RE: Soft cookies & flat cakes

Believe it or not, you have asked a couple of broad questions. Hopefully the following suggestions will help! First, are you familiar with all of the terms and measurments in your recipes? Next, for both issues (and pretty much anything else contaning flour) make sure you scoop to measure and don't tamp or tap it down.

Regarding softer cookies, sometimes the solution is just to make a larger cookie or cook them for a minute or two less. Remember that every oven will be slightly different in temp. and that the back of the oven will be hotter than the front. If that doesn't help you could try putting in just a couple tablespoons LESS of flour than called for or adding a tablespoon or two of water or milk.

Regarding your cake it sounds as if you either: a)have too much flour, b)beat your eggs too long and got too much air into them, c)your oven temp is too high, and the cake is rising too fast or d)none of these :) The best way too bake a cake so that it will come out relatively level is to cut strips of thick, absorbent (like toweling) material. These should be as wide as your cake pan is deep. Then soak them in water and squeeze out only enough water so that they don't drip-you want them as wet as possible. Wrap them around the outside of the cake pan and secure with either and all metal clip or pin and carefully put the pan in the oven. The toweling will try to slide off during this time just wrap it as tight as possible then hold it on as best you can.

Well, now that I finished this book-Good Luck!