Tips on Cake Making Preparation of cake tins Cake tins are made from many types of material, stainless steel, aluminium, silicon, non stick surfaces etc but if one is unsure of the non stick properties of a cake tin, it is best to line it with lightly greased, greaseproof paper. This is achieved by:     * Cutting a greaseproof paper cartouche 2 cm wider than the cake tin     * Cutting a collar 2cm longer than the circumference and 2 cm higher than the cake tin     * Lightly grease both the cartouche and collar     * Place the cartouche in the cake tin first and neatly crease the extra 2cm up the sides     * Place the collar neatly around the inside of the cake tin: the 2cm sides of the cartouche should be outside the collar; to allow a neat finish to the finished cake     * Many chefs will lightly grease both sides of the cartouche and collar, so they cling neatly to the cake tin Testing for a cooked cake Insert a slender bladed knife into the thickest part of the cake (normally the centre) and remove. The blade should come out clean. If it comes out with the batter clinging to it, the cake requires further cooking. Common faults when cake baking 1.  The oven door is opened too soon    this sudden rush of cold air into a warm/hot oven will result in the cake collapsing and coming out flat. The oven door should not be opened until ¾’s the way through allowed cooking time. 2.  Cake over browned    Controlling its browning process is essential, this can be achieved by:     •  knowing the oven’s hot and cold spots •  placing the cake tin on the middle shelf with a tray on the top shelf to deflect the falling •  heat particles •  lightly covering the cake tin with tin foil 3.  The oven door being slammed shut    This sudden and violent action will shock the cake mixture, knock out or deflate all the trapped air bubbles and will result in the cake collapsing and coming out flat 4.  Incorrectly weighed ingredients    Unlike many areas of the kitchen, cake making is more of an exact science, in most cases a slight variance in measurements can make all the difference. 5.  Incorrect flour used    Cake making requires a ‘soft’ or high ration flour; it must be one that is low in gluten content. A medium to high gluten flour will result in a heavy textured, non risen cake. 6.  Flour not sufficiently sieved    To increase the air in the mixture and to ensure what gluten content is there, the flour should be well sieved (2-3 times) and from a reasonable height from sieve to bowl. 7.  Fruits sinking    Cakes with dried fruits or nuts added to them, will often turn out to have most of the dried fruits or nuts sunk to the bottom. This can be remedied by lightly tossing/coating them in flour before incorporating them into the mixture. This forms a kind of chemical bond with the batter and prevents them sinking. Problems that can occur when making sponge cakes  Close texture   :   eggs and sugar overheated         :   eggs and sugar under beaten         :   too much flour         :   flour not folded in         :   oven too hot                Sunken   :   too much sugar         :   oven too hot         :   tin removed during cooking                Heavy   :   butter too hot         :   butter not mixed in well         :   flour over mixed Chef Jos Wellman Tutor, author and restaurateur New Zealand   Read also: Learning the Many Cooking Terminologies for Success  Food Tips On Vinegar  Penny Pinching Cooking TipsTips on Cake Making Cooking Tips - 5 Ways to Create Magic  A Primer on Waterless Cooking 14 Easy Cooking Tips for Meat and Poultry Slow Cooker Recipes Steak Info  Steak Cooking Tips For a Great Steak