It doesn't matter if you’re a novice or an experienced baker – everyone gets it wrong from time to time. Whether we’re talking cakes with burnt edges or sunken middles, tough scones, runny cookies or bread that just doesn’t rise, the good news is that these are all easily fixable problems. Read on as we reveal how to stop making these common baking mistakes – and how to get it right, every time.
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Traditional Irish soda bread doesn’t contain yeast and is made with standard flour, rather than strong bread flour. It also doesn’t need any rising or proving time so it’s brilliantly quick to make – however, it can be quite tricky to get just right. The dough will tough if it’s overworked, as the gluten in the flour develops through kneading. Use a light hand to bring the dough together and you’ll end up with a moist, crumbly loaf every time.
With any cake, the batter only needs to be as high as two-thirds of the depth of the tin, otherwise it may overflow. If your cakes regularly do so, it could be that the wrong sized tin has been used, or that the recipe writer has made a simple error – it does happen. Always check you have the correct tin size for the recipe by measuring the base.
Tough, chewy pastry is the result of the raw dough being overworked. If you knead pastry too much, it becomes sticky – this is when the temptation to add more flour to make it easier to roll out comes in. But excess flour results in tough pastry. Solve this issue by taking care not to work the pastry too hard and once brought together, allow it to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking.
When melting chocolate you need to proceed with care, otherwise it will stiffen and seize. It does this for two reasons – either a drop of water has found its way into the bowl or, more commonly, the chocolate has been overheated. If you’re melting chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan, the bowl shouldn’t touch the water and the water must be at a gentle simmer. Slowly does it is the rule of thumb here.
The technique of whisking sugar and eggs in a bowl over simmering water is used for Swiss rolls, sponge roulades and zabaglione (an Italian custard dessert). The aim is to incorporate air and volume into the mixture. However, if the bowl touches the hot water, the heat will cook and scramble the eggs. To avoid this happening, ensure there’s a good gap between the base of the bowl and the water and make sure the heat isn't too high.
A greasy cake is the result of the butter being far too soft when it’s mixed in, causing it to separate when it goes into the oven. While butter certainly shouldn’t be rock hard from the fridge, don’t be tempted to soften it in the microwave. Instead, leave at room temperature for 20 minutes before using.
If your cakes often end up with a sticky surface, it’s likely to be because you’ve transferred them to a tin or airtight container before they’ve cooled completely, resulting in condensation forming. This often happens with traditional fruit cakes, as they retain a lot of heat due to the high sugar content of the fruit. There’s a simple solution, though – wait until your cake is completely cold to touch before storing it.
Leakage is a common problem with very runny mixes, such as those used for baked cheesecakes. This is because loose-based or springform tins tend not to have a firm seal, meaning that the batter is more likely to escape. To solve the issue, all you need to do is line the tin with parchment or a large piece of foil (ensuring the base is fully covered).
That awful moment when the frosting slides off the cake is simply down to the wrong cream cheese being used. It needs to be full fat, as reduced-fat cream cheese can’t hold its structure when combined with icing sugar and butter. Ensure your ingredients are at room temperature too.
If the surface of your cake tends to crack and has a dome-like shape, this could well be because the oven was too hot and, as a result, the crust formed too quickly. If the oven temperature is correct and it still happens, it could be that the cake was placed on the top shelf, rather than the middle, which is where cakes should be positioned. It’s not a disaster, though – you can hide all manner of sins with a dusting of icing sugar or simply slice the top of the cake off and decorate.
A truly great scone should be crisp on the outside and light and fluffy in the centre. If they come out tough, it’s due to the dough being overworked. Too much kneading means the gluten in the flour can expand, which is what you’re after when making bread, not scones. A light hand and as little mixing as possible make for the perfect scone – as well as plenty of jam and clotted cream to serve, of course.
Cake batter curdles when the eggs are added to the creamed butter and sugar batter too quickly. To prevent this from happening simply add a tablespoon of flour in between each egg addition. Once the eggs have all been added, you can fold in the rest of the flour.
If your muffin tin is old, chances are it’s lost any non-stick qualities so will need to be lightly buttered before use. To release stuck muffins, dip the base of the tin in very hot water for a few minutes, then use a palette knife to prise them out. This will re-melt the butter a little, but they’ll still be delicious. Alternatively, use muffin cases to line your tins.
If your bread dough spreads out in the oven rather than rising beautifully, it’s likely you have proved it (the first rising) for too long. This means there’s little strength left in the dough, so it can’t hold its shape. On your next attempt, try cutting down the proving time. In hot weather, it’s preferable to allow the dough to prove slowly in the fridge.
If you’re a lover of fruit-studded bakes, you may have made a cake and noticed that all the fruit has fallen to the bottom. The reason for this is the fruit descends to the base due to its weight, but there is an easy way to stop it. Simply coat your chosen fruit – like berries, chopped apple or pineapple pieces – lightly in flour before adding them to the mixture, and they should stay in place.
