This is a common mistake, and can cause your cake to collapse because the rush of cold air stops your caking from rising. Leave the oven closed for at least 3/4 of the cooking time, and then when you do check the cake, if it still needs more baking wait at least 5-10 minutes before opening the oven again.
Why You Should Avoid Repeatedly Opening the Oven Door. We know it can be tempting to crack the oven door to get a better look of what's going on inside, but overdoing it you can actually slow down the baking process or compromise the rise of baked goods.
If you open the door during this crucial baking period, cold air rushes into the oven and disrupts the rise of your cake. The rising batter could contract and collapse, producing a cake that sinks in the middle. Wait until the end of the cooking time to check your cake and test it for doneness.
You can leave the door open to allow the heated air to flow throughout the room, but this can create a dangerous area to bump into for children, pets, and even adults. The heat coming from an oven left on for prolonged times can also cause damage to temperature dials and other items nearby.
The oven door is opened too soon
But please, don't do that. Opening your oven door means letting the hot air out. As a result, it's common to see the cakes sink after the oven is opened too prematurely or too many times. Some recipes state to rotate the cake halfway through the baking time.
For a cake that is fairly evenly undercooked, simply put it back in the oven for 10 or so minutes. For a cake that is undercooked only in the middle, get out your handy dandy aluminum foil, cover the cake, and place it back in the oven for about 10 minutes.
Cakes, on the other hand, can quickly become spoiled if they are not stored correctly or are exposed to the air for an extended period of time.
Opening your oven door can make the temperature of the oven drop dramatically. In fact, the the internal temperature can drop 25 degrees.
Corriher, in her recently published book Bakewise, says that the oven temperature can drop 150° or more if the oven door is left open just thirty seconds! The oven can then take several minutes to come back up to full temperature.
The cake springs back
The best way to do this is to gently press on the center of the cake with a few fingers to see if it springs back. If your fingers leave little indents, your cake isn't done baking. Return it to the oven for at least 5 minutes before checking it again.
Opening the oven door before the crust hardens can make the bread collapse. You can open the door during the first 2 minutes of baking. This window is often used to spray water to create steam. After this, the oven should be kept closed for the next 15-20 minutes, or a few minutes after the bread has finished rising.
When baking a cake, once you're at the desired temperature, keep your oven on the bottom element only, or on one of the fan-assisted options (never the grill!). (Pro-tip: When using the fan-assisted options, set the oven to 20°C less than the recipe states, as fan assist cooks quicker and is a dryer heat.)
Room Temperature Butter / Don't Over-Cream
Most cakes begin with creaming butter and sugar together. Butter is capable of holding air and the creaming process is when butter traps that air. While baking, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffy cake. No properly creamed butter = no air = no fluffiness.
Booming sounds (like, say, a slamming oven door) can cause vibrations that affect the outcome of your cake. Of course, most baked goods aren't sensitive enough to respond negatively to regular kitchen noise.
Don't open the door
It happens to be tempting to open the oven door to check on top of your cakes or cookies but avoid the temptation. Opening your oven door might cause the temperature inside the oven to decrease substantially. The interior temperature has the ability to really decrease by 25 degrees.
Add a layer of kitchen foil.
Halfway through baking, you can place a layer of kitchen foil over the top of the cake to prevent browning, especially where it has a fruit or caramelized top.
No it's not okay to cook with the oven door open. The door traps the heat inside of the oven. Leaving it open won't allow the oven to reach a high enough temperature to cook your food.
The longer you leave a cake unfrosted, the more likely it is to dry out. If you plan to serve the cake soon, let a baked cake cool to room temperature, then frost it right away. Tightly cover the cake and store it in the refrigerator for no more than three days.
Many things can cause a cake to come out crumbly. However, it's almost always an issue of too much flour, too little fat, or overmixing. Some other problems include overbaking, using the wrong type of flour, or using an un-calibrated oven.
Once your cake has finished baking, take it out of the oven and let it rest for a full ten minutes. You can then cover the pan and cake in plastic wrap, or remove the cake from the tin before wrapping it up completely. Either method will accomplish what you need it to, it's just a matter of personal preference.
If your cake is raw in the middle, it might not be salvageable if further baking isn't doing the trick. You'll have to troubleshoot the various things that could be going wrong. It could have been a simple error with the ingredients or mixing process, but it could also be a problem with your oven.
Cakes made with cake flour tend to be softer and fluffier than those made with all-purpose flour. This is because cake flour has corn starch mixed in it. Corn starch is known to make the cake crumb softer, giving structure to cakes and other baked goods while remaining soft.
Cakes and pastries are fluffy and light in nature due to the presence of baking soda in it. When baking soda is combined with both an acidic ingredient and a liquid, it becomes activated. Upon activation, Carbon dioxide is produced, which allows baked products to rise and become light and fluffy.