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Why does my cake sink in the center?

This is my OWN problem with my OWN recipe that I have been making for 12+ years! You would think that after so much time, I would have gotten it right by NOW! But I have a real love-hate relationship with this cake recipe: It is called Italian Cream Cake, and I have been making this recipe since I was a pastry cook intern while still in culinary school. My pastry chef was kind enough to share the recipe with me, and to this day, it is still one of my absolute favorite cake recipes: somewhere between a white and a yellow cake, very dense, buttery and rich: delicious! When it turns out RIGHT. But sometimes, it turns out WRONG.

The first time I made this recipe outside of a professional bakery kitchen was for my wedding–immediately after graduating from culinary school. It was PERFECT! But when I tried to make the recipe again for our one-year anniversary, it was AWFUL! I tried making the recipe 3 times (for our anniversary), and each time, it was dense and rubbery–not at all appetizing! I couldn’t understand: WHY did the cake not rise properly? WHY did it seem to have an entire layer of rubber at the bottom of the cake??

I couldn’t figure it out, no matter what I tried, so I swore off making the frustrating recipe for many years. Until I learned more about the science of baking and the how’s & why’s of recipes when I was teaching culinary school. Then I began to understand that the problem must have to do with the leavening: the cake was not rising enough because there was not enough leavening to support the amount of flour in the cake. The original recipe only called for baking soda and whipped egg whites for leavening. Perhaps it would benefit from some additional baking powder to help it rise. Back to the drawing board!

Each time I made the recipe, I adjust the chemical leaveners a little bit more, and sometimes it worked, but sometimes, it still did not work–how frustrating! Just when I thought I had it figured out, the recipe would flop again–even under the same conditions. A complete mystery to me!

I would love to share the recipe with you, but as you can tell, I am still in the process of tweaking it, and until I can figure it out for myself, I cannot promise perfect results for anyone else.

In the meantime, what I can tell you is this: The reason my cake sank in the middle (the cake on the right in the photo) is that I used too much baking powder. Too much baking powder can cause a cake to sink in the center, turn excessively yellow in color, and taste metallic or bitter.

7 comments to Why does my cake sink in the center?

  • I’ve had this problem, too, and found a couple things that help. For one, you are right that part of the problem is the leavening. But instead of increasing, try cutting it down by half a teaspoon or so. It could be your kitchen supplies, too. Don’t grease the sides of your baking pan so that the edges of the cake pull away during baking. In higher elevations (like where I live), you should also slightly decrease the sugar. Hope this helps.

  • friend

    the problem is with your whipped egg whites.

    the cake’s texture is entirely dependent on how you fold the egg whites into your batter.

    i had the same exact problem with this one cake and literally made it around 20 times in two weeks.

    the key is NOT to fold in the egg whites completely. the recipe said to fold them in until no white streaks remained. but this is INCORRECT!

    you need the batter to be lumpy, streaky, thick, and gooey. NOT smooth with a monotonous texture.

    if you mix it to this point, all the air will have been mixed out of the batter and the cake will become dense, spongy, and rubbery (trust me i made around 20 of those types of cakes).

    if you mix too little, the top of the cake will be super airy, fluffy, and delicious, but the middle-bottom of the cake will be hard and dense.

    the key is to figure out the perfect balance.

    you have to figure out how much you need to fold the egg whites into the batter so that you get a consistent texture throughout, but not so much that you release all the air from the egg whites.

    also, the harder you beat your egg whites, the more difficult it will be for the batter to absorb the egg whites and the more lumps it will form as you mix it in with the batter.

    so the key is to find the perfect balance between how much to beat the egg whites, and how much folding of the egg whites into the batter you need.

  • Thanks for the insight, friend! As many times as I have made this cake myself, I understand exactly what you speak of: over-whipping the egg whites makes them harder to fold in, creating a more rubbery cake. I’m so glad you figured out a solution for your own cake recipe and then shared your tips here–thank you!!

  • ChrisElands

    Good insight, I was wondering why my Coffee Cake would always sink in and after reading this post, I knew what my issue was. I know it is a different recipe, but same causes. Thank you, Helped me out for my next cakes.

  • I have a wonderful choc cake recipe that flops sometime and other times it is perfect. I thought the sour milk that I used caused it, but I use the same recipe all the time. can you help thanks

  • I read rhe comments but not for a chocolate cake

  • I’m not sure I can diagnose what the problem is without more information. You mentioned that you suspect the sour milk could be causing the problem. Do you sour the milk yourself by adding some kind of acid (such as lemon juice or vinegar) to regular milk before baking? Or do you let the milk sour naturally by letting it sit out at room temperature? If so, how long?

    When I make chocolate cake, I use buttermilk for the sour flavor, rather than trying to sour milk myself. I have always gotten very consistent results when I use buttermilk or low-fat buttermilk in my chocolate cake recipe. If you suspect that the sour milk is causing the problem, try using buttermilk instead and see if that makes a difference in your results.

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