Baking unlike cooking requires precision and adequate measurements. There is no room for errors, therefore the need to always follow the recipe accordingly and if you need to substitute any ingredient, make sure you are certain it will not ruin the outcome. Read my post on
The Science of Baking.
Yours truly has had her own fair share of baking mistakes and mishaps (lol)
My worst cake making experience. But that didn't stop me from pressing on. We are bound to make errors while baking, here are 10 common mistakes you can make while baking a cake and how to fix them.
1. Adjusting the Recipe
This is one major mistake that can cause a major mishap when baking. When adjusting a recipe either due to unavailability of some ingredients in your location or because you want to reduce the fat content or substitute any ingredient for a vegan one if you are a vegetarian, you have to be careful in making these adjustments. The solution to this is to find out the importance of that ingredient in the recipe and carry out a research on a substitute that would do the same job without ruining your baking. This is very important.
2. Opening the Oven door/ Pot Lid too often during Baking
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I know, I know, this one very big issue with baking especially when it is your first time of baking. The urge is always there to open the oven door to take a peep to see how far your cake is coming up. My own hand always itch (lol) a lot I tell you when baking, always wanting to see how far the cake has gone. This is a very wrong practice and it will ruin the cake because the temperature will deplete any time you open the oven door and this fluctuations is bad for the cake. Try to avoid doing this by engaging in other activities while baking but don't forget to check on it after the stipulated time on the recipe.So shut that oven now!
3. Not Preheating your oven
Preheating your oven before baking is a very important part of baking. I can bet you that 99percent of recipes you find states that the oven be preheated first. Make sure you preheat your oven at least for 15mins before putting in your cake. To preheat your oven just put on your oven and set it to the required temperature halfway into prepping your cake batter, so that by the time you are done your oven will have been set to the right temperature. You can invest in an oven temperature to make sure of the temperature inside the oven. Failure to do this can result in a sunken cake. If your are using a pot do the same thing. Check out my
How to bake a cake without an oven post.
4. Cake Sticking to the pan
When this happens, what you get is a broken cake or a cake with a patch of it peeled out. This has happened to me a lot and I realized this happens if the pan isn't properly greased. What you need to do is makes sure you line the pan properly with butter and use a baking sheet or a clean A4 paper cut out in the shape of your pan. This not only helps the cake to come out clean but also leaves your pan clean and smooth.
5. Dome-shaped cake
I bet that many of face this a lot. While some bakers like the domeness (if I can use that word), others don't. I am indifferent. This is usually caused when the oven temperature is too hot. All you need to do is a quick fix by just leveling the cake with a knife. Easy!. lol.
6. Skipping Sifting
Sifting your dry ingredients is very important while baking. As this allows air to be incorporated and also letting the particles loose to avoid lumps. Sifting your flour, baking powder or any dry ingredient helps your cake to be fluffier, have a higher rise and also make adequate measurements.. I know it is tempting to just use the ingredients like that but sift it and you will see a difference.
7. Using ingredients straight out of the Fridge/Freezer
This can occur when you are in a hurry to bake or you need to meet a deadline but this isn't the wisest move as this action can mar the outcome of your baking. Make sure that all your ingredients are at room temperature i.e 25 degrees Celsuis. Your butter, eggs and other soft ingredients you need to use should be at room temperature before they are used as this will enable the mixture to cream faster and better imcorporated.
8. Interchanging Baking Powder for Baking Soda
This is a common mistake that most beginner bakers make. They may look the same but there is a big difference between Baking powder and Baking soda. Read my post on
The science of Baking .
Most times recipes that call for baking soda has salt included while baking powder doesn't. Make sure you work according to the recipe except you want to create your own and you can't do this without first understanding how the recipe turns out.
9. Using substandard, Stale or Expired Ingredients
Using substandard, stale or expired ingredients can affect your baking a lot. Therefore before baking, make sure you check your ingredients properly to ensure they are fresh and up-to-date.
10. Not measuring your ingredients correctly
This is also a common mistake made when baking, making sure you measure your ingredients properly is important as it is essential in baking. Inadequacies are not allowed in baking. Make sure that while measuring dry ingredients, you have to level them and measure them after they have been sifted. Ensure to use your measuring cups and spoons too. No assumptions allowed it isn't like cooking.
I hope you found this post helpful. Make your comments and contributions below
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