Everything You Need To Know To Prevent Your Cake From Doming
Cake recipes are typically straightforward to make; it is tricky occurrences like the cake doming that can cause frustration. Doming simply refers to when a cake rises unevenly, forming a slightly risen section at the centre (dome). Although the cake is still safe for consumption, its domed shape isn't aesthetically pleasing. Read on to know more about this phenomenon, how you can prevent it from happening as well as how to remedy the situation when it does happen.
Your homemade cakes might have been coming out domed for so long that you don't even
realise there's anything wrong with them — at least, not until you notice that cakes made by
professionals are always leveled.
Thanks to a wealth of knowledge, they always achieve perfectly flat cakes with perfect fluffy
flat layers. If you want your cakes to look like that then read ahead!
What Causes Cakes To Dome In The Middle?
The major cause of doming is an overheated oven. When you place your cake batter in a
very hot oven, it starts to cook at different speeds, beginning with the outer layers of the
cake.
Unfortunately, the middle of the cake cooks a lot slower so that by the time the whole cake
has baked, the outer edges are burnt and the center has domed.
Most times, this happens because ovens don't stay true to the set temperature. If you want
to get the most accurate temperature reading for your oven, then invest in an oven
thermometer. With this tool, you'll get the accurate reading of your oven temp and be able
to keep a close eye on it during use.
How To Prevent Cake From Doming
1. All you have to do is lower the oven temperature!
For even baking, simply reduce the temperature in the oven. Most recipes direct that the
cake should be baked at 350F-375F/180C-190C but that's actually pretty high for a cake.
Thus, the excessive browning and doming of the cake.
To prevent that from happening, the easiest thing to do is lower the temperature by 50F/20C.
Although the cake will take longer to bake, the cake will come out perfect.
You should still expect a doming when you take out the cake; don't worry, it'll disappear after
a few minutes of cooling!
PRO TIP: Before placing your cake in the oven, gently bang the cake tin on your kitchen
bench. This removes air bubbles from the cake batter and minimizes doming.
2. Use Cake Strips
You can purchase cake strips online; these bands bands are a game changer when it comes
to leveling out a cake.
How to:
- Cake strips are made from absorbent material so you have to soak them in cold water for around 10 to 15 minutes before you bake your sponge.
- Once you are ready to bake your cake, drain all the excess water from the baking belt and fasten them around your cake tins.
- Pour your batter in the tins and leave to bake. Since the cake strips are wet and cool, they keep the outer edge of the sponge from burning too quickly.
This method produces perfectly leveled cakes every time!
What To Do To Fix A Domed Cake
If you’ve tried reducing the oven but your cake is still coming out with a dome in the middle,
there are a few other things you can do to level out your cake.
Simply trim the dome off! Let the cake cool completely and then cut the dome off using a
serrated knife or cake leveler; no one would know under all that yummy icing!
PRO TIP: Leave your cake to cool with the domed side facing down. This will help decrease
the dome while it’s cooling.
Now you can bid goodbye to wonky cakes!
