My sponge cake fell flat and I finally figured out why after 8 tries

I have been trying to perfect a vanilla sponge cake for about 2 months now. Every single time I pulled it out of the oven it would sink right in the middle after a few minutes. I tried different pans, different oven temps, even a new mixer. Finally this past Tuesday I realized my baking powder was sitting in my cabinet for over a year. Picked up a fresh can and boom the cake rose perfect and stayed that way. Has anyone else had a simple ingredient go bad on them without noticing?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_olivia2d agoTop Commenter

Jump right into checking your pantry because it's wild how many things just quietly expire on us. I found out the hard way with vanilla extract that had gone kinda flat - the cake was edible but tasted like nothing, lol. Same thing happened with my cinnamon once, turned into this dusty, flavorless powder that might as well have been sawdust. It's like we expect these ingredients to last forever but they're just sitting there losing their mojo. Now I go through my spice rack and baking stuff every few months, tossing anything that's been sitting around too long.

oliver5232d ago

I had the same thing happen with baking soda after a year and it ruined three batches.