AToday I attempted my first ever cake, I have previously made some lovely cupcakes, so I thought I would branch out a little and try a 2 tier Victoria sponge cake for my birthday tomorrow! I used this recipe, 4oz Caster Sugar, 4oz Butter, 4oz Self raising flour, 3 eggs, splash of mill and 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda.. I put the butter & the sugar in my mixer, until light and fluffy, then I added flour and eggs a little at a time.. when it came out of the oven it was a horrible dark brown colour - it wasn't burnt however, it tasted really disgusting, all had to go in the bin, yet I don't have a clue what caused the foul taste :-( can anyone advise me how to get that light fluffy sponge? Thank you in advance!! :-) [B][/B]

AHi, maybe it was the baking soda? I've never made a victoria sponge with that in the recipe, I have one that is really nice and easy will have a look around for it and get back to you.

Baking soda makes cake light BUT it also gives a bitter taste. Thats why it's usually used in cakes with strong flavors e.g chocolate. Use baking powder next try.

What's 'splash of mill'? Did you mean 'milk'?

AThank you - I used it to make it rise a little more - I didn't want it to be flat but I don't have a clue how to make a great tasting cake, it seems cupcakes I do are perfect but cakes, this was like, hideous, I nearly puked after tasting it, I'm just so glad that I didn't ice it or else that would of been a real waste:( boo hoo, sad baker!!

AYeah Mill, my tablets a pain for typing.. it hardly even rose though, I need it to be light and soft, mine was crusty round the edges! It was a complete mess:(

AMilk* jeez! Hate this peice of tech!

AUnfortunately I can't find my recipe so I googled one for you.It has a 5 star rating and has great review's :

200g caster sugar 200g softened butter 4 medium eggs, beaten 200g self raising flour 1 tsp baking powder 2 tbsp milk

*Mod edited to remove mixing instructions which is a possible copyright violation.

Fill with your favourite fillings!! And don't despair- you learn with every mistake and you just got to keep trying until you find the recipe which suits you best. Hope that helps and let us know how you get on : ))

I think it was the self rising flour - I have a bag I bought for a recipe, and I thought it resulted in a terrible tasting cake.

I would suggest finding a recipe using cake flour, and adding your leavening separately.

Liz
 

AThank you very much! I'll definitely try that - its hard because I felt like giving up! People who bake fancy cakes always seem to have huge cakes underneath the fondant, I don't have a clue how to achieve that, I'm presuming its a few cakes piled on top of eachother to make huge cake tiers! ... there's so much to learn...

A

Don't give up Hun! When it comes to baking and cake decorating, there are several times when one wants to just give up. Never give up your passion or dream..never. It took me about 7 years to come to all the knowledge that I know now and I still hit a few road bumps here and there..(a nice dose of frosting takes away the moments sorrows though..lol) if you have any questions I'd be glad to help if I know the answer(u can personal message me if you like) Yes your right! Those cakes that aretall like that are stacked and filled:)

Do you bake your cakes in a 2'' pan? This won't make any difference on the taste, but it will help with the crusty sides. 

ATo be completely honest I don't have a clue what inch in I used, thats how much of a newbie I am! I just bought 2 round cake time, a bigger one and a smaller one, I attempted it on a whim for my birthday tomorrow, it didn't work out so I'll just do more research:-) I also got a new mixer, I'm having mixed opinions on it though, I think it'd be great for frosting but, I don't think its that good for the cake mix, it felt sticky.. like it didn't have any air in, I like the old fashioned hand held whisks, the electric ones, I'll give the mixer a few more chances but, I'm not totally convinced!!

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AOh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY for tomorrow!!!

A

If you use s/r flour, there really isn't any need to use baking powder.  Even better than normal s/r, use McDougalls Supreme Sponge Flour.

Did you add any vanilla to your sponge? 

Happy birthday for tomorrow x

Suzanne x

AAwwww I remember those days!! I'm 27 now and trust me it doesn't get any better lol!!

AOh and @ relznik thankyou for that tip I will also be trying out the supreme sponge flour.

ANews flash. You use baking soda when there is an acidic ingredient to neutralize it. Baking soda is used in chocolate cakes not because they have "strong" flavors but because it is used to neutralize acidic natural cocoa releasing CO2 in the process hence a rise. Chocolate cakes with dutch process cocoa which is neutral do not need baking soda. Most of those recipes use baking powder instead. There was nothing in your original recipe to neutralize the baking soda. If you're going to tweak a scratch recipe you need to get your science right.

Firstly Happy Birthday , I hope you have a lovely day tomorrow. I got chickenpox for my 20th so I hope yours is way better than mine was. 

The rising in a sponge comes from beating the eggs and sugar together not from using self raising flour or baking powder.  You beat them until they are light , fluffy and pale and will fall like a wavy ribbon from the beater . Sponges usually have plain flour or a combo of plain , cornflour and arrowroot. I always triple sift my flours together and then fold very carefully by hand in three batches , into the beaten egg mix being careful not to knock the air out of the mixture that you have spent all that time putting in there. Some sponges have a little melted butter usually no more than a tablespoon folded in with the last lot of flour. 

Google Genoise sponge as well . 

I hope this gives you a little heads up to what went wrong. 

Happy Birthday.

Sorry to disagree guys but I am 52 and I think that life gets better every year.  I wouldn't be young again for anything.

It's probably because you used baking soda and self raising. I use self raising for vanilla/lemon cakes, just don't add any other raising agents and it should be fine.

AWell they do say life begins at 40!!

While we are talking cake chemistry, the ingredients in baking powder are baking soda + cream of tartar (which is the acidic agent).  They can be either single or double acting, but the chemical reaction starts as soon as you mix it in the batter (same as with baking soda).

I also use baker's ammonia (ammonium carbonate) in one of my cookie recipes (Springerle).  It is only activated by heat, not by moisture.  You can get it online or at a compounding pharmacy.  You should only use it in thin items (like cookies) so that it can be fully released during cooking.

Liz
 

AThanks guys, I ended up having a cake from the supermarket, tasted nice with a little cream but, would have preferred to of baked my own, something I could of been proud of! I'm having a good birthday though! :) x

A[CODE][/CODE]. I don't understand why you didn't just use the same batter you use in your cupcakes for your cake?

A