Cake sinks when cooling - how to stop this?

dibble35, Feb 18, 5:04pm
Hi, I got a recipe off here ages ago for a sticky date pudding. I've made this heaps of times and it is delicious,it looks great when I pull it out of the oven but everytime it sinks when cooling. Must nearly 1/2 its height and its a bit disappointing. What causes this and can I stop it. TIA

arabelle, Feb 18, 5:25pm
leave it in the oven. I have no idea what sticky date pudding is. it sounds terrible, but usual causes are bringing it out into a draft, or too much sugar in ratio to flour, from vague memory. I am sure a proper cook will be along soon

davidt4, Feb 18, 5:26pm
If you tell us the recipe it might be easier for someone to advise.

jenner4, Feb 18, 6:10pm
Oh my Lord , how sad not to know what "Sticky Date Pudding " is , sorry I cant help but my lot would still love it , just add custard and we will be over to help eat it

davidt4, Feb 18, 7:02pm
I think most of us know what it is.It's the particular recipe used that is in question, as there is obviously something wrong with it or it wouldn't have sunk in the way described by the original poster.

elliehen, Feb 18, 7:07pm
This one!

dibble35, Feb 22, 12:41pm
thats the one ellie, still a beutiful cake and will continue making it, but would be so much more impressive if it stayed at its original height. Made it sunday for a BBQ and everyone enjoyed it, withthe caramel sauce and ice cream

kuaka, Feb 22, 2:19pm
maybe it hasn't been cooked long enough!

davidt4, Feb 22, 2:24pm
The quantity of flour looks too small to me, particularly if you sifted it before measuring.Try increasing it to 1 1/2 c.

kuaka, Feb 22, 4:36pm
According to my little Homepride flour bakers guide, the "what went wrong" section, suggests that for cakes that sink in the middle, it can be a variety of things, depending on the type of cake, but the ones which seem to apply to most of the different types of cake are: too much liquid, tin too large, oven door slammed, insufficient baking, oven too cool or too hot.

Take your pick!

dibble35, Feb 22, 5:55pm
It is a very liquid mix. Could be the oven. Its old and doesnt cook very well, have sort of learned to adjust when baking in it but would love a new one. Biscuits and cakes start to burn at the rear of the oven so have to turn trays and tins around 1/2 way thru. Will try a bit more flour next time i think, thanks

daleaway, Feb 22, 6:48pm
Agree with #9 that you could try upping the SR flour amount.

Or, you could also try making it with plain flour instead of SR- that would avoid the gas bubbles which are making it rise so much.
You'd get a denser, flatter result.

I've used this technique successfully on a coconut/cherry loaf recipe that was making me grit my teeth because it always sunk. (If that had not worked I was going to try one egg fewer.)

rarogal, Feb 22, 9:54pm
I know, I never tried it for years and years, because Im not that fond of dates, now it's our favourite pudd!

dibble35, Feb 22, 10:20pm
Samehave avoided dates since I got seasickas a kid after eating date loaf - still vividly remember it, havnt touched date loaf since, but Sticky date pud is the best, and havnt met anyone who tried it and didnt like it.

kuaka, Feb 23, 1:23am
I'm guessing that if you got "seasick" it wouldn't matter what you had eaten, the sea would have been rough and you would have got seasick - could have been bread and butter, poached eggs, baked beans, whatever - why pick on poor old dates just 'cos the sea was rough.

dibble35, Feb 23, 1:31am
Cause that was the thing I was spewing up and has stuck in my mind.just cant stand the thought of it now

kuaka, Feb 23, 1:51am
I understand completely, it just seems a little bit unfair on the poor old sticky date pud or cake, as it was completely blameless - and is completely yummy.Maybe you should try to "re-educate" your mind so that you recognise that it was the sea conditions that made you sick, and not what you ate.

spunkeymonkey, Jun 22, 12:53am
lol yeh my thoughts exactly.they must get all their desserts already put on the plate without even lifting a finger and i thought why even bother posting if you never heard of sticky date.go figure!

family007, Jun 22, 10:05pm
Also try cutting the liquid back to one cup, as this recipe does seem very wet!

angel404, Jun 23, 8:57pm
Sounds like your oven dibble. I think we may have had a convo about this coz my cousin gave me an awesome cake recipe. But when i cooked it, it sank EVERY time in the middle. I just put it down to me being a terrible cook. Just bought a new oven couple months ago. That same cake NEVER sinks now. Turns out im not such a bad baker after all haha.
PS: this cake im talking about has a really liquidy batter as well. But its no probs for my new oven. woohoo!

angel404, Jun 23, 8:59pm
Maybe you could cook the same recipe at someone elses house (with a good oven) and see what happens. If it still sinks then.