09/12/2025
Learn How to Bake the Perfect Cake:
I’ve gotten questions on why cakes come out hard and turns out a failure from a lot of bakers , the answer simply lies with the baker , most times the fault is not from the recipe but from the baker and here are tips that would help make your baking experience a successful one, I hope someone learns from this 🤗
1. Follow the Recipe
This sounds obvious, right? Following the recipe is the most important cake baking tip you’ll ever hear/read. It’s also the most ignored. We often substitute ingredients in recipes based on what we have. Subbing out eggs, reducing sugar, using liquid sweetener instead of dry, all-purpose instead of cake flour, baking soda for powder, egg whites instead of whole eggs, etc. I do not recommend doing this unless the recipe suggests alternatives.
2. Room Temperature Ingredients
Certain recipes call for ingredients like eggs, yogurt, cream cheese, butter, and/or milk to be at room temperature but many people ignore this step. No! Don’t! Room temperature isn’t listed next to ingredients for fun. There’s science and legitimate reason behind the importance of temperature. If a recipe calls for room temperature ingredients, use room temperature ingredients. There is no way around this and if you use, say, cold butter or cold eggs when they should be room temperature—your recipe won’t live up to its potential. And it most certainly won’t taste the way it should.
3. Measure Properly
This tip also sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s where we most often make mistakes. The difference between a recipe success and a recipe failure could lie within 1 mis-measured tablespoon of sugar. Measuring ingredients properly is imperative.
4. Cake Flour
The more cake baking experience I have, the more often I reach for cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. You see, cake flour is a low protein flour that’s finely milled into a delicate consistency. This soft, tender texture directly translates into your baked cake.
5. Don’t Over-mix, Don’t Under-mix
Whether a recipe calls for mixing batter with an electric mixer or simply using a whisk, make sure you’re mixing the cake batter together *just until* the ingredients are combined. Over-mixing batter, whether that’s for cakes, cupcakes, breads, muffins, etc, lends a tough-textured baked good because you’re deflating all the air and over-developing the gluten.
6. Don’t Open the Oven
Don’t open the oven 25 times as the cake bakes. This lets in cool air and the drastic temperature change causes the rising cake to sink. Rather, follow the baking time in the recipe and check the cake one or two times for doneness.
7. Bounce-Back Test
You can determine if a cake is done by testing with a toothpick. Stick a toothpick in the center of the cake and if it comes out clean, it’s cooked through. But let me tell you what I do instead. And you don’t need to waste time and fumble around for a toothpick:
Remove the cake from the oven or leave it in, your choice. Gently press down on the cake. If the cake bounces back completely, it’s done. If your finger left a dent in the cake, it needs more time. So easy. I always do this!
This little trick can be used on muffins and cupcakes as well.
Cool the Cake Completely
8. Cool the Cake Completely
This sounds like a no-brainer, but we’re often in a rush—myself included. Assembling and/or decorating cakes before they’re completely cool is literally a recipe for disaster. The flavor hasn’t settled and the frosting will melt.
