Oven Too Hot?

[aemonfried]

Longtime lurker here, and I know this topic has been addressed, but I couldn't find anything in this forum.

Attached a photograph of Chef Heather Hurlbert's Whipped Cream Pound Cake from Corriher's Bakewise. Baking pan is a nonstick heart-shaped Bundt.

I baked at least 10 minutes more than the recommended 50-60 minutes. So I would think that would mean the oven is running cold. But the crust is deep brown and fairly thick. The top domed and cracked. So does that mean the oven is running hot?

I tested starting at 50 minutes. Toothpick didn't just have crumbs but clearly unset batter. Or is this maybe a problem of the shaped Bundt?

We are relatively recently in a new apartment and I am just getting back to baking. Oven thermometer is now on my shopping list. But any help/advice appreciated.

PS: Tastes great!

[weinoo]

Oven thermometer always.  I have 2 in my oven, and you can see where it's hotter.

 

I also use a laser thermometer, which I believe gives me a more accurate picture of the oven's temperature - when the walls and floor have heated to my determined temp, then I know it's the time to put whatever in the oven.

[Lisa Shock]

That pan is weird, smaller at the bottom by a large percentage. You might have to adjust oven temp just for the pan, and, there's a possibility that you'll never get a perfect result with it.

[gfweb]

Perhaps setting the base of the pan in a tray of water would even out the cooking.

[pastrygirl]

It does not look too dark to me, looks GBD*

 

*golden brown and delicious

[gulfporter]

FWIW:

 

My 91 y/o FIL is no longer mobile enough to go out to eat, so I now have to cook/bake at his house when we visit.  

 

After I burnt a few things in the upper oven, I switched to the lower oven and had other disastrous results, all on tried-and-true recipes.

 

Bought an oven thermometer and discovered the upper wall oven runs 25 degrees hotter than its digital readout, while the lower wall oven runs 20 degrees cooler than its digital readout.  

 

The ovens are top of the line, but almost 20 years old.  

[gfron1]

My focus would be more on the pan. And I like gfweb's advice of a water bath or we almost always bake everything on a doubled sheet pan for insulation.

[Lisa Shock]

I looked at your photo again, and you can see the domed top very well. The pan is causing a situation where the bottom (small) is done way before the bulk of the batter up top, so you definitely want to insulate it a bit. I'd try putting the pan onto a baking sheet with a silicon mat on it, the silicon is an insulator. Make sure that your oven is preheated, starting cold means your pan will heat up from the bottom, which won't help.

 

Also, that dome is pretty large and affecting the way the cake sits. I'd remove a cup of batter, simply don't put it in the pan -bake it in a mini-loaf pan, and maybe take the opportunity to make it another flavor, like add lemon zest or almond extract and some raisins.