A cookie should be melt-in-the-mouth buttery and nicely chewy, not overly tough. This can happen when the ingredients (especially the eggs) are too cold. As a general rule, when baking all the ingredients should be at room temperature before you start (unless the recipe specifies otherwise).
'Weepy' meringues are when meringues come out of the oven streaked with melted sugar. This is caused by the sugar either being added to the egg whites too quickly or when the whites aren’t stiff enough (or both). There’s an easy fix – the whites need to be beaten until stiff peaks form, then the sugar can be added in gradually.
If the bottom of your cake is soggy, the most likely cause is not cooling the cake on a wire rack, thus allowing condensation to build up on the base. It could also be that the oven was too hot, so consider investing in an oven thermometer for greater accuracy. Dense cakes take longer to cool than you think – allow up to two hours on a wire rack.
Overmixing your cake batter bashes out any air and results in a heavy cake. Fold the flour in lightly and stop mixing as soon as the ingredients are just incorporated. Not measuring out your ingredients correctly will have the same effect. An easy solution? Always take the time to do so before you start.
The most common reason for an overly dry cake is that it’s simply been cooked for too long. To prevent this from happening, check the cake in the last five minutes of cooking time; if a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean and the sponge bounces back when lightly pressed, it’s ready. If you do end up with a dry cake, drizzle with a simple sugar syrup to add moisture back in.
Have you ever swapped demerara sugar for white and noticed your bake hasn't turned out as well as it should? Substituting ingredients is something we all do from time to time, but don’t then be surprised if your bake suffers as a result. When possible, ensure you have all the ingredients listed in the recipe before you start cooking.
A flat meringue means there hasn’t been sufficient air incorporated into the mixture. To avoid this, the egg whites must be at room temperature to begin with, and the sugar should be added in gradually, tablespoon by tablespoon, while whisking constantly – a stand mixer comes in handy here. Don’t bash the beaters on the edge of the bowl, either; instead, use a spatula to scoop all the mixture out.
Just like cakes, pastry can often end up with a soggy bottom. Thankfully, there are three easy fixes for this. Firstly, it’s surprising how hot an oven needs to be for the pastry to come out lightly browned and crisp, so double check your oven temperature using a thermometer. If you're making a filled tart, it should be baked blind first (using baking beans or dried rice) before adding the filling, otherwise you’ll end up with a soggy base. Lastly, metal tins are essential – glass or ceramic dishes just don't get hot enough.
It might feel like an unnecessary step, but chilling homemade pastry is a crucial part of the process. Once you’ve assembled your pastry dough, it will need at least an hour in the fridge to set and on a hot day, you’ll have to work quickly when you do unroll it. Try covering the dough with a ball of cling film and rolling out using a rolling pin dusted with plenty of flour.
There are many reasons as to why cakes sink in the middle. Was the tin the wrong size, or perhaps you used too much raising agent? Did you forget to preheat the oven, or set the temperature too high? Perhaps you were even tempted to open the door to have a peek inside or slammed it shut by mistake. Our top tips? Check the tin size and always take care when measuring ingredients. Make sure you’ve mixed the batter in the order instructed by the recipe and, as tempting as it is, avoid opening the oven while your cakes are baking.
For an airy, beautifully loaf, kneading the dough is a critical part of the baking process. Take the time to do so and make sure your dough is stretchy and springs back when your prod it. If you continue to have issues with your bread not rising, check the use-by date on your yeast packet – if it’s old, the bread won’t rise. Yeast can also be killed off if it’s mixed with boiling (rather than lukewarm) water.
Don’t think you can just wing it when it comes to baking and oven temperatures – the instructions in the recipe are there for a reason. Set the oven temperature carefully, allowing plenty of time for it to heat up and always remember to place your cake or bake on the middle shelf, not the top or bottom shelves.
There’s a reason why a good cookie recipe will tell you to chill the dough. In order to prevent the cookies from spreading during baking, the butter needs to firm up in the fridge. This also allows time for the flour to rehydrate, resulting in cookies with a lovely chewy (rather than cakey) texture.
If your cakes always end up with burnt edges, it’s likely that you’re over-greasing your tins, causing the sides to almost fry. Try adding a little oil to a piece of kitchen roll and using that to grease the tin. Alternatively, you can line the sides with baking parchment, oiling the tin first to ensure the parchment sticks perfectly.
Noticed your batter is filled with lumps of flour? You probably forgot to sift it. Sifting dry ingredients like flour, cocoa powder and baking soda is hugely important, both to get rid of pesky clumps and to aerate the mixture. It’s a simple step that takes an extra couple of minutes but improves the overall result drastically.
This might seem like an obvious one, but how many times have you started mixing up your ingredients and realised you’ve forgotten this step? Cake batters needs to go into a preheated oven as soon as they’re mixed, otherwise, due to a chemical reaction from the raising agent, the result will likely be flat with bubbles on the top. So, remember – always preheat the oven before you start baking.
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Last updated by Lottie Woodrow.