Cake. That’s my article theme this week. Don’t you think cake-making is fun? Over the years I’ve found it to be a creative, sensory, and meditative process that relieves stress, boosts my mood, and offers a tangible reward. In short, it creates a fulfilling sense of accomplishment.

It allows for unique flavor experiments and beautiful decoration, and blends science with art. Art, that is, if it turns out the way it’s supposed to. But what if your effort falls, literally? Is there any way to turn a SUNKEN cake into a work of art?

Yes indeed! A sunken cake can be salvaged. Here’s what I’ve learned over my years of dealing with sunken cakes.

First of all, you can disguise that crater with fillings. Just scoop out any underbaked center and fill the hole with jam, custard, fruit, nuts, or sprinkles, then frost as usual.

Or, if it’s just a minor sink, you can level it. Use a serrated knife to cut off the uneven top, making it flat, then frost.

OR, you can use extra frosting: Heavily frost the cake and mound extra frosting in the center to disguise the dip.

If any of these ideas won’t work, for whatever reason, there’s always transforming the sunken treasure into a different type of dessert. For instance:

·         Trifles or Parfaits: Cut the cake into cubes and layer with whipped cream, fruit, or pudding in a clear bowl or jar.

·         Cake Pops: Crumble the cake, mix with frosting, roll into balls, and dip in chocolate.

·         Ice Cream Topping: Toast cake crumbs for a crunchy topping, or crumble it over ice cream sundaes.

·         Milkshakes: Blend cake pieces into your favorite milkshake.

·         Bread Pudding: Use cake chunks in a bread pudding recipe for a rich, custardy dessert.

 

These are encouraging ideas, right? And I bet the ways to save a sunken cake are only limited to our imagination. When you think about it, a sunken cake is simple an opportunity to “make lemons out of lemonade!” If you have any other suggestions, we’d love to hear from you!

I’ll finish with a few professional tips on how to prevent the sink in the first place (another good idea, right?). Start by using an oven thermometer to ensure your oven temperature is accurate. (This simple step corrected my cake issues immediately!) Then, be sure all ingredients are at room temperature, unless the recipe specifies otherwise. Finally, avoid opening the oven door too early (curiosity doesn’t just kill the cat, it can kill the cake!).