Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi, I’m trying to bake a 10″ round vanilla sponge cake. I’ve made 3 so far and none of them seem right. The crumb looks very close and has some darker patches once cut. I am baking at 140 in a fan assisted oven. When I put the skewer in the cake it is coming out clean but I have been leaving it in a bit longer because I have had this problem before where it doesn’t seem baked. I’ve got to finish work and go home and rebake as this is for someone for tomorrow :/ eek – can someone help me please? Thanks x

Hi maitlka

Lots of things can cause a close textured crumb. Have you tried some of the cake and does it taste under baked? Try beating the eggs really well into the sugar and butter, the mixture should be a smooth emulsion. Add just small amounts of egg each time to prevent curdling but if it does add a tablespoon of flour and mix on medium speed until smooth. Adding too much liquid can also cause cake crumb to be heavy and sort of pudding like giving the appearance of dark patches in the baked cake. Fold the flour in and don’t over mix as over mixing will deflate the batter and also form gluten which makes for a heavy cake. I think your temperature is correct for a large cake however pre heat the oven for a good 20 minutes so it’s really warm with no cold spots. Good luck hope next one turns out better.

Thanks madeitwithlove – you’re the cake guru!! I baked the cake for much longer and it came out really well! I didn’t realise making a bigger cake would cause me so much drama 🙂 I’ll know for next time xx