So Many Problems Dont Know Where To Start

Decorating By kbaby Updated 12 Oct 2008 , 9:38am by agroeve

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kbaby Posted 9 Oct 2008 , 10:58am
post #1 of 9

Please can anyone give me some advice?

problem number 1

I use a maderia recipe but when baked the cake comes out too domed. see pic. What am I doing wrong- I bake them at 160c for 60 mins.
LL

8 replies
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kbaby Posted 9 Oct 2008 , 11:03am
post #2 of 9

Me again with problem number 2.

Because its so domed I have to level it quite a bit, which means that I can never seem to get it flat so I end up with a wonky cake. I know I can buy a leveller to help with this but is there another way to sort this out.
see pic 2.

My mum said to cut the top off the dome and then torte the cake and turn the top half upside down so that the top became the middle and buttercream it etc. When I tried that the cake was flatter and looked better but then because so much buttercream was needed to fill the middle of the cake you could see the buttercream bulges under the fondant. ARGHHHHH.... where am I going so wrong.
LL

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MikeRowesHunny Posted 9 Oct 2008 , 11:17am
post #3 of 9

What recipe are you using? Madeira cake will dome, and the easiest way to level them is to put them back in the pan and run a knife across the top of the rim as a guide.

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bashini Posted 9 Oct 2008 , 11:25am
post #4 of 9

kbaby, since you don't have a leveler, here is aine2's tutorial on how to cover a cake. Here she shows how to level it too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/extra-icing/sets/72157594575839118

Next is, you need to put a dam with a bit stiff buttercream on the edge of the each layer. Then put the filling. And don't put too much buttercream, it should be just below the dam. Hope it make sence.

And I always leave my cakes overnight after filling it. It gives time to settle and you can even see if there is any bulging before you crumbcoat and put sugarpaste on. I use a sharp knife to straighten it around the cake.

The other thing you can do is, ones you level the top turn the cake upside down. When you do that, the bottom of the cake comes to the top and gives you a nice surface to ice.


HTH.

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CakeWhizz Posted 9 Oct 2008 , 11:48am
post #5 of 9

What might help and I've done it myself, is when you take the cake out of the oven, turn it upside down onto a flat cookie sheet with parchment paper on. The place on top of the baking tin a couple of cans of baked beans or books and leave for about 10 minutes or so. This should flatteb the cake out nicely without the need for levelling. Of course you've got to make sure that the baking tin is lined very well. Once the cake is out, use the bottom as the top. Hope this helps.

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kakeladi Posted 9 Oct 2008 , 9:33pm
post #6 of 9

To get you domed cakes level-- put it back into the pan; take a knife that will go from one side of the pan to the other (as long as the pan is wide). Keeping the knife resting on each side of the pan just cut. You will have a perfectly flat cakeicon_smile.gif

I am not fimilar w/the type of cake you mention but it looks to be a bit heavier texture then the standard US type cake. You can try putting anything (like a cookie sheet) on the top of the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.....still in the pan...and press down until the cookie sheet is level w/the top of the pan.

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summernoelle Posted 9 Oct 2008 , 9:58pm
post #7 of 9

What about bake even strips? That could help with the dome because it keeps the temperature of the edges of your cake cooler, letting the middle of the cake bake at the same rate. You usually end up with a much more level cake.

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kbaby Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 9:00pm
post #8 of 9

Thanks, Ill check out the link.

Ive tried turning the cake upside down in the hope of getting a flatter top and I did get that, but my cake still leant to one side because then the bottom wasnt flat!.

I saw those strips somwhere and was thinking of them. What recipe could I use other than Madeira?

I thought this would be the easy bit icon_confused.gif

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agroeve Posted 12 Oct 2008 , 9:38am
post #9 of 9

Hi kbaby, i too live in south wales. madeira always domes but before you buy the baking strips give it a go with damp towels wrapped around the cake tin. get an old towel cut it length ways so its double the height of the tin. fold it in half run it under the tap and squeeze out the excess water then wrap it round the tin and i use string to keep it in place. its not that i'm against baking strips but i tried this before i bought them and saw that it made a huge difference to the cooking time of the cake. i couldn't live without my cake leveller as i use it to cut the cake in half ready for filling too. Here in the uk we dont build a dam and fill it with pie filling we put on a thin layer of jam and then pipe a layer of buttercream so turning the top over so it becomes the middle would mean a massive amount of buttercream to make it level. using the tin to get a flat top is great too but if your sides don't quite reach the top of the cake put a piece of polystyrene in the bottom of the pan to raise it a little. hope this helps in some way. i haven't been here long myself and i know we uk'ers do things a little differently so feel free to pm me if you like.

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