How To Get Moist Cakes

Cakes. They come in all shapes, sizes, flavors, colors, and even textures. If there’s one thing all cake lovers can agree on though, is that some cakes just taste better when they have that gorgeous moist texture. You know, when it feels like you’ve just tasted a little slice of heaven? We know you know that feeling!

Learning how to get moist cakes is something all bakers should strive for, whether you’re a beginner, a seasoned amateur, or a top professional. A moist cake batter is perfect for chocolate fudge cakes, red velvet cake, vanilla pound cake, and … well, just about every cake in existence.

There are endless tips and tricks you can do to ensure your cake is the most mouth-wateringly moist on the block. So, read on for our guide on how to get a moist cake that even Betty Crocker would be jealous of… 

Top Tips

Ensure you follow your recipe carefully 

This one sounds super obvious, we know, but trust us when we say that most dry cake disasters can be avoided by measuring each ingredient precisely. Think of it as a science experiment. Too much or too little of something can cause a disaster, and while it is unlikely the whole thing will explode, you could be left with a dry, tough texture or a dense, sticky nightmare. 

Ensure that when you are measuring dry ingredients, particularