I am a newley qualified decorator based in the UK and I am having trouble with my sponge cakes. They are always over cooked on the outside and stodgy or under cooked on the inside. Sometimes they drop in the middle too. I have tried turning the oven temperature up and down, using different recipes and even using different types of tin but to no avail! I would love to find a recipe that gives a light airy sponge and is easily adaptable to different sizes. My friut cakes are always being praised and I would like to do equally well with my sponge cakes.

Thank you if you can help! Emma

By momoreg on Monday, July 03, 2000 - 08:25 am: Edit

It does seem like your temperature is too high. What size is the pan, and how deep is the batter? What is the temperature?
Sometimes too much liquid can cause a cake to fall in the middle, but I really believe that in this case you should look at the temperature more than anything, because any cake that's dark on the outside and raw on the indide is being baked too quickly.

By Emma Hearle on Monday, July 03, 2000 - 12:07 pm: Edit

Thanks for the advice! The temperature is usually 150 to 160 C and you are probably right on the other point too. When I am making the cake it has a nice consistency for most of the time and then it goes a bit runny when I add the last eggs.