Your cake won't rise properly unless the oven is the right temperature when it goes in. Fan-forced ovens cook faster than conventional ovens so reduce the stated temperature by 20 degrees for a fan-forced oven; and always use the middle rack unless the recipe says otherwise.
When using ovens with both fan-forced and conventional settings, it is best to use conventional when you are baking long and slow (like for cakes) and fan-forced for fast cooking at high temperatures. If using a fan-forced oven, as a general rule, drop the temperature by 20°C to imitate conventional.
Mismeasured baking powder (too much or too little) may also give you a flat cake. Make sure you have just the right amount of this leavening agent to give your cake the right lift. And always be sure that you're working with good ingredients—expired baking powder can leave you with flat cake, too.
Over-mixing your batter prevents the leavening agent from rising up like normal and traps it inside the batter where it creates tunnels and big holes. Mix just until the ingredients are combined to create light and fluffy cake layers. Be sure you're using the right leavening agent.
Too Much Leavening
You need leaveners, like baking soda and powder, to make your cake rise. But too much can cause your cake to rise super-fast in the oven, then fall once you pull it out. What to do: Be careful when measuring your baking soda and powder quantities, and make sure not to get them confused.
Leave Room to Rise
You shouldn't fill your cake pans more than two thirds of the way to the top. This allows your cake room to rise within the pan. Overfilling the pan can make cake rise too high, then collapse.
If overmixed, the batter may become runny and slack. With cakes featuring whipped egg foam, you'll also want to make sure you mix to the right consistency — forming "stiff peaks" is the usual standard. When overmixed, the egg whites may break and take on a cottage cheese consistency.
Make sure you follow the recipe's instructions carefully. Cakes typically bake between 325 to 450 degrees F (see chart with Tip #9). Most convection ovens require lowering the temperature by 25 to 50 degrees F, as well as turning off the fan.
There's a big chance your butter and sugar will over-cream, meaning the butter will trap more air than it should. As the batter bakes, that extra air will deflate and leave you with an overly dense cake. It's all science! For best results, cream butter and sugar together for about 1-2 minutes.
Finally, the easiest of all is to cube your cake and layer it in a parfait glass or sundae cup with fruit and whipped cream, or ice cream. Alternate layers for a beautiful presentation. If you were baking a vanilla treat, make a shortcake-style dessert with fresh strawberries. Canned peaches work just as well.
Simply crumble the dry cake into bite-sized pieces and bake on a sheet tray at 350 degrees until golden brown — approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
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.)
The fan oven symbol is a fan. With this setting, the oven uses a fan to evenly distribute the heat throughout the entire oven. The advantage of this is that you can bake relatively fast and on different levels. This setting is less suitable for baking pies, but handles casseroles well, for example.
For sponge cakes I've reduced the oven by 20 degrees. You could try reducing the conventional temperature by 25 degrees in your fan oven or reduce the 20%.
Cake Baking and Temperature Time
Typically, a cake is baked at a temperature of 180-190 degrees Celsius for 25-30 minutes. However, the temperature and time may vary depending on the recipe and the size of the cake. It's crucial to follow the recipe instructions carefully to achieve the best results.
Bread is baked at a temperature of 160 - 180 degrees Celsius and for a time of 25 - 28 minutes The sponge cake is baked at 150 - 160 degrees Celsius for about 40 - 45 minutes Cookies bake at 170 - 190 degrees Celsius for 15 - 25 minutes Cream puffs bake at 190 - 200 degrees Celsius for 25 - 30 minutes A way to properly ...
Baking the cake
degrees (or 180C., Gas mark 4) oven. Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the cake…
I found that the 5 minute mix time resulted in a cake with a nice texture and moderately tender crumb. Anywhere between 2 and 6 minutes should suffice.
When you overmix cake batter, the gluten in the flour can form elastic gluten strands – resulting in a more dense, chewy texture.
Over-creamed butter and sugar adds in too much air and alters the final texture – typically to be more gummy and dense. Sometimes over-creaming can produce cakes, cupcakes, or cookies that collapse upon baking or while cooling if the mixture is well and truly over-creamed (where it looks like curdled milk).
A cake that puffs up as it bakes and deflates as it cools has usually had air beaten into the batter too quickly or vigorously.
If the oven temperature is set too low, the outer layers of the cake will cook faster than the center, leaving the middle raw. What is this? Additionally, if the cake is placed too high in the oven, the middle will not receive enough heat to cook. This can also lead to an underdone middle.
In order to bake cake evenly, you have to insulate its edges. Preventing the temperature of batter at the edge from increasing quickly allows the cake to rise longer before it sets. A cake whose edges rise at nearly the same rate as its center will remain flat across the top — no dome, perfect for stacking and icing.