Following Recipe Directions vs. Conventional Wisdom

Hi Guys,

I've been reading this board for months, but am just a mere home baker (I don't sell or bake my cakes for others, etc.) so haven't taken the opportunity to post. I will say that I enjoy reading this forum and utilizing some of the tricks and tips and recipes y'all provide.

I have been struggling with a few issues with some of my cakes and I wanted to ask some questions. I have a feeling that some of the issues I experience when baking cakes comes from overbeating. I know this is a common mistake so I don't feel too terrible about it, but I certainly want to remedy it.

The real problem lies in the fact that a lot of recipes state, as the final step, something along the lines of, 'beat batter on medium speed for 2 minutes.' But, when I go read baking tips, people warn against over beating batter! What's worse is sometimes, even in books and on blogs, people will have recipes that state this as a last step, but then (on the very same website or in the same book) have a page or section devoted to baking tips that advise against doing this - it just makes everything very confusing to me.

Second - my mixer came with a little book that tells me what each speed is used for. However, I'm curious - what do y'all use as 'low' 'medium-low' 'medium', etc. I have two KA stand mixers with speeds 1-10 and just kind of guess, but is there a definitive number that corresponds with a specific speed?

Thanks for the help!!

Thanks for your response - I appreciate it.

I think over beating may be a problem in a couple of my recipes, yeah. But, maybe it is best to break this down by recipe since some of my cakes turn out fine and some don't, and each have their own specific problems.

The cake I have the most problems with is a cold oven pound cake recipe I lifted from a blog. It rises, then sinks in the middle and cracks.

The cake is done on the outside, and under the crack (which is quite good - crispy and chewy and yum), there is about a half of inch of air and then gummy cake inside - it looks like the top part of the overall cake/cupcake rose but the middle didn't rise along with it. I've tried this both with a cake pan and cupcake pan and I always get the same result.

I hope that I described that clearly - kind of tough, haha.

Oh, and I'm still curious what you think about the over beating, in general. In most cases, should I avoid that last directive, and just mix/stir/beat until combined or is it really recipe specific, or cake-type specific?

Thank you!!

Interesting! So, you think throwing out the creaming method altogether is best bet and this is what you've had the most success with?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Thanks for your insight. I did purchase an oven thermometer, two even - probably a year ago. I feel pretty confident that the issue has nothing to do with my oven temperature.

I can't say I never go past 5, but I will say I don't do it routinely.

Also - I know how to use the search function, and have read threads and posts from years ago. I've spent hours on this forum and know how to use the search function, and have read many, many, many old posts/threads. I might be a newbie, but I'm not a total newb!

Thanks for your response. I do use cake mixes sometimes - have a few on hand for 'emergencies,' haha, but I do mostly bake from scratch. It has been so long since I've made a cake with a baking mix that I don't even remember how I mixed it. I normally use an enhanced or modified recipe anyway, so I guess it probably differed depending on what cake.

Thanks for responding. I will definitely try your counting tip and then the last little hand mixing. I read where some folks just hand mix the batter after the last addition of flour, but I thought it might not get mixed properly. Your method seems like a good solution - a little bit of both!

Sometimes I feel like I am almost being tooooo picky about this, but it just seems to me that even very minor things can make such a big difference.

I had plans to bake a cake tonight - went to the store, bought some new baking powder just to be sure that wasn't the issue, and got home only to realize I was missing an entirely different ingredient. Ugh! Maybe tomorrow!

Thanks! I guess you are right - I hadn't thought much about the source. I do read comments on some of the recipes I use from blogs and of course people may leave feedback, but sometimes they don't so in some ways I am flying blind.

I love the Farm Journal books and have at least 5 or 6, and even the one on ice cream and cakes! They are all real gems. I will check out the websites you've mentioned - I think I've only looked at KA Flour site briefly, but the other two, I am pretty sure I haven't even peeked it. Oh, and I just subscribed to Taste of Home, so I'm glad to see that you have had good luck with their recipes.