These 9 crucial baking tips help prevent a dry or dense cake. Applying these lessons in your kitchen helps promise a soft and moist cake!
Dense. A cake crumb’s enemy.
Dry. A cake crumb’s nemesis.
Dry or overly dense cakes have absolutely no room in this world. However far too often, a seemingly innocent looking cake can fall victim to one or both of these texture tragedies. It’s happened approximately 3,520,958x to me and I’m always working to save my cake (and myself!) from the dense or dry cake catastrophe again.
There are ways to prevent and avoid these unfavorable textures. I’ve been practicing with cake recipes for several years and have learned a lot in the process. Most of the time I can look at a recipe and predict the texture outcome. But sometimes I’m not that lucky, so I wrote 9 crucial lessons that will help us the next time we’re baking a from-scratch cake.
I promise you SOFT & MOIST cakes!
1. Use Cake Flour
Reach for cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. Cake flour is a low protein flour that’s milled into a superfine consistency. This soft, tender texture directly translates into your cake. However, this isn’t an ALL or NOTHING rule. Some recipes simply cannot withstand cake flour’s fine consistency. Chocolate cake, for example, already has cocoa powder, which is a soft dry ingredient and takes the place of some flour in the recipe. More often than not, the combination of cake flour and cocoa powder results in a flimsy cake. Likewise, carrot cake and banana cake contain additional wet ingredients (the fruits or veggies), so cake flour isn’t ideal because it’s not strong enough.
However, when making vanilla cake, white cake, red velvet cake, vanilla cupcakes, and other cakes/cupcakes where a fluffy texture is favorable, try using cake flour. I’ve also been successful substituting cake flour for all-purpose flour to create softer pineapple upside-down cake and 1-layer sprinkle cake. (Make a 1:1 substitution with no other changes to the recipe. My pineapple upside down cake recipe has been updated to include it!)
Swans Down and Softasilk are my preferred cake flour brands (not sponsored!). I use unbleached when I can find it, otherwise I just stick with bleached. Both brands provide quality results for a decent price. Find cake flour in the baking aisle next to the all-purpose flour. If you can’t get your hands on cake flour, use this cake flour substitute.
2. Add Sour Cream
To help prevent a dry, dense cake, let’s add a creamy and light wet ingredient. Milk is usually required in a cake recipe to thin out the batter and lighten up the crumb, but sour cream is often overlooked. In addition to milk, add a Tablespoon or 2 of sour cream. Of course this depends on the recipe, but you’ll find that a lot of my cake recipes call for sour cream. Don’t underestimate the power of this ingredient! I even add it to my classic cheesecake, cheesecake pie, and no-bake cheesecake recipes. Plain yogurt is a fine substitution.
3. Room Temperature Butter / Don’t Over-Cream
I sound like a broken record on this one, especially if you’re a regular reader. But when a recipe calls for room temperature butter, use room temperature butter. Most cakes begin with creaming butter and sugar together. Butter is capable of holding air and the creaming process is when butter traps that air. While baking, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffy cake. No properly creamed butter = no air = no fluffiness. Aka a dense cake.
But let’s say your butter was at the proper room temperature. You began creaming it with sugar, but then left the mixer running. There’s a big chance your butter and sugar will over-cream, meaning the butter will trap more air than it should. As the batter bakes, that extra air will deflate and leave you with an overly dense cake. It’s all science!
For best results, cream butter and sugar together for about 1-2 minutes.
Additionally, the cake recipe may call for room temperature sour cream, milk, and/or eggs. Make sure they’re each at room temperature. Room temperature ingredients bond together easier and quicker since they’re warmer, thus reducing over-mixing. Over-mixing = dense cake. (See tip #6.)
4. Add a Touch of Baking Powder or Baking Soda
When a cake is too dense, one might think that adding extra flour will soak up more moisture and lighten up the crumb. However, that’s not usually the case. The cake likely needs more leavening support from baking powder or baking soda. This tip isn’t exactly a cakewalk (ha!) because these two ingredients are scientifically particular. If a recipe includes a lot of acid such as lemon juice and buttermilk and isn’t lifted with enough baking powder, the cake will taste dense. In that case, you may need the addition of baking soda which will react with the acid and create a fluffier crumb. Depending on the recipe, adding more baking powder or soda could leave a bitter aftertaste… so don’t go overboard.
