| Problem/ Cakes/Muffins/Cupcakes |
Common Causes |
Some Recommendations |
| browns prematurely on outside before done on inside |
pan
size too small or pan color too dark; inherent nature of gluten-free and soy
goods (and some sugar substitutes); oven heat too high. |
adjust
oven rack; use lighter colored or larger pan, or place in 2 smaller ones;
reduce oven temp and increase baking time |
| collapses as cools |
too
wet; not fully cooked; too much batter for pan. |
check
liquids and measurements, and account for extra liquids with substitutions
made; check for doneness with a flat knife. |
| too crumbly |
not
enough liquid or fat used; overcooked. |
check
recipe and measurements; reduce cooking time; add more moisture and/or fat. |
| never rises |
too
heavy; too wet; oven temp. too low; angelfood cake-traces of fat or wrong pan
used; needs more (and/or acceptable) egg or substitute or baking powder. |
try
lighter flours; use more leavening such as eggs (if allowed) or baking
powder; ensure egg substitute used provides leavening; check oven temp. and
baking times; check for proper doneness. |
| too heavy or dense |
flours
too coarse; not enough liquid or fat; milk, fat, or sugar substitute used
made batter too wet; sugar deleted from recipe but not replaced with an
acceptable substitute; too much batter for the pan. |
try
lighter flours; check measurements; use acceptable sugar substitute that
replaces most the bulk of the sugar; account for extra liquids in substitutes
used; use extra baking powder or egg substitute; split batter into 2 smaller
pans. |
| gummy on inside |
too
wet; not fully cooked; made substitutions and did not account for the extra
water in most substitutes; cake, cupcake, or muffin tin filled too full. |
check
for hidden liquids or additional liquids used; reduce oven heat and cook
longer; use 2 smaller pans; reduce oven temp., cover lightly with aluminum
foil, and cook longer; check done-ness with knife test; fill batter only
1/2-2/3 full. |
| too wet on outside when cooled or stored |
not
properly cooled before frosting or storing; stored in too warm or humid a
location. |
cool
completely before frosting and/or storing and keep in tightly sealed
container away from heat. |
| top cracks or splits |
over-baked;
too hot an oven temp, with some cakes (e.g. pound cake) this is expected and
desired. |
check
for done-ness with knife test and cover top as need with aluminum foil;
reduce oven temperature. |
| too difficult to frost |
not
yet cooled completely; not removed properly from pan; frosting not of
suitable spreading consistency; excess crumbs not brushed away; frosting a
still frozen cake, muffin, or cupcake. |
wait
until completely cool (or thawed) before frosting; soften frosting
consistency (and make sure at room temp), check pan removal (see below). |
| difficult to remove from pan |
pan
not greased heavily enough; cooled improper amount of time (too little time
can cause fragile cake form to break; too much time and cake top can cool and
begin to harden to pan edges). |
loosen
cake or muffin edges gently with spatula or thin knife before removal; grease
pan adequately; let cool some before removal. |
| layers or tops uneven |
oven
rack not level, pans warped; not centered in oven. |
check
oven position and racks; check pans are flat. |
| overflows or mushrooms beyond pan edges/top. |
too
much batter for pan; too much egg or substitute; too much baking powder; pan
filled too high to top of pan. |
use
2 smaller or one larger pan; reduce egg or substitute or baking powder; fill
pan or forms only 1/2-2/3 full. |
| cupcakes cook unevenly |
unused/empty
cupcake forms in pan causing uneven heating; pan warped; not centered in
oven; cupcake forms not filled even amounts. |
fill
unused-used muffin tins with water to evenly distribute heat to cupcakes;
center pan in oven; check rack position; fill each cupcake form equally
1/2-2/3 full. |
| pasta is gummy |
Too
little water used; overcooked. |
Use
at least 1 & 1/2 times the recommended amount of water; don't
overcook-recheck for done-ness every 30 seconds. |
| pasta is mushy |
overcooked;
corn pastas tend to be more mushy than rice pastas. |
undercook
if using in another recipe (e.g. lasagna), or re-heating later; try rice
pastas. |
| pasta is hard on the inside |
not
cooked long enough. |
check
done-ness every 30 seconds until to desired texture is reached. |
| gummy inside |
too
wet; undercooked or cooked unevenly; oven temperature too high; used
substitutes and didn't account for extra liquid; liquids used too cold; pizza
toppings too wet. |
reduce
oven/stove heat; adjust position of rack in oven; use liquids (including eggs
or acceptable substitutes) at room temps; reduce liquids if using
substitutes, especially rice milk. |
| browns prematurely on bottom |
pan
heat or oven temp. too hot or concentrating heat more at bottom, pizza shell
too thick. |
reduce
oven/stove heat, cook at lower temp for longer time; account for liquids in
toppings/additions; try pre-baking pizza some before adding toppings. |
| too heavy |
flours
too heavy; too much flour used; dough too wet. |
try
lighter blend of flours; watch measurements; check for hidden liquids in
substitutes. |
| pizza dough difficult to roll out, too tacky |
dough
too wet; did not account for substitutions made; not enough flour used-or did
not dust surface prior to handling. |
account
for hidden liquids; use liquids at room temp; adjust liquids/flour ratio;
account for additional liquids in substitutes. |
| pizza toppings done before dough finished cooking |
dough
form too thick; oven temp too high; rack position in oven too high. |
pre-cook
pizza shell some before adding toppings; reduce oven temp and cook longer;
tent top of pizza lightly with aluminum foil. |