AHi guys,

So I guess it's not truly a disaster, but I'm wondering what could have caused holes in my cake. The outsides look fine, but it just leveled them and there are holes in the middle. I baked a two layers, each had their own tin (my 8" tins are shallow), but I made up the batter at the same time.

It was my first time making a Madeira cake, but I used a mix from the local cake decorating shop. I followed their instructions exactly, except the mix was for a 9" round so I did an 8" round and a few cupcakes. It also doesn't say how long to bake it, so I kept it in the oven until a toothpick came out clean.

Is Madeira supposed to be really dense? I've never tried it before. How does the taste compare to regular vanilla?

Any ideas about what I did wrong or hints about making Madeira would be super appreciated. Thanks :)

A[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3109452/width/200/height/400[/IMG] [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3109453/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

Too much rising agent perhaps? Try tapping your cake on the bench gently before baking - it will help to dispel any unwanted air pockets and also helps the cake to cook with a flatter top.

Did you mix on a high speed? I don't use a mix often but when I do I find I need to mix for a minute on the lowest speed on my kitchenaid  to knock the large air bubbles out

AI find with my kitchenaid it can be over mixing, which I think is both to do with too much air and over stretching the gluteus in the flour which causes holey bits x x

AGluteus? There is a biology joke there! Glutens!

AInteresting! I had no idea about over mixing and stretching. The instructions said to mix on low, then medium, then high. Maybe next time I won't mix on high at all.

Looks like the Bakels Buttacake mix  :(

AThe mix was put together by Caroline's (it's in their packaging, not Bakel's). I wish. Knew what Madeira is supposed to taste like .... I have no clue if this us good or bad :/

AEver since all the cake mixes went to smaller sizes I've had this same problem no matter what I do...low mix, high mix, pound on the counters...you name it. I have actually resorted to taking the cake trimmings and filling in the holes ...which can be huge tunnels at times. It works but it's a PIA to do. Fortunately I mostly make scratch cakes but there is one that I do that calls for a mix and it's just a hole-y mess at times.

AWhat a bummer to hear that it's a common problem. The mixes that I bought were 500g each. I thought surely I was just making a newbie mistake. How much longer does it take you to make a scratch cake than a mix cake? Might have to start with scratch cakes.

Those small holes may be an annoyance to you, but they're not a big problem for the cake.  The people cutting or eating the cake will never notice, either.

I recently watched a video of a a very high end decorator leveling a cake and what did I see--the exact same types of small holes.  If they don't bother him, then they sure won't bother me.

AppleGumPam,

Thanks for the info! I didn't know that it was legal for companies to rebrand mixes and sell them, I really thought it was a recipe from that shop. I have seen the Creative Cooks selling Bakel's mixes, but they're very clear that it's a Bakel mix. I don't like the Madeira cake at all, it tastes sweet and bland at the same time. However, I did make the Apline white chocolate mud cake yesterday and am pretty happy with that one.

I haven't baked a cake from scratch since I was a little girl baking with my grandma. I'm not opposed to it though, and I just saw the link for your mudcake recipe in your signature so I'll have to give that a try! Right now my focus is on improving my cake decorating skills (hence the mixes), but I suppose it wouldn't make much sense to have a beautiful cake that tastes pretty average.  Thanks for the encouragement :)