Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A
‘Paul’s moist chocolate cake’ My feed back
Recently Paul posted his chocolate cake recipe for us all to try. Many members have had various difficulties baking it up. The most predominant ‘failing’ is that the cake sinks in the middle. We’ve all at some point answered with feed back and suggestions as to why this may be happening, sooo with great trepidation I baked ‘The Cake’ this morning. My cake was scaled down to 8″ square, using my hubby’s conversion chart, which is posted on the site under ‘ingrediants’ (spelled this way to find in search). I baked in a dark heavy duty tin, greased and floured fairly generously then lined with parchment paper, exactly as shown on the cake tutorial. I have a fan assisted oven which I set at 135c. Once the mixture was in the tin I reduced the heat to 130c and baked for a complete two hours. After an hour, through the oven glass door, I could see that the cake had risen but, had also become wrinkly, like elephant skin,towards the middle. I realised this was the prelude to the ‘sink’! However, I just continued baking for a further hour, then opened the oven part way to check the cake for doneness, which it was, thoroughly. The cake had sunk slightly, and formed a hard crust only around the outer rim which resembled ginger snap biscuits. After the cake had cooled completely I turned it out, to find a beautiful deep, moist cake with no hint of the dip present on the other side. This evening at 10.30 we cut the cake ‘proof of the pudding’ style and have enjoyed a very pleasant dessert. Prior to turning the cake out,and quite soon after removing it from the oven, I prematurely posted under ‘Paul’s chocolate cake, timing’ (in search), that I had doubts whether this cake would hold up to carving and stacking. Having cut, inspected for structure and sampled it, I can conclude that it definitely will to both.
I hope this feed back will help members who may want to attempt baking the cake again. Finally, Jayess has posted many times to try and solve the concundrum of ‘the chocolate cake sinking in the middle’. She has raised a salient point about the amount of sugar used in the recipe which may, or may not be a contributory factor to some of the problems experienced, although on tasting, sweetness is not excessive, and baking science is some thing I understand not! Happy baking folks x
Hello Sue=Wales
It should have risen a lot more than that so something went wrong somewhere. Perhaps your mix could have done with mixing a little more, or is it possible you forgot to add the bicard of soda? What size recipe did you make?
Mine rises to just over 2.5″ with very little sinking. If you work backward from this page read what other members have done when reducing the sugar.
hi
I made this cake for my granddaughters birthday and it was a huge hit. I was then told only this cake from now please Gran lol.
I followed Pauls quantities and instructions but I used a pme anodised round 8 ” by 4″ tin instead of 10″ x 3″ square.. Baked it for 2 and 1/2 hours. (2 hours at 130 and then 135 for 30 mins) and did not open door at all during that time. I put a round of greaseproof on top of cake and no elephant skin.
I have always used Invicta tins but have now been converted to anodised tins.
Making this again tomorrow hope it is as successful.
Hi, sorry I didn’t get back to you about my earlier disasters with the chocolate cake (see previous page) but I was very disappointed again that despite following all the instructions to the letter, my chocolate cakes still sinks! I have a conventional oven and always use an oven thermometer. I’ve now tried it too many times for me to want to try again only to find it still sinks again. It’s too expensive and I really dont know what else to try! It still remains the tastiest chocolate cake ever so am really really disappointed, but so be it
Hello suzyq
I feel for your disappointment! I really don’t know what else you can do. There is a similar recipe which you could try here http://www.cakeflix.com/blog/how-to-make-chocolate-mud-cake
I’ve made it loads of times, you’ll see other members have had success with it too. It has a longer shelf life than Paul’s recipe and is very slightly denser. You could try it?? If you do, please leave a comment in that blog as feed back. x
Hi all
I made this cake again today and have to say it turned out great it was even better than the last time.
It was so soft and springy to the touch with no elephant skin in sight and it rose to just above the tin, luckily I had placed extra high greaseproof around the sides lol.
I did use rapeseed oil instead of vegetable oil this time. so maybe that accounts for the extra rise but will definitely use rapeseed from now on.
Great feedback mrsboots! Did you use the recipe as written or did you change or tweek any of the ingredients?
