Why does my oil cake drop in the centre
My cake initially rises perfectly, but after about 20 - 25 minutes, the cake starts to slightly droop with the cake also pulling away from the side of the pan.
I don't mind that too much, as the initial rising seemed to be a bit exaggerated anyway. But once I remove the cake from the oven, it droops further - in fact, it collapses.
I take great care preparing the batter by sifting dry ingredients, and using eggs at room temperature.
The procedure I used to prepare the cake batter is:
- I first cream egg yolks and sugar for about 1 minute
- Then I add flour/baking powder mixture, oil, water, beat again for about 1 minute
- Then beat and fold in the egg whites.
Any ideas what I might be doing wrong?
Best Answer
There are couple of reasons that causes a cake to collapse. One reason could be flour/baking powder ratio. As far as I understand from your description this applies to your case. Because the procedure that you follow is fine.
I suggest to use this ratio:
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
If it does not work then try to use less baking powder.
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Quick Answer about "Why does my oil cake drop in the centre"
If a cake pan is too small, the batter may be too deep. It will rise and maybe dome, but if the center is still wet, it will collapse before the structure sets in the center. (It may also spill over the sides of the pan and onto the oven floor, or both!)Why do oil cakes sink in the middle?
The most common reason why cakes sink in the middle is that they're underbaked. What is this? If a cake isn't fully baked through, the center doesn't have a chance to set and it will sink. This creates a doughy, dense texture in the center of your cake layer.How do I stop my cake from sinking in the middle?
If you need to rotate the cake pans during baking then wait until the cakes have baked for around 3/4 of the baking time and are almost fully set. Avoid opening and closing the oven door too sharply and move the pans around gently to minimize the risk of sinking.WHY DID YOUR CAKE SINK IN THE MIDDLE??
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Answer 2
It's also possible that you aren't creaming the eggs and sugar together long enough, meaning the air bubbles are underdeveloped. Try creaming them till they're aerated and fluffy.
Answer 3
Although you say it's an oil cake, I'm not familar with ones that use whipped egg whites. This would make it similar to a chiffon cake.
The typical recommendation for chiffon is to treat them like an angel food cake : place the pan upside-down while it cools, as it doesn't have the same internal strength as a traditional cake. If you're not making it in an angel food pan, which is designed for this (it has little legs on it), make sure you're not filling the pan too far so it swells too much over the pan edge, and flip it over onto a cooling rack to allow air to get under it. This won't solve all of your problems, but should help with the sag after it comes out of the oven.
Based on it pulling away from the sides of the pans and an exaggerated rise, I would have expected your oven to be miscalibrated, as that would indicate it's too hot. (and then if you pull it when it's browned, the inside won't be cooked fully, so more likely to collapse ... basically, the same problems as a souffle.) .... but you said you had that checked. (I'm mentioning this, just in case someone else has a similar problem).
You can run into similar problems with an undercooked center if you over-fill the pan, or you cook a cake in a round pan that's intended for a bundt or tube pan.
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