I just recently made a cake for my grandmothers birthday. I really wasnt all that happy with it. I for some reason am having trouble with baking temps, i set my oven at the 350 required time, but the cake seems to keep coming out overbaked or bakes too quickly..it also sunk a little bit in the middle. It also seemed heavy and a little dry in my opinion. Should i set my oven at a lower temp, and if so will this effect the texture of the cake.. any and all suggestions please.
Do you have an oven thermometer? In our old apartment, I was having trouble baking things... when I bought an oven thermometer and placed it inside the oven, I discovered the oven was off 50 degrees. So, although I'd set the dial to 350 it was really 400 in the oven.
I bake at 325 and use bake-even strips. Cakes will sink if you open the over door too soon to check on them. (Mine are typically in the oven an hour or more).
Is it a recipe that has worked fine for you previously?
If a cake gets accidentally over-baked, I press down on it immediately when I take it out of the oven (with a clean towel). I'm not sure why this helps, but perhaps it's a combo of releasing hot air and steam to slow the cooking and causing the crumb to get a bit more dense since you are basically smashing it. Then I wrap it while warm and pop it in the freezer. Works like a charm.
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