Cake troubleshooting

Why did my cake sink in the middle? Opening your oven before the minimum baking time may cause the cake to sink because of the air that flows into the oven. It could also be that the oven was too cool, batter was too runny, cake was taken out too soon from oven, too much flour or too much baking powder was put in the batter. 

What can I do next time? Try not to check your cake by opening the oven until at least the minimum baking time stated. Make sure that you check the cake using a cake tester or tooth pick and that it does not come out with any batter or may be with only a few crumbs.

Why does my cake have bubbles? Over doing beating of your batter may cause air to enter your mixture or under mixing, too much leavening agent. 

What can I do next time? Put in your dry mixture bit by bit alternating with your wet mixture. Make sure you follow exactly how much leavening is directed in the recipe. If your recipe mentions to mix the batter until just blended, follow exactly that.

My cake seems overly dense. What could have happened? Too many eggs could cause this. Mixing the batter too much, insufficient baking powder or soda and too much fat also could contribute to why it is dense. What can I do next time? Check if any of your ingredients has expired and make sure you use the right cake pan size.

Why does my cake rise in the middle? Heating the oven too high may cause this or too much baking agent. Wrong type of flour. Pan maybe placed to close to the top heating element.

What can I do next time?Make sure that the oven is not over heated in the early stage of baking or temperature is too high.

Why is my cake dry? During mixing you make have put too much dry ingredients or too much flour is put in the batter.  

What can I do next time?Use a measuring cup and level off your ingredient by using a knife or anything flat. Do not tap down on your counter to level your ingredient.

Why is my cake sticking to the pan? Not enough grease on the cake pan. It is probably not cooked well enough just yet. Just leave it a few more minutes and let it cool completely before doing anything. 

What can I do next time? Use unsalted butter or shortening to grease the cake pan. Layer your cake pan with wax paper.