How to make cake: top 10 problems fixed (2024)

FAQs

How to fix cake problems? ›

If your cake is too dense or too heavy, you may need more leavening or liquid, or you may have used too much sugar or shortening. If your cake crust is too light, you may need more sugar. If your cake doesn't have good flavor, your formula may be unbalanced, or you may need to check the quality of your ingredients.

If you'd prefer to leave your cakes intact, try and freeze the cake for at least 30 minutes. That should alleviate any problems with the stickiness getting in the way of frosting. Then proceed to crumb coat. That in and of itself will also alleviate any problems with the sticky tops.

If you cake looks to be browning too fast on the top, but needs more time to cook, then place some foil over your cake to keep it from getting a burned top. Keep that oven door closed as long as you can, it'll be worth it in the long run!

Line the sides of the cake pan.

Use two layers of brown paper and two layers of baking paper. Allow this paper to extend above the pan about 5 centimeter (2.0 in) to 7 centimeter (2.8 in). This paper "wall" will help to protect the cake top from browning.

Cake becomes hard when the temperature set is incorrect or less. Try baking a cake between 180 degrees to 220 degrees, depending on the type of cake and if it still happens, then you should reduce the quantity of the batter.

Brush the cake with simple syrup.

One way to rescue a dry cake is to brush it with a simple syrup glaze. Simple syrup is made by boiling sugar and water together until the sugar has dissolved. It can be flavoured with extracts or fruit juice, and it can be used to add moisture and flavour to dry cakes.

Depending on how your cake broke, your best option might be to “glue” it back together. Think of the frosting as mortar and spread it in and around the crack to get the cake to hold. Then frost all around it to cover the mistake, chill, and voila! Nobody will know (or care) when you slice it up and serve it.

The oven temperature is too high. If the top crust forms and sets before the cake has finished rising, the middle will try to push through the crust as it continues to bake, causing it to crack and possibly dome. Check your oven with an oven thermometer and reduce the temperature accordingly if it is running hot.

Brush the cake with a simple syrup glaze.

Start by making the simple syrup from boiling equal parts of sugar and water until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid has reduced and thickened. If you're making a layer cake, trim the tops and then use a pastry brush to coat the surface of the cake with the syrup.

One of the main reasons for sticky tops is over-baking. Lowering the temperature slightly and decreasing the baking time can help save you the tops from becoming sticky. Use Parchment Paper: Line the baking pan with parchment paper to create a barrier among the batter and the pan's bottom.

What happens if you add too much butter to a cake? ›

As a commonly used fat, butter is largely responsible for the amount of moisture in your cake, cookies, cupcakes, and so on. So, the more butter you add, the closer you'll get to that ultra-soft texture of your sheet cake dreams. Less butter results in a drier, chewier cake.

The sinking part is what makes the dense and gluey streaks. This can be result of over-creaming the eggs, butter and sugar.

Any baked good — especially cake —with too much flour will be dry, hard, crumbly … take your unhappy pick. For best results, please weigh your flour (and other ingredients).

One way to fix a bitter cake is to add a small amount of an acidic component, which is highly recommended especially when you toss in too much baking soda. If your cake recipe contains chocolate, you can add a ½ teaspoon of cocoa powder. Here are some other ingredients you can try: Lemon juice.