Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

I have just made my first madeira cake using a good quality 10″ cake tin. I left the cake to cool in the tin then removed but my cake tapers so that the top of the cake is narrower than the bottom. What have I done wrong and how can I prevent this from happening again

This happened to me once when I had the fold of my lining paper at the base of my tin instead of at the top. The paper leaned in slightly and the cake mixture did not push it out as it rose, so I ended up with a tapered cake. Now I make sure I always have the fold at the top and the loose edges at the base and haven’t suffered the problem again. I don’t know if this is what you may have done, it was just my experience, but maybe worth thinking about?!

Hi, I had this problem with round cakes. I now grease the tin and then make sure my lining paper is stuck to the tin to ensure the shape. It could also be that your tin is larger on the top than the bottom (sides slope slightly. You could check your tin with a ruler to see if its the same size on the top and the bottom. Hope you get it sorted. Your cake won’t be wasted though just trim the edges to get them straight and then you will have some scobby snacks. (as paul would say)