Help with measurements

gabyjane

Ok i have just made some cakes with the kids..they look ok but the big one i have done has gone as hard as rocks..pretty sure if i take it up the park we can have a game of frizby lol..
Anyway the scales are in either lb's or kg's and the recipes i find are all not these..please can someone help as to where i measure to to get nice fairy cakes..not rock cakes!!?
Thanks

rachbc

For fairy cakes/ cupcakes I use a standard victoria sponge mix

weigh eggs (in shells) and then measure the same amount of each sugar, butter and SR flour. For a doz big (muffin sized) cupcakes I use 3 eggs, for fairy cakes sized 2 would prob do.

Cream butter and suagr, add eggs one and a time, beat well between each, add flour and fold in gently, add enough milk to make a soft batter that drops of a spoon easily.

Bake at 180 til springy and a skewer/ bit of spagetti stuck in the middle comes out clean

Chuzzle

Sorry don't mean to offend by this post, so if it comes across as me thinking you're a bit simple my apologies, but sometimes the obvious does need to be pointed out .
When following a recipe it will usually always have the lbs & oz's alongside g & kg always follow one or the other through the whole recipe. So do everything in lb's and ounces OR g's & kg's DO NOT MIX THE WEIGHTS UP as the result may not be coming out right.
Also you may find that you are over cooking things slightly, I only use the cooking and temperature as a guide - my oven seems to have amind of its own, sometimes it'll cook perfectly and other times it'll be too hot/cold . I tend to check the cooking item 3/4's of the way through the time stated in the recipe. Anyway, hth and hope you had a nice time playing frisbee in the park lol! My bad cakes are usually used to build brick walls :rotfl:far too heavy to fly like a frisbee!

valk_scot

Also just to add...if you find a recipe that calls for the ingredients to be measured in cups, this is the US system, and they have special measuring cups for this. I don't think it's a matter of grabbing the nearest teacup and using that.

allydowd

You could use a converter:

http://convertalot.com/volume_capacity_converter.html

Butterfly_Brain

I always make mine with 1oz less butter and they never go hard at all
so my basic mix is :

4oz SR flour
4oz Caster Sugar
3oz Butter
2 Beaten eggs
HTH:D

gabyjane

Thanks for the replys..
the recipe i have that i followed with my old scales (and they were always perfect) is:

6oz flour SR
4oz marg
4oz caster sugar
2 large egss

On my scales however i only have lb's or kg's so if i being thick and that is the same somewhere forgive me you are right ruthibe73!! BUT either way whatever i try to do it as i use the same part and do not mix them..would people really do that?
as for a converter well the ones i have tried have never worked so? just done that one above and it doesnt appear to have what i need which is part of the prob as im trying to covery 4oz into my scales either lb's or kg's..maybe its me?!

iamana1ias

I read it that you are having problems with the scales rather than the recipe?

There are 16oz in 1lb. There should be 15 little marks between the 0 and the 1 on your scales, so you need to weigh until the needle reaches the 6th/4th mark.

gabyjane

Hi iamana1ias no not trouble with the scales as such just the fact that what the recipes say aren't what is on my scales! just looked and there are 20 little marks between 1+0?

thriftlady_2

gabyjane wrote: »

Hi iamana1ias no not trouble with the scales as such just the fact that what the recipes say aren't what is on my scales! just looked and there are 20 little marks between 1+0?

I think you should invest in some decent scales Gabyjane. Sounds like yours aren't very good. Get ones with a nice clear dial;)

gabyjane

thrift lady i thought this but when i looked at others thay are all the same as what i have now not like my old ones..seriously though they are newish and there ar 20 lines between 0+1?