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baking cakes with a flat top

#1
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10/1/09 at 11:30am
  • Joined: July 2007
  • Post Count: 13
How do you avoid a cake with a high rise in the center, instead of a flat, evenly baked top?
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#2
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10/1/09 at 1:30pm
  • Joined: August 2007
  • Location: Scotland
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A high rise in the middle is usually caused by too small a tin,

cakes will often dome on top and if you want a flat top, you simply put the top to the bottom and the bottom to the top.

"If we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat?" Jo Brand

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#3
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10/1/09 at 4:15pm
  • Joined: July 2007
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Bughut,
I wish this was the answer, but, the cake I made was baked in a loaf pan that was actually oversized for the recipe, so, I know that the pan was not too large! Also, I will not be icing it, so turning it upside down is not an option... it is a lemon pecan pound cake with a lemon glaze drizzled on top. ( The top of the cake is beautiful )
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#4
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10/1/09 at 4:17pm
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Bugnut, I meant to say that the loaf pan was not too SMALL! not too LARGE!
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#5
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10/1/09 at 4:35pm
  • Joined: February 2008
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Try a lidded "pullman pan."

BDL
De gustibus aut bene, aut nihil. Chekhov
www.cookfoodgood.com
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#6
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10/5/09 at 6:39pm
  • Joined: December 2008
  • Location: Canada
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If the batter is thick as with most loaf type cakes, you can lightly pull the batter to the ends in two quick swipes. Starting from the centre and pull toward one end then from the centre to the other end leaving a slight indent in the middle. The helps make a more even top.
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#7
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10/8/09 at 9:23am
  • Joined: September 2003
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My understanding of this is that the edges of the cake cook/set before the center. Once set, they stop rising. The un-set center continues to rise.

Some of the remedies include wrapping strips of wet cloth around the edges of the pans when you bake them, these can be bought in supply stores and are called cake strips. They slow down the edges during baking. You could bake at a slightly lower temp or place a metal flower nail in the center of the cake to conduct heat to the center of the cake as it bakes. You can use a cake round/circle or cake cardboard cut to fit inside the pan and press down lightly when the cake is still warm in the pan to compress the hump. On a cake to be decorated you can slice off the hump.

Maybe one of these will work for you.
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#8
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10/8/09 at 4:45pm
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Kayakado,
Thank you for your suggestions. I will try the strips. What is a flower nail?
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#9
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10/8/09 at 5:33pm
  • Joined: September 2008
  • Location: Porterville, CA
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Not being a baker so I may be wrong, but I think it is a metal disk attached to a rod for forming flowers out of frosting or gum paste, called a "flower nail" because it is shaped like a big headed nail.

Chef/Owner
Le Bistro
33 W. Putnam Ave.
Porterville, CA 93257
559-783-8151

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#10
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10/9/09 at 12:35pm
  • Joined: April 2009
  • Location: Houston, TX
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See attached links for pictures:

http://www.wilton.com/store/images/s...402-3007_m.jpg

http://www.thebakerskitchen.net/Prod...lower_nail.jpg

Happy baking :)
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#11
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1/13/10 at 9:44am
  • Joined: January 2010
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NO , you are not Wrong, after preparing you pan grease an flour a flower nail place in the center of your pan and pour the batter. believe work like a char every time. you will never bake a cake without it. l promisse
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#12
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1/15/10 at 4:50pm
  • Joined: December 2009
  • Location: beyond the yellow brick road
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98% of the time the problem will be either 1. too much air mixed into batter or 2. an unbalanced recipe. Doesn't mean it will taste or look bad...just lop off the hump before stacking.
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#13
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1/16/10 at 2:44am
  • Joined: December 2009
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The oven temperature can be too high which makes the outside of the cake cook faster than the center so try lowering the temp, another trick I was taught was to get some old newspapers, wet them and wrap them around the cake pan and bake.
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