Where should my oven rack be in the oven?

And other oven information.

This article is adapted from an article I wrote for Food24

Oven basics for cake baking

A basic understanding of your oven will help to work out where to put the oven racks. Or skip to the end for TLDR

Getting to know your oven can be a little like blind dating, sometimes the first date is a huge success and sometimes it …  well …  is a giant flop.  Nowhere is it more obvious than when baking a cake.  The first step is understanding how your oven works.  When you bake a cake you want indirect heat, so, you would preheat your oven (perhaps a few degrees higher than the recipe states), and let the elements bring the oven to that heat.  Then quickly open the oven and place the cake inside, close the door and turn the heat down to the prescribed heat.  The thermostat light should go off when the oven is at temperature, this means that the elements switch off and the heat is retained inside the oven.  Whether you get to that point using top, bottom and/or rear elements is unimportant.  Once you are at the desired temperature, for cake baking, keep your oven on bottom element only or one of the fan-assisted options (never use the grill).  Below are the most common baking settings:

Using fan assist

If using fan-assisted options, the oven temperature should as a guide be 20°C LESS than the recipe states. This is because fan assist cooks quicker and is a dryer heat. 

Knowing the true temperature

To accurately measure the temperature of your oven (is 180° actually 180°C) would require an oven thermometer.  But diagnosing the problem can also be done using the guide below.

Here are some common problems and how to correct them:

Oven not coming up to temperature (thermostat light doesn’t go off)

This can have two causes, the first is that the thermostat is broken and it is not turning the elements off when the oven reaches the stated temperature. In which case you would  need an electrician to help.  But this can also be caused by a perished oven seal.  Around the door of your oven there is a rubber seal that prevents the hot air from escaping.  If this is perished or not properly attached warm air will escape causing the element to keep coming on.  Test this by holding your hand at various points around the oven door to see if a lot of heat is escaping.  Visually examine the seal, this is a simple and relatively inexpensive item to replace.

Cakes have a peak in the middle

If you find your cakes have a big peak in the middle, the reason could be that your oven is hotter than you think it is.  The outside edge of the cake is cooking through quickly but the heat is taking a while to penetrate the batter causing that to continue rising long after the outer edge has set.  Quick fixes, are to lower the oven temperature, make sure that all your ingredients are at room temperature (or warmer eg a hot milk sponge works well here) or to insulate the outside of the cake tin by wrapping it is a wet tea towel (or wet newspaper).

Top of cake is cracked

Cracked tops usually go hand in hand with peaks.  The inside is still runny but the top of the cake has set and as the middle continues to rise it cracks the top.  Follow the steps for peaks and also use only underneath element so that the top doesn’t crust as quickly.

Cake has a dent in the middle

There are two kinds of dents (those that form inside the oven while it is cooking and those that form after you have taken the cake out of the oven).  If your dent forms once the cake is out of the oven, that is the result of the cakes not being cooked through.  The centre isn’t 100% set and even though it has risen and looks perfect once the cake is removed from the heat the bubbles of warm air shrink and the sponge isn’t completely set resulting it the middle collapsing.  Remedy by making very sure that the cake is cooked through by inserting a skewer and checking that it comes away clean, or lightly poke the middle of the cake with your finger, if it springs back it is done.

Dents that form while baking are often formed by your batter rising too much, too quickly.  The heat again doesn’t allow for it to be set to maintain that height and it collapses under its own weight.  The easiest way to remedy this is to reduce the amount of baking powder in the recipe.  (eg use 2 tsp baking powder instead of 3 tsp).  This would require a little trial and error to perfect. 

Cake burning underneath

Cakes that are burning underneath are usually caused by the bottom element coming on for too long or too hot.  Sometimes it is only apparent once the cake is removed from the tin, so keep your sense of smell on high alert.  If you detect any burning smells, reduce the heat immediately.  Also try using a different oven setting, like fan assist to prevent this. 

Cake very dark on outside but not cooked through

If your cakes are darkening on the top and/or side before baking through completely, turn the temperature down and, if necessary, cover the top with foil to prevent it from browning further.

Cake rising unevenly

This may be due to the position of the fan in the oven.  The place that fans out the heat tends to be hotter than other parts of the oven and this can cause the cake to rise higher faster on that side.  Remedy this by making sure that there is lots of space around each tin and between the tin and the fan and try turning the cake around halfway through cooking times.

Dry cake or cake taking LONG to cook

This usually means your oven is not as hot as you think it is.  So even if you are setting it to the correct temperature it may mean that the temperature gauge isn’t accurate.  Try turning the temperature up a little or using fan assist if you aren’t already. 

Oven Rack Positions

Grill – Oven rack near the top, adjust grilling speed by dropping the rack down as needed

Fan assist – Place black tray at the bottom, racks can be placed anywhere, and more than one rack can be used

Conventional baking – Do not use the black tray, oven rack should be in the middle of the oven