This depends on the recipe, but I generally use around 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda per 1 cup of flour or 1 teaspoon of baking powder per 1 cup of flour. Remember the differences in baking powder vs baking soda and why we use both in some recipes?
5. Add Oil
The ratio of wet to dry ingredients determines a cake’s moisture level. If there’s simply too much flour and not enough butter, a cake will taste dry. On the other hand, if there’s too much milk and not enough flour, a cake will taste too wet. Finding the right balance between wet and dry ingredients is key. If you notice that a cake tastes too dry, add a little oil the next time you make it. My strawberry shortcake cake kept tasting a little too dry no matter what I did, so I added 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil to the batter. It’s so moist!
Some cakes use oil instead of butter. This is because there’s another flavorful ingredient in the recipe and butter’s flavor isn’t necessary. See my carrot cake and pumpkin cake.
6. Don’t Over-Mix
As mentioned in tip #3, over-mixing cake batter produces too much air. That trapped air expands then deflates in the oven. A deflated cake is a dense cake! Only mix the wet and dry ingredients together JUST until combined. I usually run a whisk or spatula through the batter a couple times at the very end to ensure there are no large lumps at the bottom of the bowl. Whether you’re using a mixer or mixing by hand, don’t over-mix.
7. Don’t Over-Bake
If you’re looking for a dry cake, simply over-bake it!
In all seriousness though, over-baking cakes dry them out. It could only be a 30 second window between perfectly baked and over-baked, so make sure you’re keeping an eye on the cake. Begin checking it 1-2 minutes before the recipe instructs.
Use these as indicators that your cake is done:
- Cake should be very slightly pulling away from the side of the pan.
- A toothpick inserted in the center of the cake will come out clean or with a couple lightly moist crumbs.
- 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.
8. Brush With Simple Syrup/Other Liquid
When things go totally awry and you have a dry cake on your hands, all is not lost. A quick brush of simple syrup adds moisture. When the cake has completely cooled, brush a thin layer of simple syrup on top. Instead of simple syrup, you can even use Sprite (yes, I’m serious).
To make simple syrup, boil equal parts granulated sugar and water together until the sugar dissolves, then let it cool before brushing it onto your cake. Use a pastry brush. You can flavor the syrup, too. When the simple syrup comes off the stove, stir in a touch of vanilla extract, prepared coffee, lemon juice, Amaretto, or other liqueur. Let it cool before using. You could even place some vanilla bean, lemon peel, or culinary lavender in the cooling syrup. Once cool, strain out the chunks/add-ins using a fine mesh sieve.
It’s a very thin layer of syrup, so it won’t make your cake too sweet.
9. Don’t Double the Recipe
For absolute BEST taste and texture, never double a cake recipe. Make the batter twice instead. Doubling the recipe risks over-creaming (tip #3), over-mixing (tip #6), or under-mixing. And the baking powder and/or soda may not completely distribute which could leave bitter aftertastes in sections of the cake.
Only work with the amount of batter the recipe instructs. When I need extra cake batter, I make the batter twice—separately.
More Baking Tips
I have more lessons for you!
- 6 Inch Cake Recipes (chocolate cake pictured above)
- My 10 Best Baking Tips
- 10 Cake Baking Tips for Perfect Cakes
- 14 Best Baking Tools That Every Baker Needs
- Baking Powder Vs Baking Soda
- Room Temperature Ingredients
Dear Sally, I stumbled on your website looking for yellow cake mix and why they are yellow? Trying bake from scratch instead of box mix for dear friend undergoing cancer treatment. I never made CAKE from scratch. I’m an easy way out girl. However, I’m blown away of the knowledge you input such detail. It’s downright encouraging! I never knew cake flour and all purpose? Well…this will be interesting or a flop. LOL.. just in case I’ll buy a box mix as well. Thank you for all the fine tips and sharing so much. I truly learned many things this morning. I’ll be back! Betsy:)
Would love to hear how the cake goes, Betsy. Hope it’s a hit!
