1 week Ago By Claire Schofield
Baking is a hobby enjoyed by millions of people but it can be frustratingly difficult to get right sometimes. The process of baking is a bit of a science and just one slip up with measurements, or a slight temperature change can lead to disastrous results, so it’s important to read recipes carefully and stick to the instructions. One of the most common problems you may encounter when baking is seeing your cakes collapse in the middle.
There’s nothing more disappointing than seeing your cake rise up in the oven, only for it to then sink spectacularly shortly after. But according to baking expert Mary Berry , the problem is generally caused by one ingredient and it can easily be avoided if you get the quantities exactly right. The former Great British Bake Off judge says cakes will rise rapidly before collapsing if you add too much baking powder to your mixture.
Baking powder is often added to cake as a leavening agent to help your bake rise. It’s made from an alkali (bicarbonate of soda) and an acid (cream of tartar) and when it comes into contact with liquid and heat, a chemical reaction takes place that produces carbon dioxide gas, forming bubbles within the mixture causing it to expand and rise. These bubbles are what help give baked goods their lovely light and airy texture, but if you use the incorrect amounts it can have less desirable results.
If you use too much baking powder in a recipe then this can cause the cake to rise up too quickly and then collapse. So if your instructions say to add a teaspoon, for example, make sure this is level before you put it in, as a heaped spoonful may cause your cake to sink. Explaining the issue in a Food Network UK video for her salted caramel cake recipe , Mary says: “Measure in the chilled baking spread and self-raising flour along with caster and light muscovado sugar.
Then half a teaspoonful of salt. “Sprink that over and then a teaspoon of baking powder. Make sure that it is a level teaspoon.
If you heat it up, the sponge will rise up and fall down again.” Baking powder that has expired can also result in a similar problem as it won’t react properly, meaning your cake could rise and then sink, or it won’t rise at all. So it’s worth checking the expiry date on your ingredients before you start baking.
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