What did i do wrong?

[lawrence567]

Morning All,

Attempted last night to make some chocolate chip muffins using the BBC good food recipe as it looked simple & i've not baked a cake since food tech at school some 10 years ago.
The only thing i changed was i substituted the cocoa powder for drinking chocolate powder.
Followed the recipe 100%.
The first batch did'nt "crack" on the top like it said in the recipe it should & it 'seems' they are'nt cooked all the way through as when you peel them out of their wrappers half the cake is left in the wrapper.
I tried another batch & turned the heat up a touch but all this did was burn the cakes on the top & i still have the issue of the cake only seeming to cook half way through.
Any tips?
I'm using a leccy fan assisted oven aswell that cooks everything else through perfectly! Hence i'm thinking it's something i'm doing wrong.

[calibrax]

Turn the heat down, not up. For a fan oven you should reduce the temperature by about 10% from the recipe. As it's not cooking through, leave it in for longer at the lower temp and that should solve the problem.

[randlemarcus]

And buy some cocoa powder. Its very different from drinking chocolate powder.

[lawrence567]

Ok thanks guys i'll try again tomorrow evening & let you know the results

[Mobile Chicane]

Test for 'doneness' by inserting a metal skewer / sharp knife in the thickest part. It should come away clean if the cake is cooked through.

I'd also invest £4.99 in an oven thermometer since the temperature on the dial isn't necessarily the temperature inside - accurate temperatures matter for baking.

[PandaEyes]

When making muffins they shouldn't be beaten too much, ingredients should be just combined. Found this out when making muffins last weekend.

[Tanguero]

lawrence567 said:

The only thing i changed was i substituted the cocoa powder for drinking chocolate powder.
...
Hence i'm thinking it's something i'm doing wrong.

You used a mixture of sugar, powdered milk, cocoa powder and potassium carbonate instead of just cocoa powder.

[lawrence567]

Tanguero said:

You used a mixture of sugar, powdered milk, cocoa powder and potassium carbonate instead of just cocoa powder.

No,

The recipe was cocoa pwoder, an egg, plain flour, baking powder, milk & olive oil & some choc chips.
We did'nt have any cocoa powder so i just used drinking chocolate.
I did'nt substitute anything else.

[Herbie58]

lawrence567 said:

Tanguero said:

You used a mixture of sugar, powdered milk, cocoa powder and potassium carbonate instead of just cocoa powder.

No,

The recipe was cocoa pwoder, an egg, plain flour, baking powder, milk & olive oil & some choc chips.
We did'nt have any cocoa powder so i just used drinking chocolate.
I did'nt substitute anything else.

Yes, but drinkng chocolate has lots of additional crap in it (such as the above) rather than just cocoa. Hence it affects the baking process.

[mph1977]

Mobile Chicane said:

Test for 'doneness' by inserting a metal skewer / sharp knife in the thickest part. It should come away clean if the cake is cooked through.

I'd also invest £4.99 in an oven thermometer since the temperature on the dial isn't necessarily the temperature inside - accurate temperatures matter for baking.

cake heads - temperatures matter !