Why Did My Chocolate Guinness Cake Sink In The Middle?

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Guinness Cake (from FEAST) is a moist chocolate cake topped with a frothy cream cheese frosting. If a cake sinks in the centre on cooling then the most common reason is that it was not quite baked through before it was removed from the oven. The cake batter is quite liquid and, as ovens vary, there is a range of baking time from 45 minutes to 1 hour. However, in some ovens it could take slightly longer. The cake is done when it is firm to the touch in the centre, slightly srinking away from the sides of the pan and a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean or with just a few damp cake crumbs attached (but not undercooked or raw batter).

Don't open the oven door for at least 45 minutes and open the door carefully as a gush of cold air into the oven while the cake is baking can also cause the centre to sink if it has not yet set. If it looks like the cake is browning on top too much before it has fully baked, carefully cover the pan with a piece of foil. Also, if the oven temperature is too high then the cake can look baked on the outside but is not fully cooked through, so bake the cake in the centre of the oven or, if you have a fan oven then make sure that you have adjusted the oven temperature following the manufacturer's instructions and use the cake taster test to tell when the cake is ready.