Cake Faults
Reasons for faults in cake can be generally grouped as follows:
1. Wrong quality of raw material.
2. Improper balancing of formula.
3. Operational mistakes.
Some cake faults and their reasons:
1. Collapsed or sunk cakes
 Too much sugar
 Too little liquid
2. Cake with peaked top
 Strong flour
 Insufficient aeration
 Too much heat from top
3. Cake with flat top
 Less liquid
 Cool oven
 Incorrect balance between egg and fat
4. Under baked area under top crust
 Under baking
 Bumping the cake during baking
5. Dense streak at the base of the cake
 Excessive use of liquid
 Less baking powder
 Pockets of air entrapped
6. Fruits falls to the bottom of the cake
 Thin batter
 Lack of structure
 More sugar or baking powder
 Incorrect baking powder

7. Texture (dense) too close
 Less baking powder
 More liquid
 More sugar
 Hot batters
8. Coarse texture
 More baking powder
 Less liquid
 More sugar
 Too little mixing
 Cool oven
9. Cakes too tender for cutting
 Over mixing of the batter
 Less egg
 More sugar
 Slow baking
10. Thick crust on cake
 More sugar
 Less milk or other liquid
 Too hot or cool oven
 Cakes standing too long before baking
11. Cracks on surface of the cake
 Hot oven
 Lack of moisture in the oven
 Less sugar
 Tough batter
 Thin batter
 Insufficient air in the batter
12. Top crust peels and flakes off
 Over mixing
 Cool oven
 Insufficient steam during baking

13. Discoloured crumb
 Slow baking
 More bottom heat
 Type of sweetening agent
 In fruit cakes, high sugar content of fruits
 More soda
14. Very pale crust colour
 Less sugar
 Less milk
 Slow baking
15. White spots on cake surface
 Batter standing too long before baking
 Use of very coarse sugar
 Less liquid
 Slow baking
 Not mixing the batter properly
16. Mold growth on cakes
 Excessive moisture
 Contamination
Asmita powar
IHM Mumbai