I just baked a cake .. but why is it soo flat and oily?? i didnt use any oil?!
i just made a cake !.!. a victoria sponge cake to be exact but instead of a nice fluffy sponge its come out like an oily weird pancake :s
i got the receipe from the bbc food website !.!. so i was hoping it would come out even slightly good !.!. but it didnt
what i find really odd is when it was baking in the oven !.!. i noticed a lot of oil raising to the top of the cake
(i used no oil, only butter like they stated)
the ingrediants used was:
smooth butter and sugar together,
beat 2eggs into the batter
and add self raising flour and smooth in allowing air to enter for a fluffy texture
bake in oven for 20mins or until brown
and iv just this second finished cooking it and it tastes like a dirty oily dish clothe (no i havent had the pleasure of eating a dish clothe but you can only imagine how nasty it would taste,lol)
despite the fact i used self raising flour its still flat !.!.
why is my cake so oily and what should i change to make it taste and look better for next time!?Www@FoodAQ@Com
i got the receipe from the bbc food website !.!. so i was hoping it would come out even slightly good !.!. but it didnt
what i find really odd is when it was baking in the oven !.!. i noticed a lot of oil raising to the top of the cake
(i used no oil, only butter like they stated)
the ingrediants used was:
smooth butter and sugar together,
beat 2eggs into the batter
and add self raising flour and smooth in allowing air to enter for a fluffy texture
bake in oven for 20mins or until brown
and iv just this second finished cooking it and it tastes like a dirty oily dish clothe (no i havent had the pleasure of eating a dish clothe but you can only imagine how nasty it would taste,lol)
despite the fact i used self raising flour its still flat !.!.
why is my cake so oily and what should i change to make it taste and look better for next time!?Www@FoodAQ@Com
Answers:
Christina, so sorry your Victoria sponge was a disaster!. Never mind -- have another go and you'll get the hang of it!. Victoria sponge is normally a very reliable cake to bake!.
I know you've had a lot of answers already, but I wanted to stress that the Simon Rimmer recipe quantities are right for Victoria sponge!. But his recipe says four eggs, not two, which you mentioned!.!.!.
If you only used two eggs for 225g butter/sugar/flour, that would have resulted in a fairly flat result (eggs are an important raising agent in this recipe!.) Is that possible!?
The ratio for this particular kind of cake, a very traditional British recipe, is equal amounts of butter, sugar and self-raising flour!. Here's a (probably better-written) Victoria sponge recipe which I've used myself, and its amounts are very similar: http://www!.waitrose!.com/recipe/Victoria_!.!.!.
I'd be suspicious of the flour you had, although ; but also I wonder if you were energetic enough in beating together the sugar and butter at the start!. The sugar-butter mix needs to look much like whipped cream by the time you've finished (hence the term "creaming")!. You say "smoothing", which sounds too gentle!.
What happens with creaming/beating is that you incorporate lots of air but also partly melt the sugar into the butter, which helps stabilise it when you add the eggs!.
Have a look at the recipe version I've linked to above and you'll get the idea: it involves quite a lot of beating, to get a really light fluffy batter!. Eggs go in a little at a time, so as not to curdle the mixture (adding a little flour with them, as the recipe I've linked to says, is a good tip!.) Then you sift the flour into it and fold it in gently, lifting each spoonful and turning it over, aiming to add more air at every gentle turn!. Absolutely the opposite of beating!
And, as others have said, the cake should go into a preheated oven as quickly as possible, so that the carbon dioxide from the raising agent in the flour doesn't escape!.
Better luck for next time!.
And even experienced bakers make mistakes once in a while: like the time I made a batch of scones (a recipe I've been using since I was six!) and put salt in instead of sugar!. Cooking salt and caster sugar are horribly similar in appearance!.
You can't imagine what inedible, revolting little sultana rocks they turned out as!.!.!.
XDWww@FoodAQ@Com
I know you've had a lot of answers already, but I wanted to stress that the Simon Rimmer recipe quantities are right for Victoria sponge!. But his recipe says four eggs, not two, which you mentioned!.!.!.
If you only used two eggs for 225g butter/sugar/flour, that would have resulted in a fairly flat result (eggs are an important raising agent in this recipe!.) Is that possible!?
The ratio for this particular kind of cake, a very traditional British recipe, is equal amounts of butter, sugar and self-raising flour!. Here's a (probably better-written) Victoria sponge recipe which I've used myself, and its amounts are very similar: http://www!.waitrose!.com/recipe/Victoria_!.!.!.
I'd be suspicious of the flour you had, although ; but also I wonder if you were energetic enough in beating together the sugar and butter at the start!. The sugar-butter mix needs to look much like whipped cream by the time you've finished (hence the term "creaming")!. You say "smoothing", which sounds too gentle!.
What happens with creaming/beating is that you incorporate lots of air but also partly melt the sugar into the butter, which helps stabilise it when you add the eggs!.
Have a look at the recipe version I've linked to above and you'll get the idea: it involves quite a lot of beating, to get a really light fluffy batter!. Eggs go in a little at a time, so as not to curdle the mixture (adding a little flour with them, as the recipe I've linked to says, is a good tip!.) Then you sift the flour into it and fold it in gently, lifting each spoonful and turning it over, aiming to add more air at every gentle turn!. Absolutely the opposite of beating!
And, as others have said, the cake should go into a preheated oven as quickly as possible, so that the carbon dioxide from the raising agent in the flour doesn't escape!.
Better luck for next time!.
And even experienced bakers make mistakes once in a while: like the time I made a batch of scones (a recipe I've been using since I was six!) and put salt in instead of sugar!. Cooking salt and caster sugar are horribly similar in appearance!.
