gluten-free Banana Poundcake that burns

[Abthory]

Hello. This is my first post here.

I recently bought an oven (not common in south-korea) and started baking/cooking with it.

I've tried making a Banana Poundcake using a recipe using wheat flour but replacing it with a gluten-free mix I found on internet.

My problem is that my cake completely burns. Smoke comes out of the oven, and crust is burnt on like 2 or 3mm on sides and under, while inside is still moist.

Does anyone has information about it? Did it happen to anybody? My oven is quiet cheap so it could be my oven, but I don't think that it is the oven alone.
I followed the recipe, just replacing the wheat with gluten-free mix (ratio is 2 cup rice flour, 1 cup potato flour, 1 cup tapioca flour, 4tsp xanthan).

Ingredients being:
3 cups Sugar
1 cup Butter, softened
6 Eggs
1 cup Mashed Bananas (about 2 medium)
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Almond Extract
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Banana Yogurt

 

I am new to gluten-free baking and basically baking so I don't have much knowledge about how ingredients work together and affect each other, or even what is the purpose of baking soda, etc. I just follow recipes. Still a lot to learn.

Thanks for your help!
Anthony

[GFinDC]

I won't be much help here regarding the recipe.  But maybe if it's a cheap stove you could get an oven thermometer and verify the temperature is right.

[Abthory]

Thanks for the advice. It is not a bad idea. If the temperature is right then I know it is due to the gluten-free mix. I will get one online tomorrow!

Could it also be due to the size of my tin size? It isn't very big. Like half the size of a regular pound cake?

[trents]

This is a common issue with gluten-free baking. I would try turning the temp down and increase the baking  time. That would give the interior of the loaf more time to solidify. And then maybe also turn the temp back up for the last part of the baking cycle if you want a little crust on the surface. It will require some experimentation.

It also may be helpful to reduce the proportion of liquid ingredients that go into the recipe such as milk or water.

Edited January 18, 2021 by trents

[Abthory]

Thanks, I thought about trying this next time too, I will see how it goes!

About reducing the liquid ingredients, I am not so sure though because actually my cake dough is super thick compared to the dough in all gluten recipes videos. So it doesn't just flow in the mold like it does with gluten, it's much thicker, so if I remove liquids, I'm worried that it might just be way too thick. But I will see next time, i will try different techniques so I might give it a try too. Thank you

[CMCM]

On 1/18/2021 at 6:44 AM, Abthory said:

Thanks for the advice. It is not a bad idea. If the temperature is right then I know it is due to the gluten-free mix. I will get one online tomorrow!

Could it also be due to the size of my tin size? It isn't very big. Like half the size of a regular pound cake?

One thing I've observed with gluten-free bread type things is that a larger pan works better and it's hard if not impossible to produce a thick, high bread or cake type thing like you would get with wheat flour.  When the loaf is very thick due to a smaller pan, gluten free batter doesn't cook as well in the middle, and to get the center part done enough, you can end up with an overcooked crust.  Your photo looks like that is part of the problem, but also that the oven was too high.  Is that an 8" pan?  If so, a 9" pan would be better.  Lower the oven temperature, and loosely cover the pan with foil for much of the cooking time, i.e. bake it for about half the time without a cover, and then add the cover after that. 

BTW, if you can stand mixes, the King Arthur Flour brand gluten-free Banana Bread mix is excellent.  It advises the use of a 9" pan, and bakes at 350°.  It turns out excellent, and I'm a banana bread fanatic who typically likes very few banana breads I taste.  I like to add a bit of lemon zest, almond flavoring and flaked coconut to it when I make it.  Yum!  You can't tell it's gluten-free, and it has a lovely texture and taste.

[Abthory]

Thank you! I thought that the size might be a problem for the cooking.

And I will look for that mix, thank you. I never tried any mix so I don't know whether I can stand it or not.

Also, I followed the first advice and got a oven thermometer. And oh, surprise lol, when I set my oven at 150C (300F), it actually goes up to 200C (390F). When I set it to 100C (210F), the thermometer says 150C (300F). And when I set 200C (390F), it goes up to 220C (430F). So I am taking notes of the real temperatures now so that I can set it right next time.

It is probably the main reason why my cake got a sunburn, but if the result it still soso, I will try your other suggestions! I will post a photo next time I try the recipe.

Thanks~

[CMCM]

My oven temperature was wildly fluctuating, mostly on the hot side.  I couldn't safely bake anything anymore, most everything got overdone on the outside, raw or gooey on the inside.  That forced me to get a new oven...finally!  The old was was about 34 years old.  It was cheaper to replace it than try to fix it.

[Abthory]

Gosh that's an old oven haha, well mine is very cheap. It's not so common in Korea and I got one of the cheapest convection one (about 80USD, 45L). So I wasn't expecting high quality, but didn't expect such high difference with the setting and the actual temperature. At least it isn't random, it is just poorly built, so I made a table with the real temperature corresponding to each setting, and will let the oven thermometer inside just in case to check. I will post a photo next time I do the cake (probably Saturday or Sunday).

Anthony

[CMCM]

I got a GE oven with a convection setting, but I quickly learned NOT to use the convection setting for baked goods.  They didn't burn  like yours did, but they didn't turn out right.

[Abthory]

I actually read about it. That when baking, convection should be turned off. But I didn't know if it actually affects the baked goods or not. From your experience it does? In what way they didn't turned out right?

 

Anthony

[CMCM]

Convection definitely wasn't optimum.  I only used it a few times, but as I recall things just didn't bake evenly or completely and it was harder to get the insides cooked right.  I remember doing some things where the inside was still batter while the outside was overdone.  The circulating air dried out the crust, I think.  Later I read that convection was more for roasting meats, etc.  Supposedly it's good for doing cookies on several racks at once at different levels in the oven, but I haven't tried that.

[trents]

Nothing bakes as well as the old cast iron wood stoves my grandma used on the farm. The thickness of the oven chamber walls was much greater and contributed to more even heating.