Oh, I Give Up!

[Tilly2]

I have just made Delia's cake of the week...damp gingerbread. I followed the instructions precisely and yet the cake is as flat as a pancake, just like any other cake I've ever tried to bake.

That's it now! Never again.

It might be ok, in a dish with some custard poured over but to look at it looks like a miserable excuse for a cake. What a waste of time and money. I even bought a new cake tin to bake it in.

What do I always do wrong?

[Tilly2]

I have been using the baking soda to clean out my fridge.

Mr T has just had a piece of the 'cake' and declared it 'very nice'.

So at least it won't get thrown out for the birds, just yet.

I was puzzled initially with Delia's recipe needing plain flour. Wouldn't self raising be better?

(I am asking this as if I know something about baking. As you know, I don't)

[Rockrose]

That’s why you need the baking powder

[Patsy33]

Oh, that is disappointing for you Tilly. At least you know why now. Like you said, make some custard and put over it. I'm sure it will be delicious!

[douglas9401]

Not to stifle anyone's creativity but you know that most of this stuff is available in things called shops.
They employ experts to produce stuff, saving the rest of us the bother. :-)

[jim360]

On occasion, the stuff made in the shop isn't as good as the stuff made at home.

Source: literalyl baked my first-ever cake, a treacle sponge, last week, and it was far superior to supermarket fare.

[Old_Geezer]

At least half of the achievement and joy is in the creation rather than the proof of the pudding.

[Tilly2]

...but Rockrose, the recipe says bicarbonate of soda, which I have now learned is not the same as baking powder.

Isn't bicarb that stuff that makes scones taste a bit odd?

Well done Jim. Would you care to share the recipe?

[ethandron]

It’s why I never bake Tilly...too much faffing around, too many dishes to wash up afterwards, and no guarantee it’ll turn out like the recipe. Cooking is so much simpler...throw stuff in, cook it, eat it.
What is it they say, baking is a science, cooking is an art.

[237SJ]

The ginger cake recipe I use has bicarb and self raising flour. Don't know why that is - maybe the heavy ingredients need a little bit of extra lift. Seems to come out OK though.

[tiggerblue10]

I saw something on FB where a 'gone wrong' chocolate cake was mashed up and mixed with with some melted chocolate, rolled out onto clingfilm, and turned into a Swiss roll with whipped cream filling. Looked quite yummy :o)

[Rockrose]

Lol Tilly I give up too

[Tilly2]

That's cheered me up, Eth. I am far more artistic (airy fairy) than I am scientific (precise and accurate).

That's the reason I'm hopeless at baking.

Would anyone like to buy a brand new cake tin?

[Rockrose]

Keep it for when you use the packet mix, I recommend Betty cocker devil chocolate cake

[douglas9401]

Better sticking with doughnuts anyway, they always turn out like Fannie's.

[ethandron]

Me too Tilly, so I leave the baking to himself as he enjoys the precision of it. Pity he doesn’t enjoy the washing up :/

[Tilly2]

I feel a bit sorry for Mr T. He loves cakes and pies and he hasn't had a decent piece of cake since my aunty last visited and made him a lemon drizzle cake.

My mum used to be really good at baking. My favourite was her bilberry tart. Magical!

[-SharonA-]

My Mum made lovely bread pudding and now the recipe has died with her. I've tried making it like hers to no avail.

[jim360]

Found it on bbcgoodfood, I think:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1993657/easy-treacle-sponge

I would recommend moving the lemon to the sponge mix, when we had it was a super-nice cake but the lemon/treacle came out very marmalade-y, so perhaps a better flavour balance if it's in the sponge instead. Or perhaps I just overdid the lemon juice, but that's my suggested modification that I'll probably try next time.

[tamborine]

yorkshires are easy!

1. oven on full heat
2. lard in tart bake tin & place in top shelf of oven
3. 2 eggs mixed with 2 tcups plain flour & fork to dough.
4. add milk to dough & fork to thick creamy mix.
5. Pour mix to fill smoking tart tins to cook in hot oven for 20mins.

[Tilly2]

Thank you, Jim. I might give that a try on Sunday which is the only day we ever have a pudding.

Thanks to you too, Tambo. It's the putting the lard into a hot oven that gets me. I hate the smoke that fills the kitchen. I'm scared that it will go up in flames inside the oven.