Ok, I feel frustrated now. I have a serious problem. Those with good baking skills should shed some light on this problem.
Whenever I bake my cake, the dough somehow or the other remains at its place. It hardly rises and if it does luckily…its just the top and bottom which comes out nice and spongy but the middle part becomes squidgy (sp).. and sometimes hard…
What can be wrong with it??
You should sift the flour well and not beat the mixture too much when you add the flour to the batter. If you are not messing up the recipe and keeping the temperature on the required mark I don't see why thats happening.
Maybe Shahreen will know!!!
losty, I feel your pain. I was watching this show on the Food Network where the Baker of all bakers declared that when it comes to baking bread etc, you either have it or you don't. You and I probably fall in the latter pool. I have tried baking once in life and it was a disaster. I'll try it again in 10 years. I am now getting my feet wet with Wok Cooking. Bought this huge non stick gourmet wok and a wooden spatula. Now I need to go to my local chingy store and buy some oriental veggies and peeled jumbo shrimp. Oh, I finally figured out how to make sticky steamed rice.
And back to baking... you know everything must rise. Agar dough nay rise hona hay tau woh janaab rise tau kya khaak hongay, lagta hay mera dough tau uth ker baith-taa bhi nahee. LaiTaa he rehta hay. Acha mer peet ker thoRRa saa rise hoga tau oven may daalTay he uska intiqaal hojaata hay. Aur lagta hay Indian AaTaa thaa... faut honay kay baad khuddi jul ker raakh bhi bun gaya.
Fungu…aap bhi na bas 
You know I can’t afford to laugh where I am sitting right now…and already people are looking at me 
Anyhow, so we are in the same boat :–( sighs…you know yeh meri hasrat hai kay kabhi main bhi achi baking kar sakoon.
UFf, i love those wooden spetulas, everytime I see them I feel like buying all of those…pata naheen kyoon
FG
Wooden spatulas do look so pretty. Just looking at them makes me feel im going to cook something healthy and light!
Both of you need to buy prepared cake mixtures if you are that disasterous.
Are you trying to bake a cake from scratch? But why? The mixers are perfect, easy and timeless.
The baked ones available at bakerys r even better :D
The upside down pineapple cake mixture u get from betty crocker or someone is just yummy.
Ya FF, tell me abt it :love:
or tum kyoon mujhay bakery yaad dila rahee ho. Betty cocker de chachi na howay tay.
Ahmadjee, ofcourse… I live in Pakistan not Amreeka. I believe some stores carry those mixers BUT jo baat khud bananay main hai woh mixers walay cakes main naheen. I bet FG would agree with me on this 
umm ... I have a number of self proclaimed cooks in my family, but the convenience factor has them hooked on mixers. It doesn't mean that if you want to make a German chocolate cake, you can find everything in the mixer. You can make the cream yourself (or get a pre-prepared one from store as well). So, the cake then becomes all about presentation.
Yaar LS u travel a lot. EIther I am mistaken or you have lived in Arizona, KSA and Pakistan over the past year or two. Ok I am mistaken. But if you are in Pakistan there is nothing better than a freshly baked black forest cake from united bakery in Islamabad 
or a pineapple cake with fresh cream :doubleyum: Bakery all the way. Aik tau ingredients can cost quite a bit in Pakistan oopar se itni garmi mein oven on I bet your kitchens r not air conditioned 
LS :p aik cake bhi bake nahiN kiya jaata. Lemme help you :o
Universal recipe :o
Ingredients:
2 glasses of flour
1½ glass of sugar
1 ½ glass of semi melted butter
4 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla sugar
Now if you want spongy cake, mix sugar and butter till they change color (White). Add eggs one by one mixing the stuff together in the mean time. Matlab add one mix well etc, the mixture puffs up. Phir add flour, baking powered and vanilla sugar, mix really well. If you're using el-mixer, use it for like 2 min. Let it rest for 5 min and then bake it in pre-heated oven. 175 degrees till its done. You can check it either by judging by the color or by sticking in a knife or something.
The other way is to add eggs, sugar and flour (baking powered and vanilla) together and mix, then add melted butter and mix. Put the mixture in oven and bake.
You can add anything to either of these methods. I usually squeeze in an orange and the orange part of the skin, it smells great.
To the first option, you can peel and slice a couple of apples. Arrange them nicely on the mixture, pour a mixture of sugar and powdered daar-cheene. A little handful sugar and half a tsp of the spice. Bake, it smells great and it good as well.
Tip.
-- 175 degree is foolproof temperature for almost anything, if the oven is pre-heated that is.
-- Mixing the ingredients in baking counts.
Ahmedjee…I know where you are coming from. I am not that sughar either. But given the time and the required stuff, I would like to cook and bake on my own. or phir kaha na abhi Pakistan main iska trend naheen hai ziada.
FF: We have united bakery’s all over Pakistan and I wanna kut laga u right now for reminding me of the stuff ya, its hot in the kitchen but is your kitchen airconditioned ??? and yes you sweat and you feel bad but than isn’t the salti rotiyaan tasty, ever wonder what causes it
Sabah: 
I have separate diaries where a number of recipies are written (focus on written) baat recipie ki naheen banany ki hai.. but 
for your input
I think FF is right when she said that I need to see how I do stuff… ( to act smart) I often don’t fold the mixture but beat it 
someone else also told me that…
LS itni garmi mein baking? 
apnay oopar rehm karein and please go to Nandos and get yourself a chocolate cake or coffee cake from there, they are the best i have tasted in karachi :love:
p.s. i suck really badly at baking :o thats why i like to go for ready made cakes no masla no uljhan 
salty rotiyan haha
And yes my kitchen is air conditioned as is the rest of the house :p
Re: Baking and my frustration
Thanx I was looking for this recipe all over the place. I am new at this (baking cakes, I did it before but its forgotten now); therefore, I thought I should pay my thanx to the writer.
Re: Baking and my frustration
Your cake tin is too small for the amount of cake mix you're using and/or your oven temperature isn't correct.
Any cakes that I have made that have sunk in the middle usually happen as a result of my overeagerness as I keep opening the oven door during cooking. I just disguise it while whipped cream though.
Re: Baking and my frustration
Uffffff kia yaad karwaya, RAHAT BAKERY ka double fudge cake 
i miss you
Re: Baking and my frustration
shahreen is right.
also get yourself a good reliable recipe