Cake tips to avoid a wet middle | Marie Makes | Milton Keynes (2024)

FAQs

Cake tips to avoid a wet middle | Marie Makes | Milton Keynes? ›

Use baking strips to avoid a wet cake

A cake that's wet in the middle, in most cases, has not baked long enough. Put it back in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Be sure to check every 5 minutes with the toothpick test for any changes. If sliced, cover with aluminum foil to prevent the top from browning even more.

Cake sinking after baking can be prevented by ensuring the oven is preheated correctly, using the right size of baking tin, avoiding opening the oven door too early, checking for doneness with a toothpick, and allowing the cake to cool gradually in the oven before removing it.

Fortunately, that's easier than it sounds. A dry cake is usually the result of one of the following pitfalls: using the wrong ingredients, making mistakes while measuring or mixing the batter, or baking the cake too long or at too high a temperature.

Using an air-tight container is the best and easiest way to keep your cake from getting exposed to air. However, if you don't have one of those, you can wrap your cake in cling film, or if it's iced, place a large inverted bowl over it to trap the air.

Making a Perfectly Baked Cake

Check the colour – golden brown for lighter cakes, or a shiny matte look for chocolate. The toothpick test – a toothpick or knife should come out clean after inserting into the centre. The internal temperature should be around 98°C/210°F.

put it back in the oven for 12 or so minutes, at a slightly lower temperature. if the top is getting brown, cover the cake with foil before you put it back in the oven. take it out, check it with a skewer, if it comes out clean, its done, if not, put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

You can try any of the following: adding a 1 oz. package of pudding (any flavor that complements the cake's flavor profile), adding 1-2 egg yolks (along with the eggs called for on the box), or substituting milk for the water called for on the box. I hope this is helpful to you. Happy baking!

If your cake was cooked to the proper temperature, chances are it is still edible even if it sunk in the center. Check that it's baked through the middle, then try a small piece of your cake. It might not taste good if the ingredient measurements were off. Notice the texture to make sure it's not too dense or spongy.

Use Cake Strips to Prevent your Cake from Doming

Simply soak them in water, squeeze out the excess, and wrap them around the outside of your tin. This simple step is a game-changer for achieving a perfectly level cake.

What makes a cake dense and heavy? ›

Your cake is too dense A cake that is overly dense typically has too much liquid, too much sugar or too little leavening (not excess flour, as is commonly thought).

The simplest version of simple syrup, or soak, is nothing more than equal parts granulated sugar dissolved into water. The basic soak alone will do great things for your cake, especially in terms of moisture.

If your cake crust is soggy, you may have under-baked it, cooled it in pans without proper ventilation, or wrapped it before it completely cooled. If your cake is crumbly, you may have used too much flour, not enough sugar or shortening, or over-mixed the batter.

take the cake out of the fridge and into the coolest room you can. If you have air con, have that cranked up to minimise the temperature change. If you don't have air con, place the cake in front of a fan, and spin the cake around periodically so every side gets air on it as it reaches room temp.

The pan is too small. There's too much liquid. Opening the oven or moving pans during baking. Oven temperature is too low, or cake isn't baked long enough.

When you insert a thin skewer in the cake, it should come out clean (or with a few dry crumbs). If you pull it out and wet cake mixture has stuck to the skewer, it means the cake has not finished baking completely.