Help I’m at my wits end trying to master the art of Baking

Try this instead of sponge cake: www.gransnet.com/recipes/dish/5833-Sheilas-rub-in-cake-recipe

Rubbed in cake recipes are much more forgiving than sponge cakes.

Mary Berry’s all in one cake recipe is pretty fail safe.

Tinapink, I'm not a great baker! This morning on another thread I read a post from Galen who said Cunard had published their recipe for their fruit scones.
Having tried many scone recipes over the years with mediocre success I googled the recipe and tried it this afternoon.

DH, who always gives me an honest opinion about food!.., said they were the best I'd ever made!

I just followed the instructions/method exactly. Why not give them a go? If I can make them, anyone can. Sending best wishes X

To be ho est with you, if you are following the intructions carefully, measuring carefully and setting the right times and the right temperatures, and definitely waiting till its preheated properly I would assume your oven isnt behaving

I’m trying to bake as well,I watched a tutorial on you tube the other day apparently your butter needs to be just soft enough to leave a thumb print,if using a food mixer,mix no more than 90 seconds and finally bake at 173c fan oven,I’m going to try again see what happens.

@Septimia, I should have added, I’m sure your mother’s cakes were lovely - I was just surprised that those quantities worked, since my sponges so often turned out more like pancakes until I found the MB* formula and stuck to it.
*in a cookery book published in 1971 - with a photo of a very youthful Mary Berry inside the front cover.

grandMattie I can def second that.

I have some coconut flour, unopened and left in my cupboard after a visit by a DD!
What do I do with it?

173C is very precise, not sure if my oven understands precise
That could be the problem, though. Do you have an oven thermometer?

My baking was much better before I had fan oven .

@Witzend I grew up with the 8,4,4,2 method - so easy to remember. It doesn't make the light sort of cake that the other recipes produce and certainly wouldn't win a prize in a Victoria sponge competition at the local show. But it's really useful for putting on top of fruit (like a pineapple upsidedown cake) or adding sultanas to for small bun-type cakes; with plenty of buttercream icing it's lovely for coffee or chocolate cakes.
I've made Swiss rolls and I don't use my mum's recipe for those! I do use her boiled fruit cake recipe - with alcoholic and other additions - for our Christmas cake, though.
I bet your sponges are better than mine, though!

I use the MB all in one method too, and it's always fine. I think you are just lacking a little bit of confidence. Muffins are a bit easier in my opinion. Just don't over mix them. Or why not try that three ingredient scone recipe, good luck.?

I use: 10 oz SR flour
7 oz Asda ( or any, like Stork SB) butter for baking in a tub.
7 oz castor sugar
4 very large, or 5 medium eggs
I use an electric mixer, and cream the butter and sugar.
Then sift the flour ( half of it) into the bowl ( you should always sift it) and add half of the already beaten together eggs.
Mix well, then add the other sifted flour and the beaten eggs and mix until very pale and creamy.
Divide the mixture into two sandwich tins ( Lakeland make good quality ones) and I pre line them with double folded baking parchment, the bottom of the tins and the sides ( makes a big difference.Smooth the mixture with a knife and put in a low heat oven (electric 140) and after 15 mins place baking parchment over the tops of both tins.Bake for around
Another half hour, or whenever you think they are ready.
Test by using a wooden skewer, to see if they are done.
When cool, take them out of the tins and sandwich together with buttercream.
If you don’t want to make a sandwich cake, use the same ingredients and cook in one large cake tin.
You can add cocoa powder to the final mix for a chocolate
cake, or coffee or lemon etc.

Forgot to add, it makes a lovely, buttery and moist cake which also keeps well.....if allowed to!?

I always weigh my eggs, then add the equivalent weight of Margarine, Castor sugar and Self Raising flour. I find that the Stork baking margarine gives a better textured, lighter cake than Butter or any of the premium Margarines designed for spreading as they often contain a proportion of fluid blended in during manufacture to aid softness.
Swopping an ounce of flour for an ounce of Cocoa (better than drinking chocolate, that has a high sugar content) makes a very nice Chocolate cake. I sometimes sandwich these together with Cherry Jam and Chocolate Butter cream, either Dark.or White chocolate to make a nice Black forest twist for special occasions. The one thing that lstuggle to get right though is a decent Scone, unless l cheat and use one of the Packet mixes!

I do a lot of baking - mostly successful - but it has taken me a long time to learn to manage my oven. It is an old one and the temperature varies a lot depending which shelf I use.

Mary Berry recipes are pretty foolproof but honestly practice makes perfect. What I found difficult at first was that recipes don't tell you how long to beat the ingredients (I suppose its because it varies depending on what equipment you use).
For the all-in-one method, my best tips are:
1) beat the mixture until it it changes colour from a yellowy shade to very pale cream.
2) Preheat the oven for at least 10 mins
3) don't open the oven door during cooking.
4) After the cooking time, press the centre of the sponge, if it springs back its done. If your finger leaves a depression it needs a bit longer. The edges will also shrink away from the baking tin when its cooked.

Don't give up, honestly you can do it, it just takes practice.
Good luck

MiniMoon, thanks for reminding me that the breadmaker does cakes. I've got the same one but these days I use it to make the French bread dough.

I bake it in the oven to get more crust. I do a Tiger loaf type topping with sesame oil and rice flour - it's lovely. I must do a cake next. I'm going to be the size of a house by the time this lockdown is over!

Loaves are the bane of my baking career .

For some reason the outside gets too brown, and the inside still uncooked. I have tried larger pans, smaller pans, silver pans and darker pans. Lining with paper and not....

So I have given up loaves. Bananas get made into muffins.
Meanwhile my 25 yr old son dropped off some lovely banana loaf a few weeks ago. I don't even think he has a mixer; just uses a fork!

Looking forward to trying some of these.

Banana cake or loaf needs baking on a lower temperature for longer than a sponge cake.
The best ones I made have oil, not butter, in the recipe

Tinapink I'm not much good at baking - I think it requires a bit of patience and practice (or perhaps it's your oven?).

It's worth the effort though - in my view shop bought cakes are nowhere near as nice (or as healthy) as making your own.

Good luck!

Getting some enthusiasm from post yesterday re Cunard scones. Just made my very first batch. DH just had one and said they were absolutely delicious. Very pleased, thanks for recommendation.

Many thanks to everyone for all your tips and advice.
I am working through most of them.
But I have to agree I think it’s the oven as I have noticed that it seems to cook unevenly whatever I cook.
We have just moved into the house so I inherited it. So after many discussions we are going to replace it. So any recommendations will be very welcome.
Thank you

My oven is uneven too.
Last night I put in a fruit cake and it's burnt on one side. I'm going to put some icing on top; it's supposed to be a birthday cake.

My electric oven with fan is almost new but bakes unevenly.
I always preheat now, and half way through cooking time turn the tins the other way.
I had a french gas oven when we were in France and the burners were under the base so everything burnt on the bottom. Until I found a way round the problem.

Someone mentioned coconut flour. Google low carb muffins. Lots of recipes.