the temp and see if that helps, it did for me.

 

[disneyfanatic60]

Judy---sounds like my problem almost exactly. So if I turn the temp down another 25 degrees would I expect to have any other problems with the cake baking other than it may take longer?

 

[Judy Judy Judy]

Judy---sounds like my problem almost exactly. So if I turn the temp down another 25 degrees would I expect to have any other problems with the cake baking other than it may take longer?

I wish I could tell you for sure but I honestly don't know. In my case it solved the problem but in yours I would be afraid to say for fear it might not be the solution. I really think these new non-stick pans causes food items to cook a lot faster.

 

[Mommee]

My latest cake pan came with a notice to adjust the temp of the oven downward by 25 degrees unless the recipe is designed for a dark non-stick pan. I did as it suggested and my cake turned out beautifully