Whether you’re baking a pineapple upside-down cake for a special summer treat or a two-tiered cake for a birthday celebration, the last thing you want is a crumbly mess. But what caused this to happen?

Many factors might contribute to a crumbly cake. However, it is nearly always due to too much flour, not enough fat, or overmixing. Overbaking, using the incorrect sort of flour, or using an uncalibrated oven are some potential issues.

Hello there! I’m Shea, and I’ve been making cakes for 10 years. I’ve experimented with crumbly cakes here and there, and I’ve learned what mistakes may lead to a crumbly tragedy. I’m here to help you prevent crumbly cakes in the future by sharing my expertise.

Do you want to know why your cake was so crumbly? Continue reading.

Why Cake Crumbles: 7 Reasons and Solutions

Cake is simple to prepare, but that doesn’t mean it can’t go wrong. They may stick to the pan, have an unusual texture or taste, and, indeed, be very crumbly and difficult, if not impossible, to slice and distribute.

What’s the story? There might be seven distinct reasons why your cake came out crumbly. Let’s get started.

Reason 1: Too much flour

Too much flour, whether in cupcakes, muffins, or cake, will destroy the product. Because flour is fairly drying, using too much of it may cause your cake to dry out and crumble.

Solution: Weigh your ingredients on a kitchen scale to ensure you use the exact quantity specified in your recipe. This level of accuracy may work wonders for all of your prospective recipes, cake or otherwise.

2. Using the wrong flour

True, all-purpose flour is regularly used in cake making (I’d be lying if I claimed I didn’t use it rather frequently myself). All-purpose flour, on the other hand, has a lot of gluten, which might be damaging to your cake-baking endeavors.

Solution: If you’re always having crumbly cakes, try using cake flour instead. After all, this flour is specifically created for baking, so it’s nearly certain to provide fantastic results.

3. Too little fat

Cake requires a particular amount of moisture in order to remain intact and moistened. It is critical to use the correct quantity of fat in any cake recipe, whether it asks for butter, shortening, or another kind of fat. Otherwise, your cake will lack appropriate moisture and become crumbly.

Solution: Once again, try utilizing a dependable kitchen scale to verify you’re using the correct components according to your cake recipe. If you’re still having trouble, try cutting the flour by 10% and increasing the fat by 10%.

4. Overmixing

When baking a cake, gluten development is critical. This is what causes air bubbles to develop, resulting in the delicate and fluffy texture we are all familiar with. But, even when making cake batter, too much of anything is never a good thing.

If you overdo it, you’ll end up with significantly too much gluten, which will cause crumbling.

Solution: Whether you’re mixing by hand or with a stand mixer, make sure you just mix until the ingredients are incorporated and not for another second. This should take between two and six minutes.

5. Overbaking

It doesn’t matter whether you’re making fried chicken or a wedding cake. Overbaking will cause your components to dry out, resulting in unpleasant effects such as an excessively crumbly cake.

Solution: Check the recipe to see how long you should bake your cake. Check it about 10 minutes before it’s done baking since some ovens bake quicker than others. However, avoid over-checking.

Opening the oven door cools the inside, extending the baking time.

6. Baking with the wrong temp

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: your oven may be deceiving you. Most temperature ranges are not properly calibrated, therefore they may be hotter than the shown temperature. If you bake your cake at a higher temperature, you may unintentionally cause it to become crumbly.

Solution: Purchase an oven thermometer to determine the exact temperature of your oven. Adjust as needed.

7. Cutting incorrectly

A poor cut may cause a perfectly delicious cake to collapse, and it’s nearly always the fault of the knife. If the cake is too dull, you won’t be able to thinly slice it, resulting in a crumbly mess all over the place.

Solution: Make sure you have a good cake-cutting knife. Yes, having a knife designed for your cakes may seem to be an extravagance, but it will make all the difference.

How to Fix Crumbly Cake

If your cake isn’t completely destroyed, you may attempt to reassemble it using icing.

Simply smear icing over the whole cake to do this. Then, using your hands or a couple of forks, attempt to reassemble the cake.

Sure, it won’t be lovely, but it’s better than having no cake at all, right?

How to Repurpose Crumbly Cake

It’s no wonder that most people avoid attempting to mend a crumbly cake since it seems dirty and complex. However, it doesn’t mean you have to put your crumbly cake in the garbage.

Here are a few suggestions on turning it into something tasty!

1. Cake Pops

Cake pops are among of the prettiest and most delicious portable sweets available, and you can create them with your crumbly leftovers! It’s simple, and no one will know you messed up your original cake recipe.

2. Topping

Don’t feel like baking another dessert? You may easily crush the cake even further and use it as a topping. Crumbled cake is an excellent topping for ice cream of any flavor. Don’t forget about the sauce and whipped cream!

3. Cookies

Cookies with cake crumbs? Yes, they really exist, and they are quite delicious. Cake crumb cookies enable you to transform a crumbly mess into something altogether different, which is ideal for hiding a defect in your cake.

FAQs

You now have a thorough understanding of why your cake became crumbly and how to repair or reuse it. Awesome! If you’re an inquisitive cat who wants to learn more, read these FAQs.

Why is my cake moist but crumbly?

The use of all-purpose flour is most likely to blame for a moist yet crumbly cake. Because of the high gluten level, your cake may struggle to remain together as it should. Next time, try using cake flour.

What happens if you put too little flour on a cake?

If you don’t use enough flour in your cake, the batter will be too runny. As a result, your cake will not form properly, leaving you with a misshapen cake that breaks apart.

How long should I whisk a cake mixture?

Cake batter should only be stirred for two to six minutes. Overmixing might cause your cake to become crumbly and unappealing, so be careful not to overmix. The ingredients should be mixed together but not excessively smooth.

Final Words

Cake is often crumbly because there is either too much wheat (particularly all-purpose flour) or not enough oil. You might also be overmixing, overbaking, or cutting the cake wrong.

If you wind up with a crumbly cake, figure out what went wrong and turn the failure into a success, such as cake pops or biscuits.

Have you ever baked a crumbly cake? What steps did you take to repair it? Please share in the comments so that we may all try it!