My first thought was that you used cake pans that were too small in size for the amount of batter that the recipe made. With cakes especially, it is very important to use the number of pans and correct size called for in the recipe even if you have to go out and buy new/additional pans.

Please don't let this first time problem keep you from baking from scratch again. Homebaked cakes, cookies, pies, etc. are really delicious (most of the time) and can give the bakers a wonderful sense of accomplishment. Baking is more precise and not the "pinch" of this and "a bit" of that.

As for the oven, I would try to scrape off as much batter with a plastic spatula then use the oven's self-cleaning cycle if it has one or an oven cleaner like Easy Off.

Thanks for the response. I used two 9" pans like the recipe called for, and the batter didn't even fill them half-way. Do you think it could be the "Double Acting" Baking Powder? What does Double Acting mean?

I will try the self-clean cycle first. Thanks.

tlbb

Yep, baking sucks. Just kidding, I love to bake but mess it up so badly. It's all a learning process, it's not like cooking where it's easily corrected. I'd say pans were too small too. Once you taste your first homemade cake/cookie you probably won't do the box thing again. I made my first cake from scratch last month and that's the route I'm taking from now on. good luck.

Does the recipe mention depth size of cake pans? There are "regular" cake pans and then there are 2" slightly deeper cake pans.

I checked on several more carrot cake recipes and most using 2 cups of flour used 1 1/2 to 2 t. baking soda and or powder. Not all the recipes used baking powder.

Maybe you could try another recipe?

Here is a very reliable web site's version.

Here is a link that might be useful: Joy of Baking's Carrot Cake

Thanks. I'm going to try again with less baking powder. My daughter picked this recipe so I'll try it one more time. I don't know where this cook book came from, everything is in grams and uses strange terminology. For example it called for 1 lb of caster sugar. I used 2 cups of regular sugar. Is this correct. Thanks for all your help.

tlbb

Castor sugar is a slightly finer granulated sugar, more like the extra fine sugar used by bartenders making drinks. Sounds like your recipe is from Great Britain. I wouldn't halve the amount of baking powder, maybe use only 1 t. instead of 1 1/2 t.

tibb:
Hi welcome to the Forum. You have just been Christened.
Now you can enjoy baking , without incident.
This is why I have a liner for the bottom of the oven.
It saved cleaning up a mess, a few times.
Most of the time I put a cookie tin on the shelf below,
to catch spills.

You will get help when you ask.
I'll just come in and terrorize. To make you Feel at home.

LOU

According to my "King Arthur Flour All Purpose Baking Cookbook," a cup of granulated sugar is equivalent to 7 ounces, or just under half a pound. Two cups of powdered sugar is equal to 8 ounces, which would be half a pound. I'm guessing that if castor sugar is a finely granulated sugar, it would be somewhere in between powdered sugar and regular granulated sugar, but I don't know for sure. This cookbook doesn't have info on Castor sugar. I don't know if this info helps or not. I hope it does.

Sally

If you are going to use the same recipe again, post the list of ingredients here so that we can check the proportions. How were the carrots measured? It's possible that a mistake was made during measuring. How closely did you supervise? Are you at high altitude? I made a pizza in Mexico City without adjusting for altitude, and it rose all over the place.

I would use 1-3/4 cups of granulated sugar instead of two.

Lars

If the recipe calls for a pound of sugar, it is either for a very very sweet cake or for quite a large amount of cake. What size pans did you use and what other ingredients went in?

My usual recipe comes from the New Joy of Cooking and it uses 1 1/3 cup flour and 1 cup sugar for an amount that would go in either a 9" x 13" or two 9" round pans. A cup of sugar would be less than half the sugar your recipe has. Mine uses 1 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp baking powder - so the amount of baking powder and baking soda yours has doesn't sound like too much if your recipe is a bit bigger. All baking powder is "double acting". Baking powder has two ingredients - one that acts when it comes in contact with water and one that acts when heated - hence double acting in comparison to baking soda which acts when it contacts an acidic liquid.

If you are going to stick with the recipe your daughter found, then try filling the pans less full (like 1/3) and putting a baking sheet below them just in case. However, for a first foray into baking from scratch it might be better to start with a recipe that doesn't have as many challenges. Something tried and true that doesn't require conversion and adjusting for different ingredients (caster sugar which I think equates to super fine sugar here).

To add to what others have said, it's a great idea to post your recipe and get some feedback before baking. Cookbooks aren't always reliable. Recipes may not have been tested or there may be printing/editing errors.

An experienced baker will usually detect when something isn't quite right with a recipe but it takes a while to get there.

Enjoy baking. Don't give up.

