How to make cakes more fluffy all the way through?

[Sunny Side Up]

Recently I've been having difficulty getting my cakes to come out fluffy all the way through. They're coming out with a dense line about 1/4-1/2" thick near the bottom of the pan. I don't know if it has to do with my oven, or the position of the rack, or the time the batter is beaten, or the duck eggs I'm using, or the phase of the moon, or the way I hold my mouth while baking. I would really appreciate any insight before having to experiment with all these different variables. Thank you!

 

[hensonly]

One thing to try is using cake flour. Different types of flour have different levels of protein, gluten, etc. which affects the "fluffiness" or lack of it. If you always have an unbaked area at the bottom, I might suggest baking a tad longer...do you have a thermometer for your oven? YOu can get an inexpensive one at any store - grocery, WalMart, etc. that sits on the oven rack or hangs from it. Verify your oven temp. I like using coated dark pans for most of my baking.

You can get immediate assistance with baking by going to the King Arthur Flour website. They have an online chat feature where you can type questions to an expert baker and they are fantastic! One of the experts xeroxed and mailed to me three pages to help with a sourdough bread problem I had, instead of making me buy the $30 book! I can't recommend them enough, they're super.

They also have lots of recipes on their site, and if you like to bake, DON'T look at the online store unless you have lots of room on your credit card!!! I've been very happy with everything I've gotten from them. End of commercial!

I don't know how (or whether) duck eggs differ from chicken eggs. Maybe try the same recipe the same way but use chicken eggs instead and see what happens.

Good luck!

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
I'm thinking it's the set of your mouth....lol. Seriously though, my 17 yr. old son tried his hand at baking a cake @ 2 weeks back. I heard the mixer working, but paid little attention, until I finally realized that I'd been hearing the mixer going for a LONG time. He must have mixed that batter into a cloud like consistancy, because I'll tell you what...that was the lightest, fluffiest cake I think I've ever tasted!!!

 

[AhBee01]

Bakers swear by duck eggs!

 

[MissPrissy]

I made the 10 egg pound cake with all duck eggs today. It turned out fabulous! I doubt it is the duck eggs. Check your oven temp. for accuracy.

 

[Elite Silkies]

I have heard of using Mayo and that is suppose to make them really moist.

 

[MissPrissy]

Mayo is nothing more than an emulsion of eggs and oil. Adding more egg and more oil won't make her cake fluffy.

What cake recipe are you using? Some cakes are intended to be very heavy in the middle.

Also are you substituting anything in the recipe or using off brand name ingredients.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Thanks for all the ideas & suggestions. I will get an oven thermometer and see if the temperature is correct when I bake. This is an old oven that may not be heating to the temp at which the dial is set. And I will also contact King Arthur Flour, that's the brand I was using.

I was making a chocolate layer cake from the recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa container. I didn't substitute anything but the duck eggs for chicken eggs. It's supposed to be a nice moist cake, but the problem is a dense line near the bottom, about 1/4" off the bottom, about 1/2" thick, all the way across the pan. Like a thin layer of brownie near the bottom of the cake. The cake pans were set on the rack at the second-to-the-bottom level, and were baked for 30 minutes. Any longer and the bottom would have burnt, as it was they were a little dark at places already.

I may try a different cake recipe and see if there is the same problem. I recently made banana bread & didn't have this happen. There are so many variables that I hoped perhaps someone else may have also encountered -- and solved -- this problem and could tell me just what to change.

 

[MissPrissy]

My first intuition is the oven temp especially if you are using heavy butter and eggs.

I love King Arthur flour. I always get the very best results when I use it.

Which type of flour are you using and is it suited to the cake recipe? All purpose flour?

I have seen people switch around the flours and results also be disasterous.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I used the King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour. The Hershey's recipe calls for all-purpose flour and vegetable oil. I used canola oil. I will get myself an oven thermometer asap and check that aspect. Thank you!