Cake Baking Advice

Using Shortening:

If too much is used, butter cakes may fall, or fall apart. If too little is used, they will have a hard crust, be tough all the way through, or be dry. If the shortening is too soft, there may be a soggy layer at the bottom.

Using Sugar:

If too much sugar is used, the cake may fall, run over the pan, have cracked or too moist a crust, fall apart or have spongy layers at the bottom. If too little is used, the cake may too dry, have too pale a crust, or be too tough. If the sugar is not thoroughly creamed with the shortening, the cake may be too course-grained.

Using Eggs:

If the eggs have been beaten too much, it may cause a spongecake to crack or become lumpy, or be too dry. If they have been beaten too little, it may be too course-grained and thick.

Using Egg Whites:

If the egg whites have been beaten too much, your cake could be too dry, and if beaten too little, the cake could be smaller than you had hoped.

Leavening:

If too much is used, your butter cakes could fall, run over the pan, have too pale a crust, be too dry and fall apart, or be very coarse grained. If too little is used, you run the risk only of them being too small.

Using Flour:

IF too much is used, your cakes could be too dry, have too tough a crust, crack or become lumpy. If the flour used is damp to begin with, your cakes could have too moist or cracked crust, or have soggy layers at the bottom. If all purpose flour is used instead of pastry, your cakes will be too course grained to be enjoyable.

Liquid:

If too little is used, the cake will be too dry, but too much, of course, will make it soggy on the bottom.

Mixing:

Be careful not to over mix the dough, because doing so will make the cake tough, fall, or perhaps be too small. On the other hand, not enough mixing can produce a soggy bottom.

Cake pans:

Make sure to choose the right size pan: too small a pan for the recipe will cause the cake to run over, and too large a pan will result in it being too flat, not having risen to a nice round top.

Temperature:

If the temperature at which you bake is too high, the cake may be too small, burnt around edges, crack, or have too tough a crust. Too low however, could also cause it to be too dry, coarse grained, run over the pan, or have too pale a crust.

Baking Time:

Make sure you set the timer! Too long in the oven will cause tough, hard crust, and dry dough; not long enough will result in a fallen middle, and too moist a crust. You must also consider arrangement in the oven; if too many items are baked at once, they will likely rise unevenly, and burn on the sides.