Dry cakes aren’t uncommon – they are cakes that lack moisture for one reason or another. Most of the time, when a cake has dried out too much, it crumbles. Not only is this a waste of time and ingredients, but it can also lead to frustration as a baker, especially when it’s for a special celebration.
Fortunately, dry cakes are preventable when you are equipped with proper knowledge and sufficient baking experience. First and foremost, it is essential to understand that some cake recipes are more prone to drying out than others. These include cupcakes and layer cakes like red velvet, chocolate, and birthday cakes.
If you end up baking a dry cake and are pressed for time, it’s best to order a cake online in Singapore. Otherwise, you can always refresh your memory on the essential things to learn before baking and then try baking again with more caution this time round. To guide you in your cake-baking journey, here are some of the most common possible reasons why a cake dries out.
1. The ingredients were measured inaccurately
Baking is considered more of a science than an art. As such, it’s important to weigh your ingredients as accurately as possible, especially if you’re a beginner. This is specifically essential if the recipe you’re trying requires a spoonful of some ingredients.
If you measure by volume (i.e., in cups), it is best to keep in mind that it isn’t always as accurate. For instance, a cup of flour that’s been sitting in a cupboard for some time will weigh more than a cup of sifted flour. The only foolproof solution is to weigh your ingredients using a weighing scale.
A weighing scale is necessary to ensure the accuracy of your measurements. No matter how experienced you are as a baker, never measure your ingredients by eye or ‘round it up a bit’. Basic scales are easy to use, affordable, and definitely well worth your money!
2. The oven was set to an excessively high temperature
An excessively high oven temperature can result in a dry cake. Sometimes, although you’ve already set the oven temperature according to the recipe, your cake can still end up dry for some reason. In such a case, there are three possibilities that could have caused this:
- Wrong temperature set for your type of oven
Different ovens hold heat and temperature differently. For instance, a fan oven requires a lower temperature (20 degrees Celsius or less) than an ordinary oven. As such, you should always check if the right temperature was set for the type of oven you have.
- Your oven runs hotter than expected
Oven thermostats vary and can be notorious for their inaccuracy. After turning on your oven for 10 minutes, it is possible that the oven signals a higher temperature than the hanging thermometer inside. As a result, you might notice that your cakes are frequently dry or are baked faster than expected. To solve this, you can turn your oven down by 10 degrees Celsius whenever you start baking. Also, do remember to monitor it every 10 minutes or so throughout the bake, while making the necessary adjustments.
- You set the temperature incorrectly
Errors are inevitable in baking. Thus, it is recommended to buy an independent oven thermometer to help ensure that your oven is set at the correct temperature.
3. The cake was left in the oven for too long
The majority of cake recipes provide a range of suggested timings for baking the cake as all sorts of things can vary, from oven temperature to ingredients temperature. For example, when your eggs and butter have been out of the fridge for a while on a warm day, your cake mixture will tend to be warmer and cool faster than on a cooler day.
To avoid cooking your cake for too long, be sure to test it after the shortest recommended time. If your recipe doesn’t come with a range of times, as a rule of thumb, you should test the cake 5 minutes early for every 30 minutes of cooking time. This means that if you have a 30-minute recipe, you should ideally test your cake after 25 minutes.
Conclusion
There are several different reasons why your cake might dry out. Typically, it’s either you’ve used insufficient or too many ingredients, or you overbaked your cake. To prevent your cake from drying out, it’s important to invest in essential baking tools, such as a weighing scale and an oven thermometer. It is also important to follow the recipe you have on hand wisely.
If you’re out of time to bake a cake, the best course of action you can take next is to order cakes online for delivery. For the most high-quality and delicious cakes, Polar Puffs & Cakes is the bakery you can count on! As an experienced offline and online bakery in Singapore, we offer a mouth-watering selection of cakes and pastries that you can conveniently order in the comfort of your home. Whatever sweet treats you may need, we’re always ready to deliver them right to your doorstep! Feel free to visit us in-store or browse our website to learn more about what we offer
