Sinking cakes

[Sassysue]

i have tried mixing the eggs, sugar and fat together until pale and then adding the flour. they sink! is there any chance i could be over mixing.

 

[Becky]

Sinking cakes can happen for a number of reasons - too much raising agent, opening the oven too early, oven temperature, too much or too little liquid, etc., so it would be useful to know more here. What recipe are you using? Can you tell us more about your process?

My usual approach is to turn the oven on while I'm making the cake batter so it can heat up. I cream together the butter and sugar until it's pale and fluffy, then add the eggs one by one and mix well between each addition. Then I add the rest of the ingredients, being careful not to over-mix once the flour is added (you don't want too much gluten building up). Then I pour it into the cake pans and bake for the minimum recommended time, then check to see if it's done, and if not I'll give it longer. Opening the oven before the structure has had a chance to 'set' means that the cold air can collapse the cake - always wait until at least three quarters of the baking time has elapsed.

I should also mention that I measure my solid ingredients by weight, and my liquid ingredients and anything there is a small amount of (eg raising agent, flavouring etc) by volume. When something says 1 tsp it means one level measuring teaspoon.