First Victoria sponge was a disaster

[Stephen Booth]

Hi all I baked my first Victoria sponge a couple of days ago and it was a disaster,the base and the sides of the sponges were burned to a crisp,but in the middle it was lovely,any tips to take foreword to my next attempt I’m going to have tomorrow would be gratefully recieved
Many thanks
Steve

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Hi all I baked my first Victoria sponge a couple of days ago and it was a disaster,the base and the sides of the sponges were burned to a crisp,but in the middle it was lovely,any tips to take foreword to my next attempt I’m going to have tomorrow would be gratefully recieved
Many thanks
Steve

Sounds like you used a dark metal cake tin, baked in an oven with a fan, and at 190C/gas mark 5. Not your fault. British kitchens are not for designed for baking. The small ovens, inability to shut off the oven fans, few temperature settings on the ovens, and dark metal tins means every thing will be burnt or close to it.

Dark metal, coated metal, anodized aluminum metal all conduct heat very intensely. That bakeware over bakes everything. You have to reduce the baking temperature by 25°F. So if the baking temperature was 180°C (350°F) you have to reduce the oven temperature and bake at 160°C (325°F). If you’re able to adjust your temperature in increments of 5° definitely reduce your baking temperature. The European Union banned aluminum bakeware, so the horrible dark metal bakeware in Europe is all that is available.

A fan assist also blasts a lot of heat in the oven chamber. The batter in contact with the metal bakes hot and fast. The hotter that metal, the faster the batter will bake. So a fan assist oven just makes the dark bakeware all the worse. And the hot air blasting across the top surface dries out the cake. So the higher the oven temperature, the faster the cake top bakes as well.

If you are fortunate enough to have an oven that allows you to shut the fan off, bake without it. fortunately American ovens don’t have that terrible feature.

A lot of recipes indicate a baking temperature of 190°C. this translates to 374°F. This is insanely high for pastry—especially cake. 350°F (180°C) is even too high for cake. I bake my cakes and most pastry chefs bake their cakes at 325°F (160°C). try 170°C.

 

[Stephen Booth]

Well I’ve just had another go and it’s a disaster again I’ve turned the oven down to 130c this time and still the outsides,bottom,sides,are burning before the middles cooked feeling frustrated but will suss it lol

 

[Stephen Booth]

Sounds like you used a dark metal cake tin, baked in an oven with a fan, and at 190C/gas mark 5. Not your fault. British kitchens are not for designed for baking. The small ovens, inability to shut off the oven fans, few temperature settings on the ovens, and dark metal tins means every thing will be burnt or close to it.

Dark metal, coated metal, anodized aluminum metal all conduct heat very intensely. That bakeware over bakes everything. You have to reduce the baking temperature by 25°F. So if the baking temperature was 180°C (350°F) you have to reduce the oven temperature and bake at 160°C (325°F). If you’re able to adjust your temperature in increments of 5° definitely reduce your baking temperature. The European Union banned aluminum bakeware, so the horrible dark metal bakeware in Europe is all that is available.

A fan assist also blasts a lot of heat in the oven chamber. The batter in contact with the metal bakes hot and fast. The hotter that metal, the faster the batter will bake. So a fan assist oven just makes the dark bakeware all the worse. And the hot air blasting across the top surface dries out the cake. So the higher the oven temperature, the faster the cake top bakes as well.

If you are fortunate enough to have an oven that allows you to shut the fan off, bake without it. fortunately American ovens don’t have that terrible feature.

A lot of recipes indicate a baking temperature of 190°C. this translates to 374°F. This is insanely high for pastry—especially cake. 350°F (180°C) is even too high for cake. I bake my cakes and most pastry chefs bake their cakes at 325°F (160°C). try 170°C.

Thankyou for the reply,the Mary Berry book I’ve got tells me to bake the cake at 160c on fan assisted oven,my first attempt I did it at 160 and was a disaster,my latest attempt I tried at 140c and still the same,a disaster,I even tried to put silver foil on the top to stop it burning to no avail,I took in what you said about the baking tins and I’m going to get some vintage aluminium ones of EBay,I will not be beat lol

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Thankyou for the reply,the Mary Berry book I’ve got tells me to bake the cake at 160c on fan assisted oven,my first attempt I did it at 160 and was a disaster,my latest attempt I tried at 140c and still the same,a disaster,I even tried to put silver foil on the top to stop it burning to no avail,I took in what you said about the baking tins and I’m going to get some vintage aluminium ones of EBay,I will not be beat lol

Wow, that is really burnt. That is really not normal. Mary Barry is an outstanding baker, so it cannot be a problem with her recipe. Get an oven thermometer, and check the temperature of your oven. Something is seriously not right. Preheat your oven, with the oven thermometer inside in the center of the oven. Leave the oven closed for a good 30 minutes before you check the temperature.