Hello, YES! It was a hit and they all raved about how they could tell it was made from scratch. The texture and taste was truly better than store bought. Thank you! I’m a believer!!
Thank you so much, Sally.
Can’t wait to try these out. Especially the plain yogurt!!!
Your recipes are wonderful. Thank you for thinking through the potential issues and providing solutions in your recipes. It makes your recipes stand out in the crowd.
I also use Fat Diddio’s pans. However, I find that the paperwork that comes with the pans, calls for far more batter than can actually fit. Mine are 3″ deep. My cakes are coming out far too dense and wet, and don’t really raise. Suggestions? How much batter do you use? Thanks for any help you can give me.
Hi Brenda, you should usually fill round cake pans about halfway with batter. I wonder if your cakes aren’t being cooked evenly or simply need more time in the oven. Of course this depends on the recipe, but you could see if adding a little baking powder (in addition to what the recipe may already call for) would work– perhaps just 1/4 teaspoon.
Hi Sally!
Thank you for these tips. If a red velvet recipe includes oil, melted butter and buttermilk, can I add a tablespoon of sour cream for extra moisture? Can i also do this for vanilla cakes that do not call for sour cream? Thanks!
Hi Teresa, I can’t see why not. A little sour cream can definitely help (or even a little more buttermilk).
Hello Sally. Tip #2 recommends adding sour cream in addition to milk in the recipe. The tip states that you usually add one or two spoonfuls of sour cream. Do you mean a tablespoon, or do you just use a regular spoon and scoop out some sour cream? Thanks
That should read Tablespoon– sorry for that confusion. Thanks so much.
What adjustments should I make for being at a high altitude (over 5,000 ft)? My friend told me to increase the oven temp 25 degrees, but my cake came out kind of dry.
Hi Kumari, I wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. I know some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Hi! Is springform pan better to use than the ordinary cake pan? I made a vanilla cake and used a springform pan but the sides and bottom of my cake became too brown. The top part of my cake rose too much and had a crack. What should I do to prevent my cake from browning, rising, and cracking? Do I also need to sift my cake flour? 🙂 Thank you!
Hi Andrea, I recommend using regular cake pans instead of springform pans unless a recipe specifically calls for a springform pan. Similarly, sifting cake flour isn’t necessary unless a recipe calls for it.
Hi Sally – Amazing tips, thank you! I have 2 questions –
1. Someone asked up about dry cakes and you asked if they’re refrigerating the cakes – so I do refrigerate cakes. Is there a way to work around this? I can’t make the whole cake, frosting, decorating in one day so freezing works for me. How do I still ensure my cake isn’t dry?
2. What ‘speed’ do you cream your butter & sugar? I feel like 1-2 minutes creaming isn’t enough – I mean it looks like it’s not creamy enough so I tend to go longer 🙁
Thank you in advance!
Hi Jo! I’m just seeing your comment/question now so my apologies on the delay responding to you. Refrigerating cakes is totally fine, but when making ahead, I prefer to keep the cakes at room temperature for a day instead of refrigerating/freezing. (Wrap them up tightly then store at room temperature overnight before assembling/decorating.) I usually cream my butter at medium-high speed, about speed 7 or 8.
Thank you so much for these tips and for all of your hard work! I have been working on a vanilla cake recipe but it always turns out just slightly dry. I can’t wait to try some of these tips to see if it helps it out
Thank you so much for this post. I have have been using plain flour to do my cakes and they have been coming out dense. What’s more confusing is that I have been using the same recipes but now the quality is now being affected. Is it because of the flour or something I am doing wrong. I have lost all confidence in my cakes cause of this.
Hi Sally! Thank you so much for these tips. I was having troubles with dense cakes/cupcakes for a while and realized I’ve been using old baking powder.
I’ve noticed different people say to add simple syrup when the cakes are hot so it can be absorbed more readily but here you say to add it in when the cakes cool down. Is there a reason for this? Thanks!
Hi Tina, We are so glad this post has helped! We add simple syrup to cooled cakes for two reasons. First, once a cake is cooled (and especially after you level off the top), it is easier to see if your cake is dried out and actually needs a syrup rescue. Also, it’s possible for simple syrup to actually make a cake more dense when added to a hot/warm cake.
