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Baking abroad SOS (1 Viewer)

chelseamaree

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I'm having issues with baking while living in Europe. I'm from the US (east coast) and have lived in Portugal for a few years. While here I have tried to bake various cakes and cupcakes and they.. did not work. They don't rise and are fairly dense as well. This never happened to me while I baked in the US. Can anyone help me understand why? Is it because I'm not using an electric mixer? Is it the ingredients? Is it the oven (I have tried in 3 different apartments and it's happened in ALL of them). Any guidance is appreciated.
 
Solution
Hi, Chelseamaree welcome to the site. 😊

If your cakes won't rise and are relatively dense, that indicates there isn't enough air to your cakes and cupcakes. If you use the creaming method when baking, you will beat the butter and sugar together. By doing so, you create pockets of air that trap between the butter and the sugar crystals which make your cakes light and fluffy.


When you first mix the butter and sugar together they are very 'yellow' in colour, the more you beat them, the lighter in colour they go, the lighter the colour, the more air and the more air, the lighter the cake.

If you are using the all in one method you may wish to mix for...
Hi, Chelseamaree welcome to the site. 😊

If your cakes won't rise and are relatively dense, that indicates there isn't enough air to your cakes and cupcakes. If you use the creaming method when baking, you will beat the butter and sugar together. By doing so, you create pockets of air that trap between the butter and the sugar crystals which make your cakes light and fluffy.


When you first mix the butter and sugar together they are very 'yellow' in colour, the more you beat them, the lighter in colour they go, the lighter the colour, the more air and the more air, the lighter the cake.

If you are using the all in one method you may wish to mix for a little longer to try and incorporate all the ingredients a little more.


Another reason for dense cakes is too much beating so that may also be the case.

Also, ensure you use the correct amount of ingredients. Don't be tempted to mix and match grams or cups or ounces. If it says grams work in all grams or if it says cups use all the recipe in cups. If it says, 3 eggs use three eggs. (Some people weigh them).

I admire the fact that you are hand beating, but you will not generate as much air into the batter as you would with a hand whisk. They are relatively cheap from any supermarket so it may be worth getting one and seeing the difference in results.

Other reasons that may also be causing you issue is the type of ingredients, maybe your flour is damp or humid, the temperature of the oven isn't up to scratch, or perhaps it's a bad recipe etc.

I do hope that you manage to make some lovely bakes and I'm sure you'll eventually get there. 🙂

In the meantime, I hope I've covered all the bases for you.

Just as an extra bit of help here is a cupcake tutorial that works every time for me and a tutorial for chocolate cupcakes etc





Good luck!
 
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Solution
I'm having issues with baking while living in Europe. I'm from the US (east coast) and have lived in Portugal for a few years. While here I have tried to bake various cakes and cupcakes and they.. did not work. They don't rise and are fairly dense as well. This never happened to me while I baked in the US. Can anyone help me understand why? Is it because I'm not using an electric mixer? Is it the ingredients? Is it the oven (I have tried in 3 different apartments and it's happened in ALL of them). Any guidance is appreciated.

Are you using American measuring cups with euro recipes, there could be a big difference between the two.
I wouldn't want to hand mix a batter. Small hand held elec beaters are cheap enough.
 

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