If you have ever made a cake, then you would know about the proud feeling you get when you take our that perfectly baked cake from the oven.
You have to accept that every day is not your day. But you are not alone. No baker has a record of baking the perfect cake each time.
But that doesn’t stop you from baking. Right?
It is because you love the baking process more than you care about the perfect cake.
Even if you have been baking for a long time and have perfected your skills, you sometimes have to face the cake wrecks.
But why exactly is your cake falling apart? And, importantly, can you do anything about it? Let’s read and find out.
Also Read: Why Does My Pound Cake Have a Crust On Top (Explained!)
Why Does My Cake Fall Apart?
Why is my cake falling apart? What happened to my cake? These are the questions a baker asks himself when the cake doesn’t come out as perfectly planned.
Let’s discuss some of the most common cake wrecks and also how to solve them.
Cake didn’t rise
One of the most common problems the baker faces is that the cake does not rise during the baking process and is flat.
You may believe it is impossible to fix this problem, but surprisingly, you can easily do it.
The reason your cake is flat might be a missing ingredient like baking powder or overmixing the mixture.
If you forget to put in your raising agent while making the cake batter, your cake won’t rise in the oven. If your cake is flat but is not overcooked and soft as a feather, you can still use it.
Cut the cake into small squares and put icing or frosting on top to turn a cake disaster into tiny, cute cupcakes.
Cake came out burnt from the oven
You can solve the mystery of burnt cake by yourself. Right? It is mainly because of the overbaking. But now the question arises can you fix a burnt cake?
If the cake is really burnt, you should dump it into the dustbin because it is beyond saving. Trust me; you do not want a stomach ache by eating it.
But if only the top and edges of the cake are burnt while the inner part is still soft and spongy, you can save the cake.
With the help of your knife, scrape out the burnt edges, sides, and top part of the cake. Now you can use frosting or icing to decorate it. You won’t even tell the difference.
Also Read: Why Is My Cake Rubbery (Reasons & Fixes)
Cake is raw
If you have done everything precisely by the recipe, but even then, your cake is raw, it is a problem.
If your cake batter hasn’t even started to bake and is still the same as you have left it, you can just put the cake back into the oven.
Check if your oven is working correctly and is turned on, and is also at the right temperature required by you to bake your cake.
If your cake is not baked from the middle part, you can put it back into the oven but cover it with tin foil.
The foil will help to trap the heat in the cake, letting the cake cook from the inside. Ensure that you are keeping an eye on your cake after every five minutes.
Also Read: Why Does My Cake Sink In The Middle (How To Fix?)
Cake is crumbly and falling apart when I cut it
If your cake is falling apart when you slice it into pieces to serve or eat it, it means your cake is crumbly.
So how do we fix the crumbly cake? Though we can not do much after the cake is baked, we can make sure of some things (mentioned below) the next time we bake.
If you cannot even hold the cake in your hand, you can cover your entire cake in icing drizzle. Though the decoration will not make much of a difference, it will surely help the cake hold its structure a little.
Do not forget to give spoons or a fork to your guest while serving the crumbly cake. It will help with the messiness!
Next time you bake your cake, please keep these points in mind to avoid a crumbly cake situation.
- Measure all of your moist ingredients precisely as per required by the recipe.
- If your recipe calls for eggs, but it is not mentioned whether to use large-size eggs or medium-size eggs, always go for large-size eggs.
- If you are following a recipe to bake the cake, use all the mentioned ingredients without substituting them.
Also Read: Why Does My Pound Cake Crack On Top (Reasons & Fixes)
Cake is too hard
If your cake was supposed to come out soft and spongy, but it is too hard, it’s a classic cake wreck.
The two most common reasons for your hard cake are over-mixing ingredients and overcooking.
After being mixed, cake flour begins to generate gluten when it is added to liquid. It makes a substance that resembles elastic and holds the air produced by leavening ingredients, such as baking powder, that aids in the cake’s rise.
When a cake is over-mixed, it produces too much gluten, turning it from a soft cake to a baked good like bread. Do not overwork the mixture if you want your cake to remain soft and spongy.
Just whisk all the ingredients with your hand, or you can take the help of the electric whisk until every ingredient is well-combined.
Most recipes include instructions for how long to mix the batter, so if yours does, be sure to follow those instructions.
Keep these points in mind when you bake a cake next time –
- Make sure that the next time you do not overcook your cake.
- You should cover your cake with tinfoil and continue baking it for five minutes at a time if the cake’s exterior is turning brown in color and baking, but the inner part is moist. To avoid overcooking, keep checking your cake.
- If you manually combine the ingredients for your cake, you may wish to switch to an electric whisk.
Cake is stuck to the pan
Have you ever faced the problem of cake sticking to the pan? It’s a mess.
But thankfully, the solution to this issue is simple. Just maneuver a sharp knife between your baked cake and the pan and around the cake’s edges.
Procure a little pat on the bar of the pan and around the edges. Do not try to take the cake out of the pan while it is still hot; instead, let it stand for a short time. Allow it to sit for at least 15 minutes.
Put on your oven gloves before tipping the cake out. With one oven mitt on the pan, hold it steady while using the other to support the cake’s top as you flip it over.
Flip it upside-down and place it on a cooling rack after tapping the sides until it falls into your palm. Don’t worry if it’s a massive catastrophe and your cake has lost its form.
The cake crumbles may be used to create cake pops, the bottom layer of a trifle, or a sundae by letting them cool and mixing them with ice cream.
Also Read: Why Does My Cake Stick To The Pan? (How To Fix?)
FAQ
Should I freeze the cake after decorating it?
Decorating a perfectly baked cake is one of the best feelings. There are always a lot of questions and doubts associated with the decorating process.
One of the most common questions is whether or not we should freeze the cake after decorating it.
If you wish your cake to have the best texture and taste, try to decorate it and assemble it when you have to serve it.
When you freeze a decorated cake, it expands and contracts due to the freezing. It will ruin your whole hard work. Freeze your cake and the cake layers beforehand.
How much frosting should be used between the cake layers?
Making the perfect cake is about the measurements and the preparation time. So how do you assure that you are not using too much frosting and not too less?
Next time you are frosting your cake, use the rule to ensure you are doing it perfectly.
Put ¾ cup of frosting between each layer of your cake, then put one and a half cups of the frosting on the crown of your cake. If you are still left with the frosting, use it to cover the side of your cake.
Final thoughts
You have been waiting for your cake to come out of the oven to enjoy. The Oven bell rings, and it’s the time!
You take it out but see it is not what you expected. Heartbreaking!
All the cake wrecks result from mistakes you make during the preparation time of the baking process.
Two reasons responsible for most cake wrecks are overbaking and overmixing the ingredients.
We hope this article has assisted you find out what you are doing wrong and how to fix the common cake problems.
Happy baking!
