3 Most Common Cake Fails: Here’s How to Prevent Them

Despite our best efforts and planning, baking a cake sometimes feels like throwing darts blindfolded. Sometimes you get a delicious slice of perfection out of the oven. Other times you get something that barely resembles a cake. Does that sound like you? If so, you’re not alone. Baking a cake might be easy, but baking the perfect cake is far from it. So let’s talk about the 3 most common cake fails and how you can avoid them.

1. Too Dry

This is perhaps the most common cake failure. Instead of the rich and moist cake that the recipe had promised, we end up with something that carries the texture of a drought landscape.

Solution:

Be sure to set your oven to the right temperature. Avoid baking for too long. Overbaking always leads to a dried out dessert. If neither of the above help, try cutting back on dry ingredients such as flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Experiment with an increased amount of butter.

2. Undercooked Inside

Sometimes the cake comes out looking perfect. But the trouble begins once you take the first bite. Turns out, even though the sides are crispy, the inside still feels raw.

Solution:

Cover the cake tightly in tin foil and then put it back for some additional baking. Check on it every 5 minutes until the insides are rich and crispy. The key to avoiding this in the future is to keep a tight check on the temperature. Get a cake tester so you can easily check when your cake is done from inside.

3. Shiny and Greasy

Last but certainly not least, your cake may turn out to be shiny and greasy. On top of that, it may lack a good rise. If you thought a dry cake is bad, now you know that a soggy cake is no better either.

Solution:

The key to avoiding a greasy cake is to use ingredients at room temperature. That means you shouldn’t take eggs or butter directly from the fridge. On the flip side, leaving the butter out for too long can make it sweaty and greasy. As long as it’s 67 degrees Fahrenheit by the time you use it, you’ll be good. If neither of the above helps, check if you’re whisking the mixture properly.