I am assuming the racks are in the center of the oven. even with dark metal cake tins the cake should not burn at that temperature. something is wrong with the oven. I’m thinking something is also wrong with the cake tins—-definitely do not eat those cakes. My concerned is the coating is toxic. No tin should cause that kind of burning, especially at that low temperature. That must be toxic.

Wash the inside of your oven before you bake or roast anything else in it to remove any some residue, including the racks. And throw out those cake tins.

 

[Stephen Booth]

Thankyou for your Reply Norcalbaker,I’ve took your advice,I’ve thrown the cake tins in the bin and cleansed the oven out really well,I’ve also ordered a thermometer offline,I really appreciate your advice

 

[Stephen Booth]

Do you recommend any sponge tins I should purchase please

 

[ShuBunny]

Hi @Stephen Booth ,

I believe NorcalBaker59 uses Chicago metallic uncoated 2 for sheets and Parrish magic line for her cakes. And also Gobel. Those are American Brand’s.

But I’m not sure what’s available for your country.

 

[Stephen Booth]

Thanks shy bunny I’ll do my homework on the brands and get them imported if I have to.many thanks,I must say tho it’s a lot of work to bake a cake,but I do understand that when I get the basics right I can build off that and hopefully bake some nice cakes,I will not be beaten

 

[Stephen Booth]

Are these tins the right ones

 

[ShuBunny]

Yes, I believe these are the ones @Norcalbaker59 uses.
She shared more info, especially about counterfeits on amazon.
and she's not a Fat diddio fan.

2-inch vs 3-inch deep cake pans

It seems like this has been a point of debate forever, so I'm wondering what do people here have to say on the matter? I've seen some peple say that the extra height on the 3" pan reflects heat onto the top of the cake, causing it to brown more, but Stella Parks, who I always trust as a reliable...

www.baking-forums.com

The Science Behind Chewy Cookies with Bread Flour

Brown crust. No matter how fine and perfect the crumb they still have all that dry brown crust on the outside. Yet my sister text me to rave about how moist and flavorful these cakes were. With a coated bundt pan you have no choice but using a simple syrup. I used lavender verbena lemon simple...

www.baking-forums.com

I'm not staying in the states, so I ordered a 1 parrish magic line thru amazon too, to try my dumb luck. I'm not prepared to go the expensive route of using a restaurant supply store and overseas shipping. Fingers crossed that mine isn't counterfeit.
I'm using nordicware naturals for my sheets and cake pans, but they have sloping edges and curved corners, which is less of a professional look.

good luck, really sad to see how burnt your first 2 attempts were. looks like it is an equipment problem.

 

[Stephen Booth]

So do you think that the tins I’ve pictured on here could be counterfeit tins

 

[Stephen Booth]

I know im asking a lot of questions but I’m struggling,I’ve decided to go back to basic so have a cooker engineer coming out to check my cooker is working properly and as it should be at the end of the month,once it has been checked and my confidence is restored in it I will try again,I have thrown all of my baking tins in the bin as Nordic suggested and want to purchase some good ones,but my confidence in amozon is now tainted now the word counterfeit has been mentioned,once I deal with the tin dellema and the oven is checked I will try again,I can’t wait for the day where I can bake a decent basic Victoria sponge cake,then I can grow from that and learn other stuff,but foundations first,the great thing about problems is that it’s fun and rewarding solving them,and god have I got some to solve it’s all in the fun tho lol

 

[ShuBunny]

So do you think that the tins I’ve pictured on here could be counterfeit tins

No worries, we all have questions.

I can't tell at all if it is counterfeit. Just letting you know Norcalbaker's view on the pans sold on Amazon. She's seen more pans than us! She did advise to contact the pan maker's to check if your country has authorised dealers.

For me, my country doesn't carry parrish magic line. I too bought my parrish magic pan off amazon too. I bought only one to try it out. That's why I didn't get it from the restaurant supply store.

It performed similar to my nordic ware pan, but better than my anondised aluminium pan. Didn't feel cheap or throw away.

 

[Stephen Booth]

Cool,that’s good enough for me then ShuBunny I’ll get some and give them a whirl,I’m convinced my thermostat on my cookers not right too so getting it checkedI really appreciate your advice and help,

 

[ShuBunny]

i'm a baking newbie myself, just passing on the threads / knowledge from Norcal & others!

 

[Stephen Booth]

Well that’s good then knowing I’m not alone,have you got any pics of your bakes?

 

[ShuBunny]

no shame in my bad starter cakes.
will get better!

 

[Stephen Booth]

They don’t look bad,a sight better than mine,are they chocolate sponges

 

[Stephen Booth]

You’ve seen my beauty’s