When is a cake ready?

Back to baking after a pause of many years and tried a carrot cake which turned out to be undercooked.

I heated the oven before putting the cake in.

I used a slightly deeper cake tin than the recipe suggested so I knew it would take a bit longer.

I know that ovens' thermostats are not exact and that mine is a little cooler - this I know from cooking meat.

I tried sticking a knife in and it seemed only a little sticky maybe it shoud not be sticky at all?

Today I am trying a new one and so far it has been in at Gas 4 for two hours (recipe one hour) and is still a little sticky.

My nerves won't stand it so it is coming out soon anyway.

Do I remove the cake from the tin immediately after taking it out of the oven or do I let the cake cool first.

Any advice appreciated. I would like to get this right.

I put a wooden toothpick in to test for doneness. It shouldn't be sticky at all, especially if you're using a deeper pan.

I let the pan cool before taking it out.

Good Luck!

350 F = 180 C = Gas mark 4

Today I am trying a new one and so far it has been in at Gas 4 for two hours (recipe one hour) and is still a little sticky.

Try the toothpick instead of a knife. A little sticky is OK. Carrot cake should be pretty mosit. The toothpick should come out clean or maybe with a crumb or two. Something obviously like batter means it's ot done.

When it comes out of the oven, put the pan on a rack to cool. If you don't have a rack, set the pan on top of a something that will elevate it off the surface.

You should also check the recipe. Too much liquid or too much sugar can cause problems. Did you use the right size of eggs? Maybe too many carrots, which can add liquid. By any chance does the recipe call for pineapple or some other fruit?

And, yes, maybe your oven is too cool.

I've had an oven thermometer for years; it cost very little, but served me well in one apartment where the oven was never at the temperature shown on the dial of the stove.

My pastry chef instructor would say "when it's done" - Meaning that oven temps vary, even in commercial kitchens, and you have to rely on your senses to tell whether something is ready. Timelines in recipes are guidelines only.

That said, 2 hours is probably a bit extreme. Definitely check your oven with a thermometer to see just how off it is so you can adjust accordingly.

You can use a wooden skewer/toothpick to test (should come out clean), but also use your fingertips to get a feel of the texture. It should be slightly spongy.

If your cake pan is very deep, you might have problems regardless.
- The outsides will cook (and dry/caramelise/burn) before the inside does if your oven is too high.
- But, if it's too low it might not leaven (rise) properly either. Baking powder needs heat to act.

You might have better luck splitting the batter into two pans and layering the final product together with a frosting - I can't think of a cake that has a deeper layer than an inch or two (unless it's leavened with egg whites like an Angel Food cake, that's a different process).

Be thankful someone didn't leave your cake out in the rain.

Thank you one and all. As my grandmother used to say there is more to baking than a recipe. I did not have a chance to test my second attempt as a friend was coming round and so the cake went into the freezer. This is not as unkind as it sounds.

Niner I am grateful as my window where I leave cakes etc to cool lets the rain in.

reiney my grandmother would agree with your pastry chef instructor. It is my fault as the recipe does suggest a larger shallower cake tin so I shall buy one. I've seen fruit cakes like Christmas cakes which were three inches deep so how they are cooked is a mystery.

NorthAmerican is an oven thermometer the same as a meat thermometer or a sugar thermometer. I'm happy to get whatever is necessary. As a child I loved soggey undercooked cakes and now don't.

Thanks nutrax I think it is something I need somone to show me at the time. It is possible the misture is too wet. The recipe does not specify the size of eggs and the carrots were freshly washed so had some moisture adhering.

sashac001 I shall try with a toothpick next time

Beginning to think I should stick (not the right word is it) to making shortbread.

Thanks everyone.

You can hang an oven thermometer from one of the oven racks or stand it on another.

Edited by NorthAmerican.

Ah one of those - thanks I've seen these before and obviously different from meat and/or sugar thermometers.

Alternatively I could find a woman who can bake cakes.

Alternatively I could find a woman who can bake cakes.

A nice alternative, but it might be more expensive in the long run.

is an oven thermometer the same as a meat thermometer or a sugar thermometer.

No, it's a thermometer that lives in your oven and tells you what the temperature really is. Here is one in action.

A meat thermometer is stabbed into a hunk of meat to assess internal temperature. What you are calling a "sugar thermometer" is probably what I'd call a candy thermometer. It sits inside a pot & measures the temperature of whatever is cooking--candy, or jam, for instance. A lot of them double as deep fat frying thermometers so you can keep track of the oil temperature.

There are a number of thermometers that can do all those jobs--meat, candy, and oil.

Yes, next time, dry the carrots.

When is a cake ready?

Ye bring out the philosopher in me, OP: when it is ready.

When the carrots are dry, when the eggs are the right size, when the thermometer is in the right place, when the toothpick is sort of moistish but not sticky, when the tin is not too deep,

Now how do women manage something so complicated? On reflection probably because it is so complicated

In my experience, carrot cake batter is fairly loose and wet, and needs baking for a long time at a reasonably low temperature. I'd imagine that gas mark 4 for 2 hours should be enough for a 9" diameter cake but a deep cake will take longer. Got to say I did have a terrible disaster with carrot cake once, I had too much batter in the tin and it just wouldn't set.

Generally, when a cake is done it will shrink in from the sides of the tin (preparing your tin properly is important!) and if you press it gently, the indentation made by your finger should spring back. A wooden cocktail stick should come out of the cake clean.

Actually, we made carrot muffins in class today and were told to grate them just before mixing up the batter, and they should be grated on the small holes. If you grate them too far in advance then they can actually make the batter too moist - this way the water/juiciness (and flavour) is retained in the grated carrot and doesn't leech out into the batter.

(I'm still reconciling that one in my head, but my instructor knows what he's doing so I'll take his word for it for now).

Also if you're using large eggs, the insides (w/o shell) will weigh 50g - the shells weigh 10g. Basically all recipes call for large eggs except for baking formulas that will do it by weight (e.g. 100g egg whites) or percentage (e.g. 10%, usually relating the ratio of egg to flour). But that's probably more information than you need really :)

Other tips:
- make sure to rotate your pan a few times. All ovens have hot spots and this can help to ensure even cooking
- take the cake out of the tin as soon as possible but don't force it. You don't want the cake to sweat in the tin, but you don't want it to break apart when you take it out either. The more fruit & veg in a baked good (so, carrot cake) the more you'll need to let it settle after baking.