Bad Cake

I'm exactly the same, all things cake related elude me!

Yours looks much better.

I'm so, SO sorry but... ?

Did you use the right kind of flower? My friend had a similar catastrophe last week and when I asked her about it, she said that the recipe had asked for gluten-free flour but she didn't have any so just used plain flour.....

Oh *mini* - ? (sorry)...... but nice nails/ polish

Mini, this may sound like a really stupid question but did you follow the recipe exactly and weigh everything? Thats where most people fall down, cakes are a bit of a science and if quantities are not exactly right they won't rise

I took your advice Sange and made some cakes today from a box mix- Toy Story cakes to be exact. They came out lovely whihc just goes to show there is nowt wrong with my oven and a lot wrong with my cake making technique.

Fool proof sponge;

1) Weigh 2 eggs in their shells

2) Whatever the weight of the eggs were you need exactly the same weights then of butter (or cake marg will do, gives a nice texture but not so good flavour) caster sugar, and PLAIN flour.

3) You need 6% baking powder to flour so eg if you have 100g of plain flour you'll need 6g baking powder.

4) Have all ingredients especially butter and eggs at room temperature.

5) Cream butter on it's own, then add sugar and cream until light and fluffy and pale

6) Slowly, gradually add the beaten eggs

7) Seive the flour and baking powder together 3 times then fold into the mixture

8) Don't leave the mixture to stand as the baking powder will begin working quite quickly.

9) Cooking times and temperatures vary depending on oven and depth of cake tins etc but they need to be pale, not too coloured, a skewer will come out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake and the top will spring back when pressed gently.

Follow these rules and your cakes will be absolutely perfect.

Fantastic, can't wait to see ?

BTW I generally also add the finely grated zest of a lemon or a teaspoon of vanilla extract (and replace caster with vanilla sugar) for a bit of extra flavour.

I can make biscuits!

Am all out of other ingredients today otherwise would try your sponge cake recipie JennyH, it sounds very complicated.

I went into detail hon that's all, it's really not complicated just get all ingredients at room temp and same quantities and you'll be great.

Bump

Que?

I was asked in the baking thread for some of my cooking successes.

Ohhhh! I didnt see that ?

I made brownies a couple of weeks back in an aim to do things whilst recovering from my surgery and after the allotted cooking time I placed a skewer in the dish and the top was just like the skin you have on a rice pudding so I left it in for twice the cooking time and when I got it out the fat seemed to have separated to the bottom. WTF! Was v disappointed.