Cake Baking Checklist

When your cake does not turn out as you expected, refer to the checklist to figure out why.

If your homemade cake has a coarse texture, check for these problems:

You may have used too much baking soda or baking powder.
You may have not used enough liquid.
If the recipe calls for creaming butter and sugar, or beating until light and fluffy, it takes about three to four minutes of beating. The butter and sugar may not have been beaten together long enough.

The oven temperature was too low.

If homemade cake is too dry, check for these problems:

You may have used too much flour or leavening (baking soda/baking powder).
You may have used not enough shortening or sugar.
The cake was over-baked - the oven temperature was too high and/or the baking time was too long.

If your home-baked cake fell (the center of the cake sinks), check for these problems:

You under-baked the cake because you set the oven temperature too low and/or the baking time too short.
You over or under measured the liquid.
You used too small a pan and the batter was too deep.

You moved or jarred the cake before adequately baked.

You used old or expired baking powder.

You inserted a wooden pick or cake tester into the cake before it was suitably set.

If your home-baked cake has low volume or is too flat, check for these problems:

You over- or under-measured the liquid.
You under-mixed or extremely over-mixed the batter.

You used too large a pan.

You set the oven temperature too low or too high.

If your home-baked cake has a peaked center, check for these problems:

You over mixed the batter.
You set the oven temperature too hot.

If your home-baked cake shrinks excessively around the edges, check for these problems:

You greased the baking pans too heavily.
You placed the baking pans too close together in the oven.

There was not enough batter in the baking pan.

You over mixed the batter.

There was not enough liquid in the batter.

You over-baked the cake either too long a time or at too high a temperature.

If your home-baked cake is soggy, check for these problems:

You moved or jarred the cake before sufficiently baked.
The cake was under-baked - the oven temperature was too low and/or the baking time was too short.

You used old or expired baking powder.

If your home-baked cake has a spotted crust, the batter was probably under-mixed:

If your home-baked cake has a sticky top crust, check for these problems:

You store the cake while still warm.
You measured too much liquid.

The cake was under-baked - the oven temperature was too low and/or the baking time was too short.

The air humidity was too high.

If your home-baked cake has tunnels throughout the layer, check for these problems:

The oven temperature was too high.
The batter was under-mixed or extremely over-mixed.

If your home-baked cake has uneven browning, check for these problems:

The oven had an uneven heat circulation.
In the oven, you placed the baking pans too close together.

If your home-baked cake has uneven layers, the following problems may have occurred:

Check to make sure the oven rack is level.
Check to see if your cake pans are not warped or bent.

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