Thank you miwl
the only thing I tweaked so to speak this time was use rapeseed oil. The last time I made it with vegetable oil. So not really a tweak.
I also covered the top of the cake with a piece of greaseproof to stop cake over baking on top as my oven heats from the top. No elephant skin or cracked top.
I do this with any cakes that has to be iced as it takes a fine layer off the surface when removing.
Hello so sorry to pester you all again but it’s starting to really bug me now. I have followed to recipe to the t I even did it with Paul on the videos. This time it’s come out worse than last time. I thought it sank cause I used to small eggs last time. This time I did it right and it looks worse. Do you think it could be my tin? I’m using pme ones they are a really good quality tin.
Also do you think I would still be able to use the cake. I want to try the me and my cat cake so I’m thinking there maybe a chance I couldn’t hide it some how.
Hi Lisa
Please don’t aplogise, I know the recipe can be difficult for some people so you’re in good company.
Did you have a look at some of the remedies other members have tried? Some members have reduced the sugar by 100g which has given them better results. Read the comments working up from your last entry and go backward to the next pages.
There is lots of good advice from other members who previously had problems. Take a break from it for a while because ingredients are expensive then try again. x
Hello I have read loads of them yeah. Seems like it could be any number of problems. I’ll do like you said and have a break then try again later.
I did manage to salvage enough of my last one and patch it up to make the cake I wanted to try. I did the me and my cat and it came out fantastic. I even surprised myself.
I love this site it’s great. What would make it better though would be if we could add photos on here too I wanted to show you guys my tins see what you all thought so sending a picture would of been ideal. X
Hello I have read loads of them yeah. Seems like it could be any number of problems. I’ll do like you said and have a break then try again later.
I did manage to salvage enough of my last one and patch it up to make the cake I wanted to try. I did the me and my cat and it came out fantastic. I even surprised myself.
I love this site it’s great. What would make it better though would be if we could add photos on here too I wanted to show you guys my tins see what you all thought so sending a picture would of been ideal. X
I have the PME tins too Lisa, they work fine although I did prefer the Lakeland pushpans. I had to take them back because the push part was too stiff and I couldn’t get the cake out of the tin. Apparently lots of people took them back including Lakeland staff. I liked the way the cake came out so even. Don’t worry about the PME tins, they are good quality. Glad you managed to salvage some of the cake, enough to make the one you wanted to try. I’m sure it was splendid. Perhaps one day there will be facilty to post member pictures, that would be good. There are so many talented people on this site it would be lovely to see their work. You could post on Paul’s facebook, he loves to see what everyone is up to. x
I baked this cake this evening. I split the recipe between a 6 and 10 tin as recipe suggests. I cooked in my fan oven at 140 and wrapped news paper round the edge of the tin to provide a collar so the outside didn’t cook quicker than the inside. I also used normal caster sugar. I was a bit disappointed that the cake didn’t rise just above my tin, It didn’t sink and did rise just not enough for my liking, i think there wasn’t enough batter in tin. i like to cut the top off and and have a taste. I think next time ill put all the batter in the 10″ tin and cook a little longer.
Hello Demodi
All of the batter fits into a 10″ square tin so be careful you batter doesn’t spill out of your 10″ round. I’ve baked this recipe loads of times with a resulting cake of approximately 2.5 inches in height. It doesn’t sound much but once torted, filled crumbcoated and iced it stands a respectable 3″. If you want your cake to be taller why not try scaling up the recipe between the two tins instead of pouring all the batter into one tin? Which ever way, thanks for your feed back. If you do make the whole recipe in one 10″ round let us know how it turns out.
I’ve baked Paul’s rich chocolate cake 4 times now – the first 2 were a complete success (4″ & 7″ round and 2 6″ rounds). But the last two (10 x 11″ and 10″ petal) have been a disaster – the first sinking completely and the second ( which I was supposed to be decorating tonight for my great niece’s birthday) is overdone round the edge and sunk again in the middle!
Any help would be greatly appreciated – got to bake again tonight and decorate swiftly tomorrow!!!
