Common Causes of Failure in Layer Cakes

There are several things that may cause a layer cake to not be all that it should be. Some of the more common ones are:

• Hard crust- temperature was too high
• Sticky top crust- too much sugar, too short a baking time
• Cracked top – too much flour, over-mixing
• One side higher- oven heats unevenly, batter was put in pan unevenly and not smoothed out.
• Soggy on the bottom- too much liquid, under-beaten eggs, under-mixing, too short of a baking time
• Fallen-too much sugar, to little flour, too short of a baking time, cake was jarred during baking
• Coarse- insufficient creaming of butter and sugar, all purpose flour was used rather than cake flour
• Tough- too much flour, over-mixing, too many eggs
• Heavy texture- too many eggs, over-mixing, too little leavening
• Crumbly- under-mixing, too much flour, too much sugar, not enough butter, pan was not greased properly

Like anything else, making a good cake consistantly takes time and practice. Be patient, keep trying, and before long you will be turning out better than bakery quality cakes that you will be proud to serve.

Once you have the basic method down try other, more complex recipes to keep challenging yourself and to hone your skills.