My cake was a disaster

[Not Delia]

Baked a simple chocolate cake for my wee son. He loved it but I'm disappointed - It didn't rise to the occasion.

Wonder why? My maid thinks I should've added some baking soda but the recipe didn't call for it.

Any fool-proof technique? I would love some suggestions. Thanks!!

[mangosteen]

So sorry your cake was a disappointment!  I know that's hard when you've put time and effort into it.  

Here are some ideas for what may have gone wrong, and what you can try for the future.  

1.  Make sure the baking powder isn't expired.  
2.  Don't overmix.  Combine all the dry ingredients first, and then mix just enough to fold everything together.  
3.  Make sure you're using 'large' size eggs - not the small kampong eggs.  
4.  Grease the pan exactly as directed.  If only the bottom is to be greased, that is because the batter will need to 'climb' the sides of the pan in order to rise.  If you grease the sides, it can't climb!  

Finally, even if you do everything perfectly, sometimes cakes turn out well and sometimes they don't.  Blame it on the Singapore humidity and better luck next time!  

[mangosteen]

P.S.   At least your son enjoyed your cake - how nice to have an appreciative food critic!  

[Betty Crocker]

It's not "authentic" but we always buy pre-mixes.  Almost impossible to screw up and the fun is in the kids helping.  We also do lot's of cookies this way.

It is so simple that they get to do everything except put it in the hot oven.  Then they get to decorate it - "Any way they want to!" No rules - let the creative juices flow!

Trust me - the memories of making the stuff with mom will far outweigh any memories of you being super mom and producing bakery class cakes.

[Tin size]

Was the tin size exactly right, even half an inch makes a huge difference to the 'risen' look of the cake?

[Fraggle]

Was the flour the right kind?- self raising is what is mostly used in cake recipes.

[ovenss]

Did you open the oven early in the cooking, if so you will lose heat and the cake will sink. Was the temp correct? Did the cake take the time that was quoted in the recipe- if not, maybe your thermostat is out.

[cake rules]

cake rules that my mum taught me, for better or worse!:

* leave butter and eggs to sit out until they're room temp before starting

* cream butter and suger first, making sure sugar is added slowly enough to dissolve and cream properly

* then add eggs

* before you start adding flour and milk make sure everythings ready to go - it's from this stage that you have to do it quickly and get it in the oven for best results

* use self-raising flour or plain flour and lots of baking powder or cake won't rise

* alternate adding portions of flour and milk, starting with bigger portions of flour, smaller of milk, slowly changing so you finish with adding smaller portion of flour and more of milk

* don't beat on high speed when adding milk and flour, either use very slow speed or do it by hand - you're folding in more so than beating together

* get it in the pan and in the oven and then DONT open oven before the cake is at least 3/4 through the cooking time or it will sink and not rise again..

[beppi]

You remind me of my wife, who invariably after cooking tells me "It's a disaster, I did everything wrong and the outcome is terrible."

I'm gaining weight on her "disasters", though, because they taste so good ...

[Spot!]

One thing that I have found is that the oven temperature needs to be slightly lower than that as recommended in the recipe (no more than 5-10degrees lower).

I purchased an oven themometer as I didn't trust the temperature dial on my oven.

My cakes seem to do much better now.

You might also like to avoid placing the cake in a cold area to cool down and don't "bang" or knock the cake when you remove it from the oven and set it down.

Good luck - if you find the secret let us all know!

[Not Delia]

Thanks guys. I don't know what exactly I did wrong. I didn't use baking soda, maybe that was it, eh?

On a brighter note,last night I baked Bill Granger's Choc Oats Cookies. They turned out great!

[Convection OVEN ???]

Make sure you are using the same kind of oven that the recipe calls for.

Most of my recipes from the USA use a regular oven NOT a convection oven.  We only have a convection oven here so have to adjust as convection cooks faster. We lower the tempature just a small amount and check it 5 to 10 minutes before it should be done.

[just a thought]

Would you be willing to share the bill granger's choc oats cookie recipe?

[Recipe as requested]

Recipe as requested. It's scrumptious!

150g unsalted butter, softened
230g soft brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
125g plain (all purpose) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
235g rolled oats
175g chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 180C.
• Cream butter and sugar until fluffy and smooth.
• Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
• Sift flour, baking powder and salt into bowl and mix lightly.
• Add oats and chocolate chips and stir to combine.
• Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls and place on baking trays. Flatten with a fork dipped in flour.
• Bake 15-20 minutes, or until pale golden.
• Remove from oven and cool on trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

By the way, it's really sweet so you might want to reduce the sugar. Other than that, it's purfect. I add almonds to mine!

[just a thought]

Thanks for the recipe.  When you say to reduce the sugar, how much sugar would you suggest?