Help! Choc sponge won't rise

smeef

Just wondered if anyone could give me some tips on how to get my chocolate sponge cakes to rise. I've been using the same chocolate sponge recipe for about 15 years, but recently they're coming out flat. They taste fine, they just don't rise, even a mm! And whilst hubby doesn't care what they look like, I was trying to bake for a charity sale and was too embarrassed with the one I made yesterday to send it in!I don't know if it's the ingredients, my technique, or something else that's the problem, but I would appreciate any tips on how to make sponges rise.Ta x

Penelope_Penguin

I made a lemon drizle yesterday, with similar effect. Again, I have no idea why, as I've been using this recipe for years.

Try adding an extra egg, and/or a Tbsp of baking powder immediately before putting the cake in the oven.

Penny. x

smeef

Do I still need to add baking powder if I'm using self-raising flour? Or would I be better off using plain flour and baking powder?Will try the extra egg when I try again next week. I think we're going to be eating cakes for weeks as I try to sort this out!!

pigpen

Is it possibly the door seal on the oven door which is not retaining the heat?? I had a similar problem with my old oven.. cakes, buns, yorkshire puds.. everything came out flat and floppy.. not nice.. I got a new oven and everything is perfect once more!!!.. Well as perfect as my ineptitude allows lol.

turned out the door seal on my old oven was not put in properly so the heat was not building enough inside the oven to cook things properly. Try cooking higher up in the oven.. it made a marginal difference to mine..

Penelope_Penguin

smeef wrote: »

Do I still need to add baking powder if I'm using self-raising flour? Or would I be better off using plain flour and baking powder?Will try the extra egg when I try again next week. I think we're going to be eating cakes for weeks as I try to sort this out!!

If I'm going through a period of non-rising cakes, I add baking powder to SR flour. I often suspect that raising agent in the flour has lost it's vigour.

The reason I suggest adding it at the last minute is that when baking powder hits liquid, it starts to react, and lose it's ooomph.

HTH, Penny. x

smeef

Thanks for the suggestions guys.I'm not sure about the oven seal but as this has happened in three seperate ovens I'm going to hope my luck isn't that bad! Will be moving cakes higher up into the oven though!And will try baking powder as well. Hopefully this time next week I'll have some nice light, fluffy cakes!