Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Good morning,

The cakes have taken over to the extent that I’ve had to move house(!!) and I’ve now inherited a 22 year old oven. Even my failsafe tried and tested recipes are failing in this oven, as it has hot and cold spots and can’t maintain temperature in either direction! So frustrating when a cake you have previously perfected comes out burned on the outside and raw in the middle!

I need to bit the bullet and buy a new oven, asap. Ideally I would LOVE to buy a true 90cm wide oven (i.e. a full 90cm without ‘fillers’ at each side) but I’m afraid I don’t have a spare £3,000 sitting around – if only! So I think what I’m looking at is two single ovens.

Do any of you have personal recommendations for single ovens that are reliable for home bakers? I’m sure any new oven would be an improvement on this old hunk of junk but it would be far better to hear peoples experiences.

Thanks in advance!
JC x

Hi JC

I had just written a whole load of stuff to you and lost it all! Try again. As with most large kitchen appliance, (particularly the big spend type), it is best to read up on speck and durability and also to talk to suppliers who are specialist rather than basic box pushers. I used to take Which? magazine and found it very helpful.
I have electric, Cannon fan forced double oven which copes with cakes up to 14″. Cannon is British made and very sturdy. Mine is pretty old so is now beginning to show a few odd habits. If I could afford a new one, I would buy Neff for reliability. Having said that, one person’s recommendation or experience is not the same as another’s. On the high street, I value the opinion of John Lewis stores, and of course there is no obligation to make your purchase with them.

Hi JC,

If it is of any help to you I have a 60 cm Leisure Gourmet double oven gas cooker. I have found it cooks to perfection, even Paul’s moist chocolate cake…lol ….have a look at the mini ranges Leisure do as they are very reasonably priced and I have had mine for 2 years and only had one problem which was sorted as it was under warranty the first few weeks I had it, the top oven would not stay lit when the bottom oven was on.

As with any expensive items I would go for insurance on them…more so if you use it professionally.

Hope this helps,

Thanks to both of you for your answers. I’ve decided to go with the Neff, just need to decide on which model. Saw some interesting double ovens which were basically towers (two full sized ovens on top of one another) but I’ve decided that two singles gives me a fail safe, just in case one breaks.

I’m sure I’ll be crying when I part with the cash but it will be worth it in the long run!

Thanks again,
JC x

Hi JC

I’m jealous!! I used to have a wonderful Bosch double oven, it was fantastic. Unforfunately it was built in so we had to leave it with the house when we moved. Neff is from a similar stable of manufacturers so I hope your choice of ovens will serve you well. My kitchen here is far too small to justify the money on a fabulous cooker. The one I have will have to do,I’m not in business so have to be contented with my lot. x

It has been a while since I posted this so I thought I should come back to let you all know how I got on. I purchased 2 Neff integrated stainless steel ovens with the slide under door, and they are fantastic so far. I’ve had lots of successful bakes so far and even my bread has come out well (although I still put a bowl of water in to keep things humid). They have the pyrolytic clean facility which is good for those cake experiments where you have a bit of an eruption!

The ovens are also well lit so you can easily see how your baking is doing. All in all I’m pleased with my purchase – although they were an eye watering £624 each and that was with me bartering on the price. I hope at that price they will stand the test of time!

JC x

I just fell off my chair JC! we are looking at refurbishing our kitchen and adding some extra units and I notice that a lot of the brochures show two smaller ovens side by side rather than one standard one. Just wondering if that’s what you’ve got? I’m guessing they are more efficient or something. (I should add that hubby will have a coronary if I suggest changing our perfectly good oven, I’m just curious :-))

Hi JC, We bought our house 26 years ago as a new build and a built in Neff double oven came as standard with the kitchen. About 4 months ago the fan went on the main oven and I thought that was it. Before paying out for a new oven I decided to see if mine could be fixed. The chap who came to make it better said that it was still in really good nick and I should get another 5 years out of it. Believe me it has taken some use. Although I’m pretty keen on the range-type cookers I’ll definitely look at Neff again when I’m able to get my kitchen done. Happy baking.

Hi doodlecake, I have two separate oven at opposite ends of a run of units, with my hob in the middle. Was trying to get a photo but the kitchen is long rather than wide and I can’t get far enough back to get a photo with both ovens in the shot (might have to stand outside in the garden and photo through the kitchen window, don’t know what my neighbours will think!).

Marianl, really good to hear that your Neff has stood the test of time! x

Hi jimmy choux

I’m so pleased you”re having fun with your Neff. As mentioned before I’m green with envy! What I did forget to mention at your original time of posting are the different range of Miele continental ovens, the information is too late now for you but may be useful to other members. Miele is another reliabe product, my old washing machine is now almost 30 years old and still waltzing around with my laundry without problem.