Why Do My Cakes Fall?

[gfpdx]

I am new to gluten-free cooking and have only tried 2 cake recipes (both from gluten-free cookbooks). Both cakes rose nicely while baking, but they fell when I opened the oven door to test for doneness? Any suggestions?

[caek-is-a-lie]

I just use Bob's Red Mill Chocolate Cake Mix and it works perfectly every time. It tastes amazing and I am a hero to my family every time I bake it. I top it with the Ghiradelli butter cream frosting recipe on the back of the cocoa powder can. Oh it's to die for! I think I'll go for another piece right now! I've offered to make it for my sister's wedding since we'll have a bunch of Celiacs there, but someone else has offered to import of gluten-free cupcakes from Washington so...we'll see! lol

[missy'smom]

I haven't delved into gluten-free baking much but used to bake alot pre-gluten-free. If eggs are overbeaten they can behave like that. Some baked goods can fall if they cool too quickly too. It sounds like your cakes may not have been done yet and so were still a little unstable. Sometimes gluten-free things need longer times to bake.

[RiceGuy]

I agree that you might just need to bake them longer. I never try to poke into my cakes, breads, etc to see if they're done, but just judge by the way it looks on the outside. I realize not everyone has the same results with a given recipe though.

Anyway, the main thing I've found to cause cakes and such to fall is too much liquid. If they are done on the outside, but still fall, try either lowering the oven temp, and baking longer, or cutting back on the liquid amount, including oils/fats.

[candrews]

The cake needs to cool down slowly in order to not fall. One way to help it not fall is to turn off the oven and open the door to let it cool slowly. My cake turned out great! (I prefer Jules' Nearly Normal flour rather than other cake mixes I've tried--no aftertaste/better texture)