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asked February 19th 2013

Email Question : Moist Chocolate Cake

Here’s a recent question via email for the q and a sent in by Lisa:
I have a question regarding the Moist Chocolate cake. When baking the cake for 2hours in 150 my cakes still tend to be sunk in the middle and pulled away from the side. The sides are raised and hardish. Am not certain what this means and wondered if you could please offer some advice on what I’m doing wrong. Thank you

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1 accepted

Hi Andy

There is a lot of feed back on this recipe under the heading popular questions and also in this blog http://www.cakeflix.com/blog/baking-the-perfect-cake-why-things-go-wrong. The hard crust forms because of the high sugar content but softenss on cooling. Reducing the sugar by 20% can help as also having the lining paper at least 2″ above the rim of the tin. Placing a flower nail in the batter will distribute heat more evenly and may help in a more even rise. The 150c temperature is for a non fan oven, fan assisted oven temperature should be reduced by 10-20% or whatever the oven manufacturer’s handbook recommends.
This is a very molten recipe, some sinking will be inevitable as with similar recipes. The mixture shouldn’t be over mixed, it doesn’t need vigorous aerating, just incorporating the ingredients until well blended. Adhering to baking instructions will produce a more successful bake. Hope this helps.

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