Baking can be a great opportunity to make memories, bond with your friends (or your inner chef), and eat some kick-ass cake. That is, unless something happens to the cake. Whether it’s a dry and crumbly piece of s**t or a runny mess, #cakefails can be the worst. But before you throw away that embarrassment, here are a few ways you can attempt to salvage your creation into something at least semi-decent.
It’s burnt AF
Left the cake in the oven for a little too long? Or forgot until you started smelling something funny? Odds are, your cake came out black and smoking, which doesn’t make a good accompaniment to frosting. Before you’re tempted to throw it all away, try your best to remove the burned edges – sometimes only the exterior burns while the inside is completely fine. If that doesn’t work, salvage what you can and make a trifle like the ones here.
It’s Dry AF
All visions of cake involve a moist, creamy texture, not some dry and bland outrage. If for some reason your cake is dry and crumbling apart, poke holes on the top and brush it with condensed milk or a simple syrup. This makes it more like a poke cake, but your guests won’t notice the difference. You can also serve it with ice cream or yogurt for a last-minute option.
It’s all runny and mushy
If this looks anything like your cake, try placing it back into the oven at a lower baking temperature. If that doesn’t sound like a plan, make the soggy parts into a pudding – adding chocolate chips, fruit, or nuts can make it seem really authentic. Top each “piece” with ice cream to distract your guests from questioning it. Just tell them it’s a loaded brownie (or a blondie), and you’ll be good.
The cake sunk
Sunken cakes are usually a sign of undercooking or opening the oven door too often. Check to see if it’s possible to remove the middle part of the cake by cutting it out. This will leave you with a ring-like shape you can fill with ice cream, custard, or other filings. Top it off with frosting, and no one will ever know of this mishap.
The frosting is all crumbly
When icing a cake, it’s important to have both a crumb coat and a final coat. It’s normal for crumbs to be visible in the crumb coat, but if it’s affecting your ability to frost like a boss, we need a plan B. Is it possible to add another layer of frosting to hide it? If not, you may want to consider covering up the worst parts with fruit, or pipe frosting on top. When worst comes to worst, adding another layer of cake on top and starting over may be the only way of salvaging this creation. Then again, you can always deconstruct it and eat it with a spoon.
The cake is stuck in the pan
The ultimate disappointment. If this happens to you, try to cut around the pan, insert a spatula to the bottom, and go from there. You can also use a cookie cutter and cut out mini cakes as well. Whatever you do, don’t flip the pan over – this will result in a heap of cake and a lot of devastation.
Food fails happen to everyone, even when following the most basic rules of baking. Cakes aren’t different. Hopefully with these tried-and-true tactics, you’ll be able to present something on a plate and have a compliment or two. If all else fails, eating it with your hands is always an option.