I’ve had so much trouble with this cake. The first time it sank was cause my eggs weren’t big enough. Then there was other problems I just couldn’t get it right. Till I spoke to Mrs Jones and Paul at cake international. I think I was over beating it. Paul says 4 minutes on video. It works better with just two and also works better on 130 for a little longer in my fan oven. X
Hi tracywest
I’m sorry to hear you’ve had problems with the larger size cake. Normally I use two or three upturned metal royal icing flower nails to act as heating cores. The mixture doesn’t need over mixing as over aeration can cause it to collapse. I use my electric hand mixer on low for two or three minutes just to ensure an even smooth mix. It also helps to double line the tin inside and out. The long bake can dry the surface and sides of the cake, double lining the tin offers some protection. If you’re baking in a fan oven that too can dry out the sides and top of the cake The recipe can be difficult sometimes and can produce different results even in the same oven at the same temperature. As you can see throughout this thread there are many, many helpful hints and tips from members. At the base of this page you’ll see numbers, if you work backwards and read some of the answers you can see that some members have reduced the sugar to obtain better results. One member reduced the sugar by 20% and found that worked well for her. I know it does work because I’ve tried it even though I don’t have problems with the recipe as written. The texture very slightly changes in that it becomes a little more dense. I have also experimented with a couple more eggs which helped bind the mixture more. I don’t know whether you want t experiment at this late stage
Alternatively, since you need to decorate the cake for tomorrow I would suggest using a different recipe in this instance. I know it won’t be the same but it could save you from uncertainty since you’ve experienced problems.
I can vouche for Jane Hornby’s chocolate wedding cake recipe. I’ve used it for a long time and it also has approval from other site members. See the recipe here:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4577/wedding-cake-rich-dark-chocolate-cake
To scale the recipe up or down you’ll find the ready reckoner or cakometer here:
http://www.cakeflix.com/blog/how-to-work-out-what-size-cake-tin-to-use
I Hope this helps as a solution. Which ever one you bake, your feed back would be much appreciated, hope all turns out well. x
Hello Lisajil
Glad you have had success with the chocolate cake recipe. The information about mixing the batter and egg size already exists throughout this thread. Paul also mentions the same in the tutorial. It’s possible you may have missed it reading through when you originally. posted. It’s surprising how easily information can be missed. Other members mentioned using wrong size eggs and over mixing. On rectifying their mistake they had better results. Thanks to many member feedback on this topic, the information, hints and tips continues to grow and definitely worth browsing. Recipe developers emphasise on reading through thoroughly before beginning to bake. One time I forgot all of the sugar, oooops! Alls well that ends well!
Hi miwl,
Thanks for your reply – I read all the tips and was pretty sure I wasn’t over mixing, baking at the wrong temp or not following the recipe to the letter. My sunken cake was fine when I cut the top bit off, but nowhere near high enough, so I decided to use Paul’s recipe again and if it sunk at least I’d have two halves to stick together!
I dissolved the sugar (not completely, I discovered when I poured it out) with the water, chocolate and butter and used a tiny bit less. My husband bought a new oven thermometer for me as I thought my old one might be playing up (turns out it was still ok), BUT, I’d done a really stupid thing with my first attempt. My cake tin, although a lovely petal shape was bought on a well known auction site and is pretty thin, so I’d double wrapped sides AND bottom so it wouldn’t burn – or cook properly as I’ve now discovered!
So, rebaked with only the sides wrapped and three heating cores for good measure and… SUCCESS :D. Still a bit wrinkled on top, but that doesn’t matter.
Now to get decorating!
Thanks again 🙂
Hi Tracey
I’m so pleased you figured it all out. You’re right, over lagging the cake tin will affect the baking. I’m just so pleased you figured it out! On the point of cake height, mine, after trimming is approx 2.5 inches tall. By the time I’ve filled and decorated it’s about 3″ high. Most of the time I bake it for ourselves and we prefer to eat it with just some creme fraiche. I did do 12″ bottom wedding tier just recently, now everyone keeps asking for more!
Hope all goes well with the decorating and a happy birthday to your great niece! x
