Baking a cake is a very delicate affair. The method, the ingredients should always be proportionate. The recipe should be followed as given. The main components of making a cake should never be altered or replaced with another item. Use a pan as given in the recipe as an altered pan can change the evenness or the texture of the cake. Preheat the oven as said in the recipe. Different ovens have different temperatures. Correct the heat by testing it with the help of a oven thermometer.
Here are a few mistakes made that make a cake collapse:
Holes in the cake
-When the batter is mixed too much
-Liquids that were added very less or falls short
-The oven was not preheated properly
Cake Humped or Cracked in Middle –
-Oven preheated with too much temperature
-The flour add to the batter is more than said in the recipe
-Or could be a blend of both the mistakes.
Dry Cake-
-Less sugar added than said in the recipe or sugar falls short
-Excess baking powder added
-The cake has been baked for too long
Sticky-
-Excess sugar added
-Cake not given enough time to bake
Cake too brown-
-Cake over baked
-Excess temperature in the oven
-Excess sugar
Not enough brown-
-Pan used is too big not as per the instructions
-Old or inactive baking powder or too less baking powder used
-Enough time not given for the cake to bake
-Very less sugar added to the batter
Cake Falls-
-Not baked enough
-Leavening agent added in excess and replaced by self raising flout
-Excess mixing of the batter
– Shaking the cake while in process or opening the oven door before time
Crumbly Texture-
-Improper mixing or less mixing
-Excess shortening agent or excess sugar
Baking a cake is an art. Adjust you kitchen before you start baking a cake or alter the recipe according to the environment of your kitchen when you start with a new recipe. Your previous mistakes can help you in not repeating them again to get the right cake baked.