Baking is something of a skill, no one is born automatically great at baking. It takes practice, and as you practice you may find yourself occasionally facing troubles. One of these troubles is when the cake seems cooked, but the middle is not.
You almost feel tricked. The outside is spongy, delicious perfection, but the middle seems raw and gunky.
What’s up with this, and why does it happen? It’s hardly fair, is it? Well, today we will look at why this may be happening. As you know by now, there is a reason for everything, and when you realize why your cake is not cooking in the middle, you can fix it and have perfect cakes soon enough!
Why Is My Cake Taking So Long To Cook In The Middle?
It all comes down to how you use your oven. If you set the heat too high, the cake will overcook. If you set it too low the cake will take too long and will dry out.
When the temperature is set too high, the outside will probably be burning, but the inside will still be gooey. It is a bit like a thick cut of meat in this way. You need to get the temperature just right!
This is part of the reason why when starting off baking it is best to stick to recipes, as they will give you an insight into the right temperatures to cook. Guessing can lead to simultaneously burnt and soggy cakes.
Why is My Cake Always Raw In The Middle?
However, the temperature of the cook is not always the reason. Sometimes it can be due to the ingredients. If you go too hardcore on the baking powder, you could be handcrafting disaster.
Adding too much baking powder, or using an old baking powder will make your cake undercooked.
However, the most common reason is baking the cake at a high temperature, so the edges cook, but the middle ends up being raw. Another reason could simply be that you are just not cooking your cake enough.
What Do I Do If My Cake Isn’t Cooking In The Middle?
So, is a cake not cooked in the middle unsalvageable? No. If it is still not cooking in the middle, place it back in the oven, covered tightly with tin foil.
The foil will help to heat the cake and will aid the cooking of the inside as it holds the heat inside.
Bake your cake for 10-15 minutes and check around 7 minutes in to ensure that it is working.
Why Is My Cake Sticky Inside?
You could fix a sticky cake by taking it apart, but most of us do not want to do this. Instead, you could freeze the cake for 30 minutes, which should stop any stickiness on the cake from making frosting problematic.
Freezing can help, followed by crumb coating.
Typically, a sticky cake is a sign of a moist cake, which is often good, however, you should be able to identify whether it’s sticky because it’s moist, or it’s sticky because it’s undercooked.
What To Do With Undercooked Cake
Sometimes, we just mess up. If your cake is undercooked, you can fix it though, pop it back into your oven for an additional 10-15 minutes.
However, if the middle of your cake is still wet, or sticky, use the tin foil technique and bake for 15 minutes more. If your bottom is moist then turn off your oven’s upper heat, cover it with foil and cook for a few extra minutes.
You will soon be a master craftsperson using the right parts of your oven in the right ways.
Is My Cake Moist Or Undercooked?
The best way to tell the difference if a cake is just moist or if it is undercooked is in the middle. If the middle of the cake is dense, wet or stodgy then this is a sign that your cake is not done. It is undercooked.
A fully cooked cake will be the same texture over the entirety of the cake, not just the middle. Crumbs should look even, it should look the same all over. If it is dark or wet only in places then this is a sign it is not fully cooked, and you should put it back in the oven.
Signs Of Undercooked Cake
Of course, as you can see in this article, an undercooked cake will have a stodgy, wet, or moist center in comparison to the rest of the cake. However, another sign of undercooking is if it sinks in the center.
Should you take the cake out of the oven, and after it has cooled you find that its middle has sunk, then this is a sign that the cake has not fully cooked.
FAQs:
What more could we possibly tell you about cakes? There is more than you think. Everyone wants to know everything about cake baking!
How Do You Bake A Cake in The Center?
There is no hard and fast step-by-step to baking a cake in the center, sorry. In fact, you just have to trust your oven to do so. It can take a bit longer than you may expect, sometimes up to 5 or even 30 minutes more. However, a cake that is slightly overdone is better than a soggy undercooked cake. It is always best to bake it a bit extra if you aren’t sure and test its doneness after 5-15 minutes. This means using a skewer. What if your skewer comes out clean but the cake is not cooked? A skewer is a good way to test how done a cake is. You should be using a wooden skewer through!
What Temperature Should You Bake A Cake?
You should bake your cakes at 350 Fahrenheit for the best results. However, it varies per oven and per cake in some cases. You may overdo it and say my cake is too soft and breaks, but this is better than a runny cake!
How Do I Get My Cake To Rise Evenly?
Eliminate air bubbles for a good rise. Smack the tin down on the down before you cook, it gets rid of air bubbles and your cake will rise better.
Summary:
Baking is an art in itself… You really need to understand how baking chemical reactions occur, why they occur, their purpose, as well as oven temps.
But, as we all know, practice makes perfect, and asking questions is always good.
So, we hope we helped you today!
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