You can't imagine what inedible, revolting little sultana rocks they turned out as!.!.!.
XDWww@FoodAQ@Com
hmmm!.!.!. the butter is oil so when your cake didn't rise it just pooled on the outside!.
I'm surprised with the sponge cake, you didn't have to beat some eggs white to a soft peak stage!.
A couple things!.!.!.
The self-rising flour was off!.
you over-mixed the batter or waited too long before baking (hours)!.
Do you have the link to the recipe!?Www@FoodAQ@Com
I'm surprised with the sponge cake, you didn't have to beat some eggs white to a soft peak stage!.
A couple things!.!.!.
The self-rising flour was off!.
you over-mixed the batter or waited too long before baking (hours)!.
Do you have the link to the recipe!?Www@FoodAQ@Com
was it this recipe!?
http://www!.bbc!.co!.uk/food/recipes/databa!.!.!.
seems like a cup of butter to a cup of flour is not a good ratio!.!.!.
Ive never seen a cake recipe where 50/50 is the shortening vs flour!.!.!. way too much oil/butter for that recipe!.!. maybe there is a misprint!.!.!. sorry!.!.!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
http://www!.bbc!.co!.uk/food/recipes/databa!.!.!.
seems like a cup of butter to a cup of flour is not a good ratio!.!.!.
Ive never seen a cake recipe where 50/50 is the shortening vs flour!.!.!. way too much oil/butter for that recipe!.!. maybe there is a misprint!.!.!. sorry!.!.!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Butter is a fat so that is what you are seeing rise out!. Sponge cake is very tricky and sensitive!. So don't take it personally! My suggestion is to use cake flour and add the leavening separately!. Chances are your self rising flour lost it's effectiveness!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Sponge cake is a delicate balance of flour and wet ingredients!. Beat the eggs in one at a time, put your flour in a bit at a time!. make sure you put the exact amount, level off cups, ect!. Good luck!!Www@FoodAQ@Com
Was your self rising flour old!? That could account for it!. Always be sure to have fresh flour, baking soda, baking powder etc == it matters!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
maybe you need to cook it a little more!.
=]Www@FoodAQ@Com
=]Www@FoodAQ@Com
Sometimes the problem is in the mixing!. You need to whip air into the batter as much as you need leavening!. Self-rising flours usually need a little extra baking soda or powder added, in my experience!. Next time you mix, add the eggs one at a time, letting each one get mixed in well!. Add the flour in 3-4 batches, allowing each one to get mixed in pretty well before adding the next!.
It does sound like a problem with the self-rising flour, though!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
It does sound like a problem with the self-rising flour, though!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
I've never seen a recipe use the word "smooth" before, and it's not very descriptive!. In fact, that whole recipe is very odd!.!.!.!.!.!.!.The Betty Crocker Cookbook says that a sponge cake NEVER uses any type of shortening:
ANGEL FOOD: no leavening, no shortening, no yolks
SPONGE: Whites & yolks, no shortening, maybe leavening
CHIFFON: Whites & yolks, shortening, leavening!.!.!.!.
The sponge cake in there calls for 6 separate eggs too, so it sounds like you were actually trying to make a Chiffon Cake! This one might be closest:
TWO EGG CHIFFON CAKE
2 eggs, separated
1-1/2 c!. sugar
2-1/4 c!. cake flour
1 tsp!. baking powder
1 tsp!. salt
1/3 c!. salad oil
1 c!. milk
1-1/2 tsp!. vanilla
Heat oven to 350!. Grease & flour baking pans (9x13" or 2 round layer pans)!. In small mixer bowl, beat egg whites until foamy!. Beat in 1/2 c!. of the sugar, 1 TB at a time, continue beating until very stiff and glossy!. Set meringue aside !.!.!.!.!.!.!.Measuring remaining sugar, flour, baking powder & salt into large mixer bowl!. Add oil, half the milk and the vanilla; beat 1 min!. on high, scraping bowl constantly!. Add remaining milk and the egg yolks; beat 1 min, scraping bowl occasionally!. FOLD in meringue!. Pour into pans!.!.!.!.!.!.Bake 9x13" pan 40-45 min!. or layers for 30-40 min - or until toothpick comes out clean!. Cool and frostWww@FoodAQ@Com
ANGEL FOOD: no leavening, no shortening, no yolks
SPONGE: Whites & yolks, no shortening, maybe leavening
CHIFFON: Whites & yolks, shortening, leavening!.!.!.!.
The sponge cake in there calls for 6 separate eggs too, so it sounds like you were actually trying to make a Chiffon Cake! This one might be closest:
TWO EGG CHIFFON CAKE
2 eggs, separated
1-1/2 c!. sugar
2-1/4 c!. cake flour
1 tsp!. baking powder
1 tsp!. salt
1/3 c!. salad oil
1 c!. milk
1-1/2 tsp!. vanilla
Heat oven to 350!. Grease & flour baking pans (9x13" or 2 round layer pans)!. In small mixer bowl, beat egg whites until foamy!. Beat in 1/2 c!. of the sugar, 1 TB at a time, continue beating until very stiff and glossy!. Set meringue aside !.!.!.!.!.!.!.Measuring remaining sugar, flour, baking powder & salt into large mixer bowl!. Add oil, half the milk and the vanilla; beat 1 min!. on high, scraping bowl constantly!. Add remaining milk and the egg yolks; beat 1 min, scraping bowl occasionally!. FOLD in meringue!. Pour into pans!.!.!.!.!.!.Bake 9x13" pan 40-45 min!. or layers for 30-40 min - or until toothpick comes out clean!. Cool and frostWww@FoodAQ@Com