sinking cakes.....why?

[kiwirach]

i'm trying to help a newbie baker....a male!.....understand why his cakes keep falling. orginally they were burning and falling and i've got him to test the cakes earlier than the stated time in the recipe....however they still are falling.

one thought i had last night when he asked me again why this happens, is he may keep opening the oven door.....i havent asked if he does yet.
what other things cause cakes to sink in the middle?

TIA.

[snapdragon]

Mainly input of cold air (opening oven door for too long)
Temperature too low
or
Too short baking time

If he's burnt some them possibly by trying not to burn them he's gone too far erring on the other side.

Sounds like he needs someone to watch and check at each stage as too little protein, insufficient mixing, or beating instead of folding could also be the cause.

Best of luck

[Odsox]

Also too much raising agent can cause this, too much baking powder or baking powder added to SR flour or too much egg.
That makes the cake rise too much and collapse.

[kiwirach]

thanks for those replies....i think the idea of watching him is best.....i'll pass on whats been said.
i reckon hes gungho, heavy handed, wants it over quick etc, rather than enjoying it all. he does it with his 3yr daughter so i reckon theres some clues in that also!.

[MrsD'ville mkII]

I used to have this problem and was determined to overcome it for cakes to take to my daughter's school. As well as all the above, the wrong size baking tin can be a problem (cake can be too deep/shallow) as can over or undermixing. I used to beat hell out of my ginger cake mixture in the food mixer, so I did it for a shorter time this time and lo, the cake rose and stayed rose! Also my cake tin was only 8" and the recipe called for 9", so I made 1 1/2 times the quantity and filled the 8" to a reasonable depth and put the rest into a loaf tin. Worked perfectly.

Baking takes years to perfect IMHO. Perhaps he's better off with fairy cakes or muffins? They're harder to mess up and you can always drown them in icing to hide any hiccups.

[becks77]

Hi,
Cakes sinking can be due to a number of diferent things,
too much raising agent, too much sugar, opening doors too long, or incorrect cooking,
The trick maybe to weigh everything super accurately, cook at a lower temp for longer, avoid opening doors too long, always use a timer to gauge cooking time, and be sure not to over beat the mixture, fold the flour and dry ingredients,
HTH
Becks

[Annpan]

I always used to have sinking cakes - until I realised that you shouldn't open the door during baking. My sister had the same problem, so I told her too... for some reason they don't put it in cookery books, you are just supposed to know

[Odsox]

I don't think there is so much of a problem opening the door, as long as you open it slowly and not for too long.
It's the inrush of cold air that causes the problem.

[kiwirach]

can i just revisit this again.....

i was baking, or rather looking for ingrediants to bake at his house yesterday, and noticed the plain flour is 2 years out of date! ....would that also play a part?. his wife reckons not, but i personally wouldnt use flour 2yrs out of date to bake with.

i told him about the replies on here and what we've decided is that he watch me bake a cake, then i watch him, and that he try muffins and biscuits also.....but seeing the flour yesterday made me wonder if thats the problem.

thanks again for any thoughts.