The pan is too small. There's too much liquid. Opening the oven or moving pans during baking. Oven temperature is too low, or cake isn't baked long enough.
The most common culprit for your cake not cooking in the middle is an oven temperature that is too low. If the oven temperature is set too low, the outer layers of the cake will cook faster than the center, leaving the middle raw.
Why is my cake wet in the middle? When a cake is wet in the middle it is because the edges have cooked faster than the centre. This happens because of the way the cake cooks naturally in the tin – the sides of the cake tin heat up first.
For a cake that is fairly evenly undercooked, simply put it back in the oven for 10 or so minutes. For a cake that is undercooked only in the middle, get out your handy dandy aluminum foil, cover the cake, and place it back in the oven for about 10 minutes.
Wrapping your cake in tin foil keeps it from overcooking from the exterior while trapping the heat inside and helping the interior to cook. After wrapping the cake in tin foil, bake for another 10-15 minutes, and you'll have a perfectly set centre.
The best way to do this is to gently press on the center of the cake with a few fingers to see if it springs back. If your fingers leave little indents, your cake isn't done baking. Return it to the oven for at least 5 minutes before checking it again.
Signs of an Undercooked Cake
If you slice your cake into layers and have a particularly dense/wet/stodgy patch in the middle, that's also a sign that the cake isn't done. A fully cooked cake should be even in texture across the whole cake layer, the crumb should look even, not darker or wetter in patches.
Culprit #1: The Cake Layers Are Underbaked
The most common reason why cakes sink in the middle is that they're underbaked. If a cake isn't fully baked through, the center doesn't have a chance to set and it will sink. This creates a doughy, dense texture in the center of your cake layer.
Make sure that your warm cake is given at least 10 minutes to sit in the pan after it is taken out of the oven. This rule applies as the first step to any cake cooling method.
After all, when a cake is too moist, there won't be much of the cake left to hold everything together as it will be unable to hold itself. A cake that is too moist, but ends up holding its shape, may end up tasting and feeling as if it were undercooked because of all the moisture and soup-like textures.
Most cakes bake at 350°F. Reducing the temperature to 325°F is all you need to do to get a flat-topped cake.
When overcooked, a cake will come out hard and dry, and when undercooked, it has a gummy and dense texture. If you don't know how to tell when your cake is just cooked right, then baking will become a very tedious and unrewarding task.
Bake until the cakes are lightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pans and turn the cakes out onto the racks to cool completely.
Sticky cake and cupcake tops are from a reaction with sugar and water. Sugars are hygroscopic, meaning they attract water. Within baked goods, sugars help maintain a moist and tender crumb. Sugar on the exposed tops, however, will grab water from humid air, creating a wet or sticky top.
The majority of cakes are baked in a regular oven at 180c (350F/Gas Mk 4), on the centre shelf of the oven.
Bread is baked at a temperature of 160 - 180 degrees Celsius and for a time of 25 - 28 minutes The sponge cake is baked at 150 - 160 degrees Celsius for about 40 - 45 minutes Cookies bake at 170 - 190 degrees Celsius for 15 - 25 minutes Cream puffs bake at 190 - 200 degrees Celsius for 25 - 30 minutes A way to properly ...
The temperature level of 170 degrees Celsius is considered the most suitable temperature for the cake to quickly cook and achieve quality. At the same time, the ingredients also have a boiling point, the melting point, if exceeded, will make the nutritional components lose, affecting the health of the user.
The most common cake soak is simple syrup, equal parts sugar and water cooked until the sugar is dissolved. This added bit of liquid and sweetness help make the cake more moist, and stay moist longer. Professional bakers also use a milk soak, which is milk or cream dabbed onto the cake.
We know the temptation to check on your cake is high, but we're here to give you one of our top tips: don't open the oven when baking. This is a common mistake, and can cause your cake to collapse because the rush of cold air stops your caking from rising.
When the cake first comes out of the oven, it's cooked through but the hot "crumb" — the mass of the cake — is delicate. If you try to get it out of the pan too soon it can stick to the pan, break, or both. For most cakes, allow around 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature for cooling (per MasterClass).
As a rule of thumb, cakes and other baked goods should be left in their pans on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. If you try to remove a cake from its pan immediately after baking, it can stick or fall apart because it is so tender.