Baking temperatures

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Published 1983

Always turn on the oven before you start mixing a cake. The oven must be at the correct baking temperature before the cake is placed in the oven. Arrange oven shelves so they are suitably spaced apart.
As a general rule, the smaller or thinner the cake, the hotter the oven so the cake bakes without drying out. And the plainer the cake, the hotter the oven because heat must penetrate the cake quickly.
Most layer cakes are baked in a moderate oven but richer cakes, particularly fruit cakes, require a lower temperature because they take longer to cook; if the oven is too hot the outside of the cake will dry out before the heat has time to reach the centre of the cake.
Modern hot air ovens heat up very quickly and baking temperatures can be reduced by 10 per cent of what the recipe indicates, but be guided by the manufacturer. In these ovens and in fan-assisted ovens, food can be cooked on different levels so there is no need to rotate cakes or biscuits during cooking.

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