Sunken Sponge

vicwatson

Making a Mary Berry Victoria sponge recipe recently, cooking was for 25 minutes @ 180c, recipe firmly said not to open oven door until least 20 minutes had passed.

Looked through the glass at about 17 minutes and it was rising lovely, really good so I left it.

Went to check it again about 23 minutes and the flippin' things had sunk !!

It was edible but sunken

Anyone know what could have been the problem ? I followed the recipe precisely.

rubadub

It could be too much raising agent.

Looking at this recipe of hers I would be unable to follow it "precisely", as the raising agent is in teaspoons and not grams. Drives me mad when they can't give both, and don't get me started on US volumetric measurements.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mary_berrys_perfect_34317

Faith

rubadub wrote: »

It could be too much raising agent.

Looking at this recipe of hers I would be unable to follow it "precisely", as the raising agent is in teaspoons and not grams. Drives me mad when they can't give both, and don't get me started on US volumetric measurements.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mary_berrys_perfect_34317

People have been able to follow recipes just fine for years without digital weighing scales. While accuracy is important, you generally have a margin and "teaspoon" is precise enough for most things.

There are several possible explanations:

You may have overbeaten it and incorporated too much air
Your oven may be running hotter than you think it is so it rose too quickly
Or you may have accidentally included too much raising agent

(Or someone opened the door when you weren't looking)

rubadub

Faith wrote: »

People have been able to follow recipes just fine for years without digital weighing scales.

I would say many have got poor results the odd time for years too because of unnecessarily vague recipes. Doesn't have to be digital either, measuring in grams is nothing new. Since so many have them now its just odd they do not have both measurements as standard.

I have a technical background so just like to be exact in things I do.

Faith wrote: »

Or you may have accidentally included too much raising agent

exactly, but this might not have been an accident like counting wrong. He just might have a bigger teaspoon than mary berry. The one I linked had no mention of heaped or level, I would presume level, I guess some might not.

dee_mc

I hate when that happens! I think having the eggs and butter at room temperature at the start is important. Take the eggs out of the fridge an hour or so before you start (if you store them in the fridge) and make sure the butter or marg is very very soft before you begin. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times during mixing to make sure everything is really well combined. I use a measuring spoon because we don't have any actual teaspoons anymore. Make sure your baking powder is fresh- could be worth buying a new pack if you've had the one you're using for a while. I would keep trying and make a note of the exact amount of time you leave it in the oven each time- you'll get a perfect result before long! Happy baking!

vicwatson

Faith wrote: »

People have been able to follow recipes just fine for years without digital weighing scales. While accuracy is important, you generally have a margin and "teaspoon" is precise enough for most things.

There are several possible explanations:

You may have overbeaten it and incorporated too much air
Your oven may be running hotter than you think it is so it rose too quickly
Or you may have accidentally included too much raising agent

(Or someone opened the door when you weren't looking)

The door wasn't opened,I was the only one present in the house. Tks for info

vicwatson

rubadub wrote: »

I would say many have got poor results the odd time for years too because of unnecessarily vague recipes. Doesn't have to be digital either, measuring in grams is nothing new. Since so many have them now its just odd they do not have both measurements as standard.

I have a technical background so just like to be exact in things I do.

exactly, but this might not have been an accident like counting wrong. He just might have a bigger teaspoon than mary berry. The one I linked had no mention of heaped or level, I would presume level, I guess some might not.

I generally errr on the side of caution with teaspoon measurements and go half way tbh.

Jellybaby1

My tuppence worth. All my teaspoons are different sizes. For recipes such as Mary Berry's or Delia Smith's I would say they are 'old school' so I usually use my oldest spoons which belonged to my mother, they are deeper than my modern ones. To me, a teaspoon of raising agent, should be level, and I always scrape the spoon against the top of the tub to make sure, or use the back edge of a knife to level it. Considering Mary Berry's recipe calls for self raising flour and baking powder I probably would have just put in one level teaspoon and see how it goes. Recipes can never be exactly right for every cook or every spoon size, or every oven. I would try a recipe several times making changes as I go in order to get it perfect for me, then when it does reach that perfect stage, I quickly write it into my own recipe book before I forget it. Happy baking.