Hello!
I am having a problem with a chocolate cake recipe in that no matter what I do, the cakes will always sink in the middle. Sometimes its just a little in the center 2 or 3 inches across, and other times, the entire top is a dish like parabolic curve. I have made these cakes several times and nearly every time I have experienced some degree of sinking. This particular recipe you mix all of the dry ingredients first, then add the eggs, then the milk and oil, then at the end... Boiling hot water, which of course makes for a very thin batter. but when baked properly, it is an incredible cake. for leavening it uses baking power and baking soda. I have made sure my milk and eggs are at room temperature before mixing in. I checked the oven temp last night and it is within a few degrees of where it should be. When placed in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes , a thermometer will read around 340-345. I increased the temperature to 360 and and waited until it finally rests out right at 350, (another 20 mins or so) When I cook again I will make this adjustment. My main question is this... The original recipe called for 9" pans, but when I use them the layers are very short, so to increase the amount of batter to yield taller layers, I used the recipe converter tool on the website to adjust the recipe up for the difference in size. (I changed it from 12 servings to 14 servings) the amount is now perfect, the cakes rise to just below the tops of the pans and create nice tall layers. However, the converter adjusts only the ingredients, not the temperature or cook times. Is it possible that I need to increase the cook temperature to accommodate for the extra ingredients? What happens is my cakes rise, then either fall before a toothpick comes out clean, or fall after they are removed and cooling. I make sure there is no stomping or slamming while a cake is cooking and I don't open then door until very close to when I know its ready. I used to be bad about opening the door and checking on it way too much, but I thought that may be the problem so I started waiting before looking. This is the most delicious chocolate cake you can imagine, and everyone I have made it for absolutely goes crazy for it. but for me, the fact that they sink drives me nuts. Thank you in advance for any help you can offer.
I am having a problem with a chocolate cake recipe in that no matter what I do, the cakes will always sink in the middle. Sometimes its just a little in the center 2 or 3 inches across, and other times, the entire top is a dish like parabolic curve. I have made these cakes several times and nearly every time I have experienced some degree of sinking. This particular recipe you mix all of the dry ingredients first, then add the eggs, then the milk and oil, then at the end... Boiling hot water, which of course makes for a very thin batter. but when baked properly, it is an incredible cake. for leavening it uses baking power and baking soda. I have made sure my milk and eggs are at room temperature before mixing in. I checked the oven temp last night and it is within a few degrees of where it should be. When placed in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes , a thermometer will read around 340-345. I increased the temperature to 360 and and waited until it finally rests out right at 350, (another 20 mins or so) When I cook again I will make this adjustment. My main question is this... The original recipe called for 9" pans, but when I use them the layers are very short, so to increase the amount of batter to yield taller layers, I used the recipe converter tool on the website to adjust the recipe up for the difference in size. (I changed it from 12 servings to 14 servings) the amount is now perfect, the cakes rise to just below the tops of the pans and create nice tall layers. However, the converter adjusts only the ingredients, not the temperature or cook times. Is it possible that I need to increase the cook temperature to accommodate for the extra ingredients? What happens is my cakes rise, then either fall before a toothpick comes out clean, or fall after they are removed and cooling. I make sure there is no stomping or slamming while a cake is cooking and I don't open then door until very close to when I know its ready. I used to be bad about opening the door and checking on it way too much, but I thought that may be the problem so I started waiting before looking. This is the most delicious chocolate cake you can imagine, and everyone I have made it for absolutely goes crazy for it. but for me, the fact that they sink drives me nuts. Thank you in advance for any help you can offer.
