Test your oven temperature
Home ovens often run 10 to 25°C (20 to 45°F) off the dial, and the temperature swings as the element cycles on and off. An oven thermometer that costs a few dollars shows the real number.
Rotate pans to even out hot spots
Turn pans 180 degrees halfway through baking so every side gets a turn at the hot spot. Swap racks if you bake on two levels. Work fast, because each door opening can drop the oven by 15°C or more.
Test yourself
Questions from the interactive lesson, with the answer and the why.
Your cakes keep coming out dry and dark. How can you check whether your oven runs hot?
Hang an oven thermometer on the middle rack. It reads the actual air temperature, so you can adjust the dial to match.
True or false: An oven is the same temperature in every spot inside.
False. Hot spots sit near the element, the back wall and the fan, so one side of the food browns faster.
What went wrong? You bake at 180°C (350°F) like the recipe says, but the cakes keep browning faster on the back side.
The oven has a hot spot and the pan was never turned. A hot spot browns one side first, and turning the pan halfway evens it out.
Fill the blank: A thermometer reads 200°C while the dial says 180°C. The oven runs ___.
A thermometer reads 200°C while the dial says 180°C. The oven runs hot. It's 20°C above the setting, so turn the dial down about 20°C.
Why do cakes sink or stay doughy when the oven runs cool?
The structure sets too late, after the gas has escaped. Eggs and starch set at roughly 60 to 80°C, and in a cool oven the rise collapses first.