Carol

Carol:
I second that motion.
LOU

All recipes are not created equal....and this one may not have called for enough flour...or you may have measured wrong...
Do not make that recipe again. You will see notes here for "T and T" recipes....that means Tried and True.
And 2 cups of granulated sugar would not be the same as a pound of caster sugar. Unlike making stews or salads or marinades, baking is an exact science and you really have to be experienced to make any substitutions...if you add less baking powder the cake may veryw ell be heavy and dense.
Here's the T and T recipe I use for carrot cake.
Carrot cake Julie TÂs
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tsps cinnamon
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins chopped with 1 Tablespoon of flour
Buttermilk glaze
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter
1 Tblsp light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup softened butter
4 oz softened cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp orange juice
1 tsp grated orange rind
Preheat oven to 350
With a mixer Beat eggs, add oil and buttermilk, sugar and vanilla. beat to combine. Stir together flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder and stir into batter. stir in pineapple, carrots and raisins.
Pour into a greased 8 by 13 pan or 2 greased round 9 inch cake pans. Bake 35 to 45 minutes until set in the middle. Remove from the oven and immediatly spread with the buttermilk glaze. Cool completely and frost with the cream cheese frosting.
Buttermilk glaze:
In a medium sauce pan ( don't use a small pan) combine all ingredients but vanilla. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes stirring often...it will bubble a lot. It should be a light caramel color, stir in vanilla and pour over the cake
Cream cheese frosting:
Beat cream cheese and butter until light add vanilla powd. sugar and juice and rind...beat until smooth and frost the cooled cake.

Carrot cake was the first cake I ever baked. I love it, and nothing beats home made carrot cake. The recipe I tried came from the back of a sack of whole wheat flour. Finding a good recipe is half the battle, look for something that sounds familiar. Even experienced bakers have their ups and downs. I often have batter overruns in a new recipe, if I'm hesitant I put a tray on the oven shelf below like Lou recommends. But homeade baking tastes so much better than box or store bought, and is also WAY cheaper. Keep up the good work, we're here to help! Welcome to the forum!

Here is the recipe I use from the New Joy of Cooking. It has never failed me. I'm paraphrasing the instructions - Joy gets a bit wordy at times. It looks like it has a lot of ingredients but it comes together pretty quickly.

Oven to 350 degrees FGrease and flour two 9 x 2 round pansor 8 x 8 square or one 13 x 9 inch. I prefer to spray with Bakers Joy which has a mix of oil and fine flour so the cake releases from the pan nicely. You can line the bottom of the pan with parchment or wax paper.

Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon, ground
1/2 tsp cloves, ground
1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated or ground
1/2 tsp allspice, ground
1/2 tsp salt

Wet ingredients
2/3 cup oil
3 large eggs

Lumpy stuff
1 1/2 cups grated, peeled carrots
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup golden raisins
1/ cup crushed pineapple lightly drained.
The recipe says the last two are optional. I've always included them and I think they contribute a great deal to the results.

Mix together the dry ingredients
Stir in (or beat at low speed) the wet ingredients until well combined.
Stir in the lumpy stuff

Spread the batter evenly in the pan(s).
Bake 25-30 min for the two pans or 30-35 min for one big pan. I find these times to be a bit low. Use the toothpick test - if it comes out clean and mostly dry the cake is done.

Cool in pan for 10 min on a wire rack. Then you can take it out of the pan to finish cooling on the rack.

Hi everyone. Thanks for all the great advice. I think maybe I did use too much sugar as a few of you have suggested, and I'm not sure but I'll have to check the recipe to make sure I used the correct sized pans.

My daughter decided to use a recipe from a different cookbook (an old Readers Digest Cookbook that I love) and start over. The recipe was very similar but only called for Baking Soda, no Baking Powder at all.

We could tell right away that it was different. The batter on the second cake was much thicker. Everything went ok except it baked a little too long. Even though we checked it after the shortest recommended baking time, the edges were a little bit hard and it was kind of dry. The icing was really good though so that kind of saved it.

The best thing was that my daughter and I found something we could do together that we both like and we definitely made some memories!

Thanks again for all your input. I'm officially hooked on these forums!

tlbb

And the good part is..........even mistakes make GREAT memories! You'll will both laugh and re-tell the "Burnt Cake" story someday.

Deanna

I'm glad you hung in there and tried the cake again. Maybe this baking together is something the two of you can do often? She will remember these times baking with you!

Now....onto cupcakes, brownies, muffins, quick breads, and pies!

This may sound silly, but make sure your daughter understands that a small "t" means teaspoon and a large/ capital "T" means Tablespoon.

tlbb, you've gotten some great advice here, so I'll just say that the longer you bake, the more consistent it will be. I loved baking with my girls and now with my grandchildren, so enjoy baking those memories.

Oh, and welcome to the Cooking Forum.

Annie

You have gotten good advice, and I think you'll find this is a nice, helpful group of people.

I would like to add that it's risky to try out a new recipe when company is coming.

That's a better time for a tried-and-true recipe, something you have practice with that you are pretty sure will come out well.

I didn't see oven temperature mentioned -- I have a vintage stove that runs hot so I use an oven thermometer to make sure the temp is correct.

With dry ingredients, make sure to scrape straight across the top of the measuring spoon or cup to make it level and get the correct amount (a table knife can be used).

I'm glad you're having fun cooking with your daughter -- memories to cherish!