My Cakes Always Fail - I Cannot Bake!

I have always loved cooking, and even though I say it myself "I have a certain flair", but at baking I have always, well...... stunk.

I never baked anything creative as the only predictable thing about my fare was; it was going to be ... less than good!

I was talented at spoiling the end product in the most imaginary ways possible, from not preparing the ingredients well enough to trying sooo... hard that I end with a stone and not a cake.

Do any of these disasters sound familiar? Well I have the dubious record of having created them all and on many occasions a combination of a few. Here goes, do you recognize these?

• The centre of your cake making like a sinkhole?

• A speckled crust, that makes you wonder; did this cake have some ailment underway before you met each other? Measles maybe?

• Tunnels, yes can you believe it? Someone placed a handful of phantom earthworms in my beautiful cake while it was cooling! I still have not seen those phantom earthworms, but their handiwork is a masterpiece.

• Cracked crust, resembling a salt pan in the dry season?

• A solid, heavy, half size brick?

At this point I can cheerfully say "chin-up, and cheer up, help is at hand" a dear old lady saw my plight, took pity on me and gave me some trips I now religiously follow and I can declare; I bake a reasonable cake now. My good fortune is yours ... take heed ... here goes ...

Measuring:

• Measure your ingredients well - follow the recipe to the letter or you could end with a sinkhole, tunnels or a half size brick.

Mixing:

• Fold your flour in with care, in other words gently. If not, a half size brick.

• Make sure the sugar you add is sifted and stir until it is dissolved properly into the dough. If not a speckled crust or even worse a half size brick is your reward.

• Once you start stirring or beating. Don't get to vigorous! Be gentle, stir well, all must be properly mixed but not killed! If you get to much air in, you will end up with a speckled crust (air floating to top while baking and then drying out the crust) or the phantom earthworms will be at work, tunnels, tunnels and more tunnels.

• If you mix your dough and it feels to stiff (take a look at your measurements again) or you might have a cracked salt pan or a brick on your hands.

• The yeast or rising agent must be well worked into the mixture, if dry ingredient; sift it with the flour and if wet; stir, gently but well. If not; hello earthworms!

Oven:

There are two rules here, set your temperature and DON'T put the cake in the oven until the temperature has reached its setting

• To hot and you have earthworms again, or the saltpan in the dry season.

• To cold and a sinkhole appears or a half brick.

And the second it set the baking time and DON'T be tempted to "look" before the alarm goes.

• If you peek, you might end up with a sinkhole

• If you take it out of the oven before the due time, a definite sinkhole!