Amana ACM1580A Common Baking Problems, Better with butter, Test your cakes for doneness, Cause

Cooking (cont’d)

Common Baking Problems

Adjusting to a new oven can be hard, especially making a change to a convection oven. If you begin to notice consistent problems refer to the chart below for possible solutions. If baking results are still poor, contact

Amana Consumer Affairs at (800) 843-0304.

Problem	Cause
Lopsided cakes	Pans touching each other or oven walls.
	Batter spread unevenly in pan.
(bake unevenly)	Incorrect use of aluminum foil.
	Oven is not level.
	Oven not preheated.
	Pans touching each other or oven walls.
Cakes, cookies, biscuits	Using glass, darkened, warped or dull
	finish metal pans.
too brown on bottom or top
	Rack position too high or low.
	Incorrect use of aluminum foil.
	Oven temperature too high.
Pies don’t brown	Incorrect rack position.
	Using shiny metal pans.
	Temperature set too low.
	Temperature too high.
Cakes not done in center	Pan too small.
	Baking time too short.
	Pan not centered in oven.
	Too much shortening or sugar.
	Too much or too little liquid.
Cakes fall	Temperature too low.
	Old or too little baking powder.
	Pan too small.
	Oven door opened frequently (peeking).
	Insufficient baking.
	Too little leavening.
Excessive shrinkage	Mixing batter too long.
	Pan too large.
	Oven temperature too high.
	Baking time too long.
Cakes high in middle	Temperature set too high.
	Overmixing.
or cracked	Too much flour.
	Pans touching each other or oven walls.

Test your cakes for doneness

While they are still in the oven. Because of variances across individual ovens, it is best to test for the proper consistency rather than solely relying on time and visual appearance as an indicator.

It may not be the oven

Cake problems may be in the mixing of the batter. Overbeating can cause cake structure to break down and excessive shrinkage of the cake. Underbeating can result in lumpy cakes that may not be cooked thoroughly. All ingredients should be at room temperature—not out of the refrigerator. Make sure to follow the recipes directions for how long the batter should be mixed and recommended times.

Stuck cake?

Allow cake to cool in cake pan on a rack for 10 minutes before removing. Larger cakes (over 14 inches in diameter) may take 15 minutes. If the cake has cooled too long, reheat in the oven at 250°F for a few minutes.

Better with butter

Make sure to follow recipe directions and use butter or margarine when it is listed. Using a low fat substitute will cause a recipe to fail.

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