ok i dont know why i torment myself with this but every time a bake a cake with baking soda in it, it looks good till i take it out of the oven. It then deflates and gets a bitter taste to it, i dont know whay this happens it tastes fine and looks fine before i put it in the oven and when it cooks it puffs up nicely but as soon as i take it out of the oven it starts to deflate and look really gross. does anyone know why this happens, i have tried to bake on sunny days with not so much humidity, i live in Bermuda where its kinda humid anyway.
I am with others: Is it really baking soda you should use? I have never heard about a cake with baking soda in it. Baking powder is another story...
When cake puffs nicely and then deflate after taking it out of the oven - it is mostly because the baking temperature is too high. The cake bakes to quickly, the air in the batter expands too much. As it cools, the cake "shrinks" in itself. This has nothing to do with humidity.
But the bitter taste is a "sign" of baking soda. As you bake your cake on higher temperature for quite a long time the baking soda breaks up and can change the taste to bitter and "soapy". It could even give yellow color to the cake. Because of this, in cakes and pies people use baking powder instead of baking soda. Baking powder is nothing more then baking soda with acidic part mixed in.
If anybody is interested in the exact chemical reaction, let me know 
The chocolate cake recipe I use calls for baking soda and I've never experienced this problem...I do sift the dry ingredients together, though.
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