1. Faults in Cake Making
GCSE Revision

2. MUST, MUST, MUST REVISE!!
It is often the case that cakes are made which are not up to the required standard. When this happens, it is important to be able to identify what went wrong in order that you do not make the same mistake again. What follows is a list of the most common faults and their causes.

3. Cake sunk in the middle
Most of the causes for a sunken cake are concerned with recipe imbalance.
The most common causes are as follows:
Too much baking powder
Too much sugar (this will be apparent if the cake also has a crisp, sugary crust)
Too much Fat/Margarine
Flour too soft
Cake was knocked in the oven before it had set

4. Cake collapsing at the sides
Most often the cause is too much liquid in the batter inhibiting the batter from rising evenly.

5. Cakes too small
A very common problem, and again one with a number of potential causes, the most common of which are as follows:
Insufficient aeration (from under mixing or not enough baking powder)
The batter is too stiff
Flour is too strong
Batter toughened (from over mixing or from recipe imbalance)
Oven too hot (which leads to the cake being 'gripped' and stunted)

6. Other Common Faults Badly cracked tops
The cause of this is that the oven is too hot, and the crust of the cake forms while the cake is still rising, leading to the crust 'bursting' 
Peaked top
Usually caused by a tough batter, which is caused by over mixing, and is often accompanied by a long hole in the cake.
Wet streak at the base of the cake
This is caused by too much liquid, with the excess liquid in the recipe left as residue at the base

7. Sugary tops or white spots on cakes
The causes are as follows:
Too much sugar
Not enough liquid (to dissolve the sugar)
Sugar too coarse (to be fully dissolved)
Cakes standing too long before going in the oven. This allows moisture to escape from the top of the cake, and leaves sugar residue in the batter.

8. Fruit sinking in the cake
A very common problem and one which can have a number of causes, either to do with the fruit or the batter. The most common causes are:
The flour is too soft
The batter is too soft
The batter is too lightly aerated (either from over mixing or from too much baking powder)
Fruit is wet and therefore heavy
(especially cherries)

9. Cake staling quickly
Oven too cold so the cakes are in the oven too long, and the crumb dries out
Too much baking powder
Not enough liquid in the batter to keep the cake moist

10. Curdled cake batter Curdling will occur if:
The eggs are added too soon before the fat and sugar have been creamed
The eggs are added cold, as this causes the fat to harden again, and accept no more eggs. Egg temperature should be approximately 21c
The eggs are added in too large amounts. Eggs should always be added slowly and gradually.
Cakes often have faults but they can usually be avoided by taking basic precautions and ensuring recipes are balanced.