Beginners baking a cake may run into a few mistakes that leave the result less than perfect or attractive. We've put together the most common cake problems and how to fix them.
Cake is a hugely popular bakery item, found almost everywhere. A love of cake inspires many people to try baking their own at home, but things can go wrong along the way. The most common cake mistakes fall into two main categories: problems with the outside of the cake and problems with the crumb.
1. Problems with the Outside of the Cake
These are problems you can spot by looking at the outside of the cake before cutting it. Common ones include:
Hard Crust
Caused by baking at too high a temperature, which hardens the crust, the part that receives the most heat. It can also come from using too much sugar. To fix it, bake at a suitable temperature and reduce the amount of sugar.
Thick Crust
Crust problems usually come down to oven heat. A thick crust is caused by baking at too low a temperature.
Cake Doesn't Rise
Baking powder is what makes a cake rise. You may have used too little, or your baking powder may be old, so the cake can't rise. Use fresh baking powder: it should be white and free of lumps. Measure it accurately, too.
Cracked Top
Caused by poorly mixed ingredients, a batter that is too dry, or the wrong ratio of liquid to flour, which makes the batter too heavy and causes the top to crack. Fix it by measuring your ingredients in the right proportions.
Cake Shrinks
Caused by the wrong ratio of liquid to flour, in this case too little flour or a batter that is too runny. Baking for too long can also make a cake shrink.
2. Problems with the Crumb
Crumb problems become apparent once you cut the cake open or take a bite. They include:
Coarse Texture
Caused by too much baking powder, not enough heat during baking, or unbalanced ingredients, especially too few eggs.
Dense, Hard Cake
Caused by too little sugar, too much flour, or too little fat such as butter or margarine, which makes the cake firm and dense.
Poor Flavour
Caused by too much baking powder and unbalanced ingredients.
Whether you're making a cake or any other bake, you need to measure every ingredient precisely according to the recipe. Too much or too little of certain ingredients will lead to these mistakes. You also need to know the right oven temperature and baking time. If you've run into any of the problems above, use these tips to improve your next cake.