Hi! If a cake recipe calls for 1 tsp of baking soda and no baking powder, should I add baking powder anyway? if so, how much? (2 cups of flour in the recipe)
Hi Nickie, it’s best to follow the recipe as written! If the recipe doesn’t call for baking powder, there’s likely a reason why. Happy baking!
Sally, these are all great tips. Many of the tips talk about not overmixing the ingredients. Is there a way to tell when I’ve overmixed my eggs or my batter? How should the eggs and batter look/feel when they’ve been mixed properly? Thanks.
The best thing to do it to mix just until your ingredients are combined – do not mix past that point. I hope this helps!
I love everything I’ve tried or yours, but the last two times I made cakes (one chocolate and one vanilla) I’ve had an issue I can’t figure out. The cakes straight out of the oven are soft and fluffy and lovely. But by the time they’re cooled, frosted and sliced, they’ve become a little dense and a lot dry/crumbly. What am I doing wrong?
Hi JoJo! Thank you so much for asking. Are you refrigerating these cakes before slicing into them? The more time a cake chills in the refrigerator, the more it tends to dry out. Additionally, it could be as simple as your cakes being over-baked. You might also find this post helpful, too: 10 Baking Tips for Perfect Cakes
Hi Sally, thank you for these tips. However, no matter how hard I try my cakes either fall or are too dense. It is quite frustrating, please help!
Hi Shonnie, The #1 thing that causes cakes to be too dense is having your butter too warm. Here is What Room Temperature Butter Really Means. For even more tips you can take a look at the post 10 Baking Tips for Perfect Cakes. I hope it helps!
Hi Sally!
Can you tell me which oils are best to use when the recipe asks for ‘vegetable oil’? Would coconut oil work, say in a carrot cake/muffin?
And could I combine butter/oil instead, or definitely stick to oil in the recipe?
Love your recipes, K ♡
Hi Kerry! There is an oil in markets sold as “vegetable oil” and that’s what should be used when a recipe calls for it. In some cases, melted coconut oil works in its place. Melted coconut oil should be ok in most muffin recipes that call for vegetable oil.
Hi Sally,
If I reduce the sugar in a recipe, it will result in a dryer cake right? Because I know many who love cakes but don’t like it too sweet; hence, I reduce the amount of sugar. But, it does seem the cake becomes less moist. So does this mean as I reduce the sugar, I can add 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil to make it moist? Even for cakes that have butter?
Hi Beth, reducing sugar in cake affects a couple things besides the sweetness and flavor. There’s less sugar for the butter to cream with (assuming it’s a cake with a creamed butter/sugar base) so the butter won’t contain as much air. This can create a denser cake. Likewise, the ratio of wet to dry ingredients would be off. The cake could taste dense and greasy instead of light and moist. I wouldn’t recommend extra oil, but you can definitely test things out based on how much you reduce and what recipe you are using. It’s a lot of trial and error!
Hi Sally! I love this post. I am struggling with making the perfect white cake. My chocolate, gingerbread, spice, carrot cakes all come out perfectly airy and moist but my white cakes are always a little dense.
I will apply a lot of these techniques and see what happens. But one other problem I have with my white cakes is they always puff up way way too much in the middle and make a huge dome. Like, this always happens, it’s been years. It makes them unattractive and harder to stack. Do you have any insight as to what might be going on here? Thanks in advance!
Hi Jess, I’m glad you enjoy this post! A cake domes when the outside bakes faster than the middle. This could be from a variety of reasons such as your oven runs hot, using a pan that is too small, over-filling the pans, or even using poorly made pans. One easy fix is to use baking strips to insulate the outside of the pan to help it bake evenly. I also always level my cakes if I am stacking them to make a layer cake.
Thank you for replying! I definitely use high quality pans (from Nordic Ware). I worry I overfill my pans, if I am making a recipe for 3 8-inch cakes it tends to look like there is too much batter but then I will have batter leftover?
I will try filling less and if that doesn’t work I will look at the insulation strips!
Hi, thanks for all the useful info here!
I’ve spent months working on a vanilla cupcake recipe. It’s not dry, but seems too moist to the point where it’s rubbery…? I’ve tried reducing the yogurt and milk to 1/4 and 1/3 cup, but it still doesn’t create that nice light and fluffy box mix-like texture. Do you have any recommendations? I don’t know if whipping the egg whites, maybe, or increasing leavening or flour would help. Thank you so much!
