5 Common Baking Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them), According to a Cake Baking Legend

If you’ve ever pulled a dense cake, cracked cheesecake, or sunken muffins from the oven and wondered what went wrong, you’ve likely made one of the most common baking mistakes. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned baker, even minor missteps can lead to major cake fails.

To get to the bottom of it, we turned to the authority on all things baking—Rose Levy Beranbaum, award-winning author of The Cake Bible and one of the most trusted voices in cake baking tips and techniques. She’s spent decades perfecting recipes and helping home bakers get things right. In fact, she’s a longtime friend of ThermoWorks and a strong advocate for using accurate temperature tools in the kitchen.

Here are five of the most common baking mistakes Rose sees from home bakers and bloggers alike—and how to fix them.

1. Incorrect Oven Temperature

“Preheat the oven for a minimum of 20 minutes (45 minutes if using an oven stone) before baking. If using a convection setting, lower the heat by 25˚F. (This is variable for countertop ovens.) If recipes do not bake within the parameters listed, try lowering or raising the temperature as needed.”

An inaccurate oven is one of the top reasons for baking failures. Always use an oven thermometer like Square DOT® to verify your oven temps—and remember, most ovens lie. Square DOT has an average feature that will run your oven’s average, and you can adjust up or down on temperature from there. Use Thermapen ONE to measure the final temperature of your baked goods to determine the doneness.

2. Substituting Ingredients Too Soon

“Use the ingredients specified in the recipe, at least for the first time you make it, after which experimenting is fine, but change only one ingredient at a time.”

We get it—dietary restrictions, pantry shortages, or curiosity make substitutions tempting. But baking is a science, and swaps (especially early on) often throw off the balance of moisture, fat, and leavening agents. Be cautious to avoid these baking mistakes in your recipes.

3. Using the Wrong Flour (or Measuring It Incorrectly)

“Choosing the right kind of flour makes all the difference in the texture of baked goods… Never tap the measuring cup on the counter to level it.”

Cake baking tips don’t get more crucial than this: flour matters. When a recipe calls for bleached flour, it means it—they behave differently. Whether you’re using bleached or unbleached flour, spoon and level your flour (or better yet, weigh it with a kitchen scale) to avoid dense cakes and crumbly crusts. Incorrect flour measurement is a common mistake in baking.

4. Overbeating Egg Whites

“For each white (2 tablespoons/1 ounce/30 grams), 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar added before beating will guarantee that the egg whites never break down—even if beaten for 30 minutes!”

This one’s especially critical for angel food cake, meringue, and soufflés. Over-whipped egg whites lose their elasticity and structure, ruining the final texture. These are frequent baking mistakes to watch out for.

5. Using Dark Cake Pans

“Dark pans absorb heat more quickly, resulting in a dark and bitter crust. When using dark pans, lower the oven temperature by 25˚F.”

Your bakeware matters. Shiny aluminum pans reflect heat for even baking, while dark pans can overcook the edges before the center is done. Avoiding this can prevent baking mishaps in the kitchen.

Bonus Baking Mistakes from Rose:

• Not weighing ingredients: A cup of flour can vary wildly depending on how it’s scooped. Weighing other ingredients will also be more accurate. Always bake by weight.
  
• Not separating and weighing egg yolks: Shrinking yolks mean inaccurate measurements, especially for precision cakes. Weigh your whites to get it right.
  

Final Takeaway: Bake Like a Scientist
Rose credits much of her understanding of the science of baking to rigorous testing and food chemistry expert Harold McGee (On Food and Cooking), and she’s continued that legacy by helping bakers think like pros.