Why didn't my beer cake cook properly?

Why didn't my beer cake cook properly? - Side view of positive young female food blogger in casual clothes and apron introducing yummy cakes and smiling while standing in front of ring lamp and recording vlog on smartphone

I have a beer cake recipe which I've successfully cooked once. Since then, I've had a new oven and just tried to bake it again. It wasn't entirely successful.

It's baked in a 10", round, deep tin. The base and sides were brown and a bit 'bendy'. The edge of the top had foamed up and then crusted off. The topping had crisped off properly. The middle was nearly cooked and as you moved out towards the edge it seemed to get more cooked until about one-and-a-half inches from the edge when it was suddenly quite soggy. So there is a ring of partially cooked cake-mix just before the outer crust. I've done a picture of a cut through the middle of the cake (I'm a marginally better cook than I am an artist): cross-section of cake

I cooked it 20°C below the recommended 180°C (350°F) because I was using the fan. I put it on the middle shelf of the oven.

It was supposed to be cooked for 1hr 50 mins but after that long a skewer stuck into the middle was sticky so I stuck it back for another 20 mins. The skewer was still a bit sticky but not as much and, as the outside was looking like it would soon burn, I risked it and took it out. A bit longer might've cooked the middle better but what about the rest?

Next time, should I:

  • Stick to the recommended temperature? Go lower still, or higher?
  • Try cooking it on a higher shelf? Or a lower one?
  • Not use the fan?
  • Sing to it, shout at it or ignore it and hope it behaves?
  • Something else?

And, obviosuly, poke the skewer in all over, not just the middle, and trust it.



Best Answer

Turning down the temperature by 20C was a good idea because of the fan, however it may be too much in your oven's case as it sounds like the temperature was a bit too low.

What likely happened was that the fan blowing over the center of the bread cooked the center first, but the fan didn't blow on the sides of the bread as much. This has happened to me when I'm using a high sided baking tin where the bread was not up to the top. I find when baking breads and cakes that the fan tends to char the outside of things even if I turn it down, and then the inside doesn't cook so well, so I usually leave the fan off. I suggest you try the recommended temperature with the fan off and see how that works.




Pictures about "Why didn't my beer cake cook properly?"

Why didn't my beer cake cook properly? - Crop woman cutting cake with berries
Why didn't my beer cake cook properly? - Crop unrecognizable woman serving scrumptious pie on wooden table
Why didn't my beer cake cook properly? - Halved ripe apricot near chocolate cupcake and assorted fruits on background



Why is my cake not cooking in the middle?

When your cake isn't cooking in the middle, it's often because the oven was too hot or it wasn't baked for long enough. Every oven is different, so you can't always rely on the recipe's timing and temperature. Put the cake back in to bake for longer and cover it with foil if it's browning too fast.

How do you fix a undercooked cake?

So how do you fix undercooked cake? If the cake is undercooked overall, put it back in the oven for 10-15 minutes. If the middle part is still wet, cover the cake with foil and bake for up to 15 minutes. If the bottom is moist, turn off the upper heat or cover with foil, and cook for a few minutes.

Why is my cake wet in the middle?

There are quite a few reasons you could end up with this result. It could be that too much fat has been used to grease the tin; the cake tin wasn't lined sufficiently; the oven was too hot; the cake was left in the oven for too long or a fat that is not suitable for baking has been used.

Can you put a cake back in the oven?

Unfortunately once a cake has cooled it is not possible to re-bake it. The cake would have to heat all the way through again and the outside parts of the cake would become too dry. Also if the cake has sunk in the centre from being underbaked it will not rise again as the raising agents in the recipe will have expired.



Why Didn't You Stop Me?




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: SHVETS production, Danik Prihodko, Tim Douglas, Karolina Grabowska