When baking cakes, many a mishap can happen. If you do not follow the recipe or the oven conditions are not right, the baked goods may turn into a disaster and the baker is left in despair. If you have put your heart and soul into the bake and the cake fails, there is hardly any first aid left to provide; instead, you may have to start all over again.
In some cases, however, all is not lost, and you can still save the cake with one trick or another.
Help, my cake just won't turn out right!
Why can't the shortcrust pastry be rolled out?
Shortcrust pastry is a basic dough with only a few ingredients. Often, after preparing it, you are supposed to let the shortcrust pastry rest in the refrigerator for one or two hours before using it for further processing. However, if the dough still breaks when rolling it out after the resting time, you should quickly knead it again and place a layer of cling film between the rolling pin and the dough. flour on the work surface is also useful and ensures that the underside of the dough does not stick to the surface. If these tips do not help, the dough needs to be chilled further, or a little more flour should be added to the shortcrust pastry.
Why does my cake batter curdle?
First rule for cake batter: all ingredients should be at room temperature and mixed well one after the other. Eggs and butter should therefore be taken out of the refrigerator in good time, because only then can the butter be mixed well with the sugar and eggs. However, if the mishap has already occurred, this tip will help: place the mixing bowl in a warm water bath and beat the batter vigorously until smooth and a homogeneous mixture has formed.
Help – the cake is stuck in the baking pan
Every baker is probably familiar with this problem: the cake is fully baked and looks like a success, but you cannot get it out of the baking pan. Most important rule: let the cake cool thoroughly. Once the baking pan and cake have cooled, carefully loosen the cake from the edge of the pan with a knife. If there is still nothing you can do, place a damp cloth around the cake pan, wait a few minutes, and then turn the cake out.
Why won't the egg whites stiffen?
For some cakes and tortes, beaten egg whites are absolutely essential. As a rule, making beaten egg whites is child's play and not as risky as whipping cream, since the latter can easily be overwhipped and turn into butter. Nevertheless, beating egg whites can also cause headaches for hobby bakers. If the egg whites still do not come together after minutes of beating, then a few drops of lemon juice or a pinch of salt can be useful. Sometimes the room temperature can also be a hindrance. If all else fails, you should put the bowl together with the beaten egg whites in the freezer.
However, egg whites with bits of egg yolk cannot be saved – this mixture will not whip up stiff even after hours of beating. You can also read this article on the subject: Beat egg whites properly.
What should you do if the cake is too dry?
If time passed too quickly, you forgot about the cake, or the oven temperature was simply too high, the cake can sometimes become very dry. A good remedy: make several small holes in different places in the cake and drizzle with fruit juice. The cake soaks up the fruit juice and the baked treat becomes wonderfully moist again.
If you are not exactly sure when your cake is done, use the skewer test for help. To do this, simply insert a kebab skewer briefly into the center of the cake and remove it again. If liquid batter still sticks to the skewer, the cake needs to bake a little longer.
Read also: Recipe for a quick cup cake
Image by Janine, meinhaushalt.at
