new cooker

"charlie" wrote in message news:MsYKb.18695$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfep2-win.server.ntli.net...

It is unclear if this equipment is actually new, or just new to you. If the owner's manual is handy, I would give it a thorough reading. There may be something about the operation of the oven that is eluding you. Not being familiar with gas marks, I did a search and found that gas mark 5 is actually equal to 190C or 375F.

Thatcould be an issue since you stated that you set the oven for 170C. Notbeing familiar with fairy cakes, I did a search and found that they are whatI would call a butter cake. I would expect to bake this type of cake at350F or gas mark 4. Since you baked it at the equivalent of gas mark 3, itwould take longer than expected. If you really meant to set the oven to gasmark 5, you baked it at a very much reduced temperature. Cakes are donewhen they shrink from the sides of the pan and when a toothpick insertedinto the center of the cake is dry when removed. No matter what thetemperature, you need to leave the cake in the oven until it is done, evenit that is not the same as the time specified in the recipe. If the cakedid not rise at all, then there is probably something wrong with yourself-rising flour or baking powder. Even at the lower temperature, itshould have risen fairly well. I think these are two different issues.The roast. Perhaps your assumption about the gas mark conversions were alsowrong when you roasted the meat. Many people decrease the oven temperatureby 25F when using a convection oven. Had you done this the outside of theroast may not have burnt. Also, different ovens use different heatingelements in different convection modes. Some true convection oven only usea hidden element in convection mode. Others use a bottom element forconvection bake. Some use a top element for convection roast. Others usevarious combination of elements. Again, your owner's manual would be ofhelp.

The last possibility is that there is something wrong with the oven. The thermostat may be malfunctioning. The oven may need to be recalibrated. There could be a problem with the electronic controller. I would get an oven thermometer and check the actual oven temperature against the set temperature. Try to see how far the temperature swings before turning on and off. If you oven is not calibrated accurately or there are dramatic swings in the temperature, you should call a service technician.