Cake not cooked in the centre

[oldman]

Hi,
I've just baked my second ever cake and as you can see (it's in my profile pic.) it is not cooked at the centre. Do I increase the baking time and lower the cooking temperature to eliminate this problem? Is it that simple?
I assume that if I just increase one or the other the top will burn.
Edwin

 

[LMHmedchem]

Hello Edwin,

Since the outside of your cake has a nice golden brown color (meaning that the outside is baked) it is very likely that your oven is too hot.

The first thing to do is to test the temperature of your oven. It is not at all unusual for the actual oven temperature to be different from the value indicated on the temperature control. Use a decent quality oven thermometer to check this. Some ovens allow you to adjust the oven controls to get the temperature correct. For those that do not, you just have to know that your oven is hot or cold and adjust.

The oven needs to be hot at the beginning of baking in order for the cake to raise properly. You want to quickly heat up the gas trapped in the batter causing it to expand and puff up the cake. Once the surface of the cake bakes, it really can't rise anymore.

At what temperature did you cook your cake?
How long did you bake for?
What was the texture like in the part that was cooked?

It always helps to post the recipe or the name of the mix that you used.

LMHmedchem

 

[Lee_C]

I agree with what LMHmedchem said.

Based on my experiences and what I've learned on this forum and since put into action, I will add that
baking at about 10 to 20c lower and for a bit longer than the recipe calls for will help cook the inside before the outside is done.

Also, using baking belts (you can make one with soaked kitchen roll and aluminium foil) really helps to keep the edges soft. The edges don't bake too fast preventing them getting hard and crusty before the inside is done. And it keeps the top more flat too.
This is worth watching about baking belts.

I baked something that called for 180c for 18 minutes, but I baked at 160c for about 24 minutes along with homemade baking belts and it came out much better than my previous efforts. Completely cooked inside (cocktail stick comes out clean) and no hard edges.

And for a thermometer, I use this one and find it to be pretty accurate.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0021AEAIK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1