Perhaps a foolish question but in regards to the simple syrup tip-how are you to know if a cake is dense or dry without cutting into and tasting the cake thus ruining it anyway? How would you know if the cake could benefit from a syrup rescue?
You can almost always tell if a cake is too dry by the look and feel of it before cutting it open. However I usually cut off the very top to level my layers and this is where you will definitely be able to tell if it needs a simple syrup rescue!
I’ll try it this weekend and will surely share my experience with you !!! And thank you so much Sally for all your recipes they are just amazing
Good Afternoon Sally! I have followed your instructions to the T EVERY time & thus far, no MAJOR issues. I may have left out vanilla or cinnamon while making your crumb cake donuts (first batch went like crazy, rushing & NOT paying proper attention). Overbeating USED to be an issue, now I simply use a timer LOL.
Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge with us. The idea of substituting cake flour for all purpose is one I’m going to use from now on. Your tips and videos are an immense help for me.
I completely agree with Katherine. I will never bake another cake that is not from a Sally recipe. That being said “I am still very much enjoying this segment on cake baking. You lay everything out so well and the science is wonderful and I can remember every cake I ever made that wasn’t perfect and your tips help me understand where I went wrong.
Thank you as always!
Hallo Sally..
Thank you for ALL the tips.. want to ask you if i cannot find sour cream or buttermilk how do i make my own sour cream.. thank you again..
Hi Sally,
I have tried so many of your recipes and they are ALL excellent and turn out perfectly everytime. However, yesterday I made the chocolate sheet cake and I feel like its not how it is supposed to be. We don’t really have ‘sheet cakes’ here in Australia, so im unsure if this texture is normal. It is dense and stodgy. I did notice it has no baking powder in it which I did think was odd when I was making it but since your recipes have always been right for me I went ahead. Could this be the reason? Also I didn’t cool the cocoa water butter mixture before adding to the flour mix (it didn’t say too) should I have? Any insights would be great as I like the convenience of sheet cakes now I have made one.
Thanks again,
Hailey
Hi Hailey, I’m so happy to help. Which recipe are you using? This chocolate sheet cake uses baking soda– did you add that ingredient? Make sure you’re using natural cocoa powder, not dutched cocoa.
Hi Sally, thanks for getting back to me. Yes the chocolate sheet cake with peanut butter frosting. Yes added the baking soda and used natural cocoa. I’m thinking maybe I over worked the flour when adding the hot cocoa butter water. Could this be the cause? I’m stumped lol. I don’t usually have baking fails. In any case I will try again because the flavour was great!
As I read through these tips on how to adjust a recipe, I find myself thinking, “I’ll just follow Sally’s recipe as written and I’ll be fine! No need to modify!”
Been there! Done that! Will never be there or do that again thanks to Sally’s Wise and Wonderful instructions! I have learned so much in just a few days about the WHY of it all! Will never, never have to wonder again about the why! (Why is it so dry, why did it not rise correctly, why is it dense, etc. , etc., etc.!) Thank God for Sally!!!!!!!!! You are Appreciated!!!!!!
Thank you so much for this tutorial. I have been baking cakes for over 40 years and I have experienced some huge failures. I’m learning so much from your posts and I appreciate your thoughtfulness in passing on your tips to those of us who will benefit from your hard work.
Sally you are a food scientist at heart. That is why I love your website so much, because you explain what is actually happening to the ingredients, thus insuring bakers like myself understand how important little things are! I’ve been baking for forty years, and some of the things you mention I’ve also discovered, but it’s been through many many failures and scratching my head and trying over and over again. You do such a good job to remind us of what’s really important, so as to get those consistent results. You appeal to us “foodies” out there who aspire to make the most delicious food for our loved ones. Your recipes are always spot on and so incredible. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
WOW Sally…..you amaze me more with every post!!! You have such a wealth of baking knowledge and are so willing to share it with us so that we can have it too….it is so much appreciated and I would definitely not be the baker I am today without you for so many reasons – THANK YOU SALLY!!❤