Baking Cakes: Problems and Tips, this post is about common cake baking problems and why they happen. You’ll get some helpful cake troubleshooting tips and easy ways to keep those cake baking fails from happening.
With these cake baking tips, you’ll know how to avoid all the pitfalls that bakers face.
If the cake falls:
- Oven not hot enough
- Under mixing
- Insufficient baking
- Opening the oven door during baking
- Too much leavening, liquid, or sugar
If cake peaks in the center:
- Oven too hot at the start of baking
- Too much flour
- Not enough liquid
If Cake sticks to pan:
- Cake cooled in the pan too long
- Pan not greased and floured properly
If the cake cracks and falls apart:
- Removed from the pan too soon
- Too much shortening, leavening, or sugar
If the crust is sticky:
- Insufficient baking
- Oven not hot enough
- Too much sugar
If the texture is heavy (dense):
- Over mixing when flour and liquid added
- Oven temperature too low
- Too much shortening, sugar, or liquid
If the texture is coarse:
- Inadequate mixing or creaming
- Oven temperature too low
- Too much leavening
If the texture is dry:
- Over baking
- Over beaten egg whites
- To much flour or leavening
- Not enough shortening or sugar
Baking Cakes: Problems and Tips
Measure accurately. Extra sugar or leavening causes a cake to fall; extra flour makes it dry.
Have ingredients at room temperature for maximum volume.
Beat softened butter, cream cheese or vegetable shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy usually 1 to 7 minutes. Gradually add sugar continuing to beat until light and fluffy.
Use name-brand ingredients. Store brands of sugar are often more finely ground than name brands resulting in more sugar per cup. This can cause a cake to fall. Store brands of butter can contain more liquid fat. Store brands of flour usually contain more hard wheat, making the cake heavy.
Add eggs 1 at a time, beating the batter just until the yellow yolk disappears.
Always add dry ingredients alternately with the liquid to prevent the batter from curdling. Begin and end with dry ingredients. Mix until just blended after each addition. Over mixing will result in a tough, rubbery cake.
Always use the correct type of cake pan. For instance, a Bundt pan and a tube pan don’t necessarily hold the same amount of batter.
More Tips…
Grease cake pans with solid vegetable shortening and dust with flour or sugar. A non-stick spray is often too slippery. A slippery surface keeps the batter from rising to its full volume.
Calibrate your oven to check for temperature accuracy.
Bake cakes in the center of the oven and keep the door closed. Check cake at the minimum time suggested if more cooking time is needed gently close the door as quickly as possible after testing.
Fill cake pans 2/3 full and spread batter into corners and sides, leaving a slight hollow in the center.
To prevent domes in the center of your cake, use Even-bake strips.
The cake is done when it shrinks from the sides of the pan or if it springs back when touched lightly with the finger.
After removing a cake from the oven, place it on a rack for about five minutes for layer cakes, 15 to 20 for pound cakes. Then, the sides would be loosened and the cake turned out on a rack in order to finish cooling.
Do not frost cakes until thoroughly cool.
Icing will remain where you put it if you sprinkle cake with powdered sugar first.
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Jan says
Paula,
Which name brands of all purpose flour, sugar and butter work best for the million dollar fund cake ?
Paula says
Flour: I like this https://amzn.to/2XRY0gG or https://amzn.to/2qGJrRi. (I like all King Arthur products.)
Sugar: I use any brand, even generic.
Butter: I really like Land O Lakes butter in the stick
BILLIE-MARIE PASHIA says
what is your opinion of using powdered BUTTERMILK in recipes instead of fresh.
Paula says
I haven’t tested powdered buttermilk in cakes.
scratchbaker says
Saco Buttermilk Powder is great; been using it for decades. Use 4 Tbsp. per cup of liquid buttermilk in recipe. Add buttermilk powder with dry ingredients; add water with liquid. I store an opened package of the Saco buttermilk powder in a glass jar in the refrigerator; I find leaving it in their packaging it can dry out (can be re-powdered in food processor if necessary).
Martha Stathakos says
Noticed the Million Dollar Pound Cake recipe said to put batter in Bundt Pan; however the pix shows regular Tube Pan; will the Bundt Pan work as well?????
Paula says
Only if it’s a large bundt pan, 12 cup. The 12 cup is 4 inches deep. A regular bundt is about 3 inches deep (and I think a 10-cup)
Karen Ladd says
I am from the deep South so between Cobblers, Banana Pudding, Strawberry Shortcakes, and homemade Peach Ice Cream, Pound Cakes were, are a staple in our home. Next time try alternating eggs and flour ending with flour then add liquid and extract(s) . Also if you add 1/2 c more sugar you will get an even heavier, crispy crust on top…pound cake n coffee in morning, nothing better!!! Thank you for sharing,
BILLIE L Brown says
Do you know how to make Carmel icing the kind that will crack if touched & use on pound cake. Also looking for a good peach pie recipe. My Mom & Aunt passed on and used to make for me. Never got the recipe. She made a hell of a cocunut cake with pinnaple jam between layers too. Thank you!