Why do cakes crack while cooking

When they work, they're wonderful, but there are far too many ways for them to not work. Until you've baked enough cakes to recognize when a batter is at the right consistency or an oven at the right temperature, you'll inevitably have your share of cakes that don't rise at all, or rise too much and crack. Gluten is a tough, stretchy protein that's formed when flour and water are combined and kneaded.

It's a good thing in bread, where the stretchy dough traps air bubbles and helps the loaf rise. It's not as desirable in a cake, where too much gluten can cause the cake to puff up and crack during baking. It also makes the cake chewy and unpleasant. This often happens if you've mixed the batter for too long. Some brands of all-purpose flour have too much protein for some delicate cakes, and you might need to use cake or pastry flour.

Unlike other types of frostings, buttercream is thick enough to repair and hide cracks. Give the cake a thin crumb coat to hide any imperfections, then top it with a nice thick layer of frosting. How to prevent a crack: Make sure your oven isn't too hot. And if you're concerned about cracking a sheet cake while removing it from the pan, a cold cake is always easier to remove than a warm one.

Once the cake has come to room temperature, cover it and let it chill in the refrigerator overnight before removing from the pan. Have a cracked cake on your hands? Stay calm, all is not lost. We'll show you how to quickly fix a cracked cake and how to prevent cracks in the future. By Lisa Cericola. Best pan sets This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses.

You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. The gluten-forming proteins in your flour help give the cake its structure, but too much gluten can make it dry, leathery or crack-prone. All-purpose flour can vary in its gluten content, so try fine, low-gluten cake flour instead. Pastry flour is a good alternative, in a pinch, or make a substitute by removing 4 tablespoons of flour from each cup and replacing it with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.

To minimize gluten production during mixing, beat or stir your batter just as much as the recipe suggests, and no more. Fred Decker is a trained chef, former restaurateur and prolific freelance writer, with a special interest in all things related to food and nutrition. His work has appeared online on major sites including Livestrong. Temperature First Extreme doming and cracking are often the result of baking the cake at too high a temperature. The Pans Your cake pans can cause similar difficulties, depending on their material and color.

The Insulation Effect It's also possible to minimize crack-producing, uneven baking by providing your cake batter with a protective layer of insulation. Moisture, Fat and Leavening If your oven temperature is correct and you're already using light-colored pans, you might need to look in your mixing bowl for a solution to your problems.