5 things that can happen when your cake flops

Baking is one of those things that often looks easier than it is. ‘guess-timating’ the amount of flour or failing to weigh off your butter is not recommended, and will only lead to a waste of your time and expensive ingredients.

Baking a cake is – I believe, something of a life skill. It doesn’t have to be grand and overflowing with fancy icing and decorations. A simple chocolate sponge cake will stand you in good stead forever and let’s be honest… sometimes less really is more.

Here are a few flops that often occur when baking a cake, together with possible reasons why they happen:

1. Your cake has sunken in the middle

– The temperature is too low
– The cake was taken out of the oven too early
– There was not enough flour in your batter
– There was too much fat (butter), sugar or baking soda

2. Your cake is browned on the edges

– The cake tin was touching the oven walls or was too close to another baking tin

3. Your cake shrank in the oven

– The temperature was too high
– There was not enough baking powder
– You over-mixed the batter
– You used a cake tin that was too big

4. Your cake has a crumbly and coarse texture

– The temperature was not high enough
–  There was too much baking powder or flour
–  The batter was over-mixed

5. Your cake has cracks in it

– There was too much flour or baking powder
– The temperature was too high