How can I cook a cake without burning it when my oven's stuck on max?

Question

So it's my birthday next week and the tradition at work is that you bring in cake. I'm a pretty decent cook so that wouldn't normally be an issue but there's a catch - my oven's broken and has been reduced to on/off and when it's on it's very hot.

I tried a cake to see what would happen to it and the outside was black before the middle was cooked so i'm looking for ideas on how to protect my cakes so that they have time to cook fully before they get burned.

Any help will be greatly appreciated =)

Answer 1

I have a recipe here for a MICROWAVE CAKE........
I've made this cake, it's very tasty and moist. The recipe makes a single layer cake, so if you want 2 layers just bake 2 cakes, then put them together and frost.
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MICROWAVE CAKE

1/4 cup baking cocoa powder
2/3 cup hot water, divided in two
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg

Grease a round microwave-safe dish; line bottom with plastic wrap.
In a small bowl, combine cocoa and 1/3 cup water.
Microwave on HIGH for 40-50 seconds or until slightly thickened.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and powder, and salt.
Add oil, remaining 1/3 cup hot water, egg, vanilla and chocolate mixture.
Beat until batter is smooth and well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Microwave on HIGH 5 to 6 minutes* without turning until cake beings to pull away from sides. (Some moist spots may remain but will disappear on standing.)
Let stand for 5 minutes; invert into cake tray.
Peel off plastic wrap; let cool.
Frost if desired.

*Time is for 600-700 watt microwave oven

Answer 2

1. Buy a cake...

2. or use an oven thermometer with the door propped open to see if you can control the temperature that way - by having the door propped open a certain amount.

It may take some experimenting to see how much you have to prop the door open, plus you'll need to rotate the cake more often in order to cook evenly.

3. Another thing to do is to try a water bath... place the cake pan in a baking dish of hot water to see if it will cook evenly without burning the bottom.

4. You become the oven controller (on/off switch), as someone mentioned, where you sit and watch the thermometer rise to temp. during the entire baking process. You must really like your coworkers if you do this one... lol...

5. The middle was cooked so don't leave in oven as long... Try halfing the baking the time, but check the center with a toothpick.

6. Trim off the burned part and coat with frosting... assuming the rest of the cake doesn't taste burned. Frosting makes everything look nice, level and smooth... albeit your cake will be a little smaller. :-)

Answer 3

I think the best advice besides buying the cake, is to become your oven's thermostat. Your oven works by turning on and off anyway. Just get a thermometer and sit in front of the oven watching it. It's only for about 20 minutes anyway. Don't open the oven because it will make the heat uneven. The water bath doesn't sound good because water only heats up to 212.

Answer 4

you know I once had the same problem. What I did was to get an oven thermometer and keep an eye on it, when it reached about 10 degrees higher than called for, turn it off a bit then back on etc.
Its a pain in the ****, but it worked out until I could get another oven installed
or try this, I like pie better than cake anyway
Heavenly Pineapple Refrigerator Pie

16 servings 2 pies 4¼ hours 10 min prep
Change to: pies US Metric
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can Eagle Brand Condensed Milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 (8 ounce) carton Cool Whip
1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
2 graham cracker pie crusts


Combine cream cheese, Eagle Brand milk, and lemon juice and beat until smooth.
Stir in pineapple and pecans and fold in cool whip.
Divide mixture evenly between both pie crusts.
Chill in refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.


Happy Birthday

Answer 5

Get an oven thermometer.

Use the on/ off switch to keep the oven at about 350 F or 180C. If these are right for your recipe

Most cakes cook at about 350, 180.

Good luck

Answer 6

Why don't you just call someone out to fix your oven? Or else buy a cake from the bakery.

Answer 7

If you have a slow-cooker, you could look up some dessert recipes under the "slow-cooker" section on allrecipes.com. I'm pretty sure that I've seen slow cooker cake recipes before

Answer 8

Well really your cooking should get done alot faster so check on is every 3 to 4 min. Thats what i have to do with mine

Answer 9

Maybe you could try covering the pan in aluminum foil, that is a tough one!

p.s Why do you have to bring in a cake for your own birthday???

Answer 10

figure out how much you need to open the oven door to maintain the desired temp inside.