topic Re: Need advice, baking ladies!! in Kitchen

Need advice, baking ladies!!

ottowatoo — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 17:07:52 GMT

Ladies, I make a great carrot cake -- have for many years. Now, I make it in a 8" round pan and I bake it at 350 degrees. after 1 hr 15 min I checked it often...the stick comes out clean, I take it out. The top to me is more done than I care for...and the inside is alittle bit more not done than I care for. When cooled all is well, but I prefer to have inside cooked more and top less. Now, my question, can I change the temp, maybe lower it to get the top and center more the way I like it. Understand what I am trying to say?? I can follow any recipe and do well, but I am not good at tweaking it....I had read in the King Arthur Flour magazine that if you want crispy cookies do this, if you want them soft, do this. I never realized that you can change things out like that -- as I say, I am not a baker...just follow recipes. Any thoughts ladies! Thanks!!

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

KarenQVC — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 17:16:09 GMT

I email or phone the bakers at King Arthur when I have a question. Contact info. is on their website. They are there during business hours. Just a thought.

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

sfnative — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 17:17:40 GMT

This is just me, but I'd be more inclined to try a 9" pan at the same temp.

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

Harpa — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 17:25:46 GMT

And I would try lowering the oven @ 325 degrees, but don't open the oven until after a set time (maybe after the hour & 15 min). You mentioned you check with a toothpick often, and I'm sure opening & closing the oven has an effect on the finished cake.

The denser the cake, the lower the oven temp....isn't that a rather safe guideline?

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

JeanLouiseFinch — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 17:27:17 GMT

When you say, "Now, I make it in an 8" round pan...", does that mean you've changed pan sizes from a size you used to make it in? Are you only making one layer?

One thing that strikes me is that 1 hr. and 15 mins. for a single layer in an 8" pan sounds like a long time. I have a carrot cake recipe that gets divided into 3 8" round pans and they bake at 350° for 30 mins. or until a toothpick comes out clean. Another carrot cake recipe that I have calls for it to be baked in either a round tube/bundt pan or a 9"x13". That one calls for a baking time similar to yours - 1 hr. 10 mins.

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

SharkE — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 18:04:46 GMT

Sounds like it needs to be more spread out like in a 9x13 pan would cook more evenly or if that's to big a small rectangular pan like a 11x7.

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

jaxs mom — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 18:13:50 GMT

Did you bake it on a lower rack? And what's the volume of the recipe? If it was one meant for a 13x9 when you need to bake it in 2 round pans not one.

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

Jazzybelle — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 18:27:35 GMT

If you are cooking it as you always have - same size pans, same temp., same recipe, etc. - I would test the temperature of your oven to be sure it is accurate.

Good luck!

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

scotnovel — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 18:30:01 GMT

I cover mine loosely with foil for that last 15-20 minutes or once the top seems fully baked. The inside bakes fully and the top does not burn or get too dried out.

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

ottowatoo — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 18:31:37 GMT

Thx ladies!...I usually bake in the bundt pan...but had to throw it out. I use to work for a bakery...didn't learn alot but did get the great recipes. She baked all birthday/event cakes in the 8"" rounds. .. so that is what I have always done...never an issue. I wondered could my baking soda/powder an issue? Too old? Or the temp...maybe I will try a lower temp. The cake is a dense cake...3"" high...that is why the longer time. Thanks ladies for feedback!!

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

SharkE — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 19:10:07 GMT

Speaking for myself I always have better luck with sheet cakes. Those stack cakes are a pain. Sheet cake, you can get it done all the way thru and let it cool, ice it , your done.

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

adoreqvc — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 22:59:35 GMT

Since new ovens are usually pro calibrated and then delivered to you, you can trust them to be more accurate than ovens which have lost their calibration.

To be on the safe side since every oven runs differently bakers and cooks need to be sure of their inner oven temperature in the inner oven cavity.

The only way is to call your oven manufacturer and find out if there is a way for you to use a sc*rew *driver to calibrate your oven yourself, and if they say no then it is best to just buy an oven thermometer which can just sit in the inside of your oven, or hang on one of the wire racks inside the oven.

Many times what you set your oven to is not the same temperature as what the inside of your oven actually registers.

I would do the above first and then decide.

P.S. Even with proper oven calibration the temp may still be a bit off, so I would buy and use an oven thermometer anyway and just leave it in the oven all the time, just to be on the safe side.

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

littlewisk — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 01:49:09 GMT

I would get an oven thermometer and check it that way to see if the temp is correct. The post about calibration is correct, however it is alot easier to initially just use the thermometer to check. I had an oven when we were in the Navy and living on base. MY foods were over baking, I did what I am suggesting and it turned out my oven was 50 degrees hotter than the "setting" !!! My neighbor told me to do this that as long as her and her hubby had been in the Navy she always did this to check her ovens!!!

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

jaxs mom — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 02:08:42 GMT

Oh it's a three inch cake, I think that's your problem. With the bundt pan you get heat in the middle so it's easier for all that dense cake to cook evenly. If it was me, I'd split it into two pans but check it after 45-50 minutes. I bake my round carrot cakes for 50-60 minutes but they are not 3 inches tall. Alternatively you can switch to a 13x9.

The traditional full sized bundt is for 10-15 cup recipes, an 8x2 inch round cake pan holds 6 cups. You've got a 3 inch cake, so you're using the taller cake pans which should hold about 9 cups. Personally I just think it's too much volume for that dense of a batter.

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

Lacey1 — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 14:06:33 GMT

Definitely make sure you're using fresh baking powder. I would cover with foil in the beginning of the baking time and remove it for last 15 minutes.

Re: Need advice, baking ladies!!

Mindy D — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 15:07:36 GMT

The type of pan you use makes a real difference. I use Cooks Essentials and I get perfect results, but get lousy results with my grocery store bakeware, Bakers Secret. Different metals produce different results.