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Cooking
(cont’d)
Common Baking Problems
Adjusting to a new oven can be hard, especially making a change to a convection oven. If you begin to notice consis-
tent problems refer to the chart below for possible solutions.
Baking Notes:
• Test cakes for doneness. Because
of variances across individual
ovens, it is best to test for the prop-
er consistency rather than solely
relying on time and visual appear-
ance as an indicator.
• Cake problems may be in the mix-
ing of the batter. Overbeating can
cause cake structure to break
down and excessive shrinkage of
the cake. Underbeating can result
in lumpy cakes that may not be
cooked thoroughly. All ingredients
should be at room temperature—
not out of the refrigerator. Make
sure to follow the recipes directions
for how long the batter should be
mixed.
• Allow cake to cool in cake pan on a
rack for 10 minutes before remov-
ing. Larger cakes (over 14 inches
in diameter) may take 15 minutes.
If the cake has cooled too long,
reheat in the oven at 250° F for a
few minutes.
• Make sure to follow recipe direc-
tions and use butter or margarine
when it is listed. Using a low fat
substitute can cause a recipe to
fail.
Problem Cause
Lopsided cakes Pans touching each other or oven walls.
(bake unevenly) Batter spread unevenly in pan.
Incorrect use of aluminum foil.
Oven is not level.
Cakes, cookies, Oven not preheated.
biscuits too brown Pans touching each other or oven walls.
on bottom or top Using glass, darkened, warped or dull finish metal
pans.
Incorrect use of aluminum foil.
Oven temperature too high.
Pies don’t brown Using shiny metal pans.
Temperature set too low.
Cakes not done in Temperature too high.
center Pan too small.
Baking time to short.
Pan not centered in oven.
Cakes fall Too much shortening or sugar.
Too much or too little liquid.
Temperature to low.
Old or too little baking powder.
Pan too small.
Oven door opened frequently (peeking).
Insufficient baking.
Excessive shrinkage Too little leavening.
Mixing batter too long.
Pan too large.
Oven temperature too high.
Baking time too long.
Cakes high in middle Temperatures set too high.
Overmixing.
Too much flour.
Pans touching each other or oven walls.