baking cakes

[YorkieJohn]

When baking cakes they always turn out alright but tend to split across the top , anybody know what causes this ? It has happened several times especially with ginger cakes and has also occured with fruit cakes.

[figure]

Cracks can be caused by over mixing, or unevenly or insufficiently folding in the flour. The mixture should be soft and dropping at this stage, and if it is too dry, pockets of air can get trapped. This also happens if the flour and raising agent are not sifted together thoroughly.

To prevent cracking, make sure you use the right sized tin and that the oven is not too hot. Place cakes in the center of the oven, not too high up where it will be hotter and the cake will peak and crack.

[Jugglering]

Your oven is probably too hot - try 10 degrees C lower.

[Northguard]

yupp, oven too hot

[bimbo123456]

You might find that putting a dip in the mixture before cooking means it is flat rather than raised. Some cakes such as madeira are supposed to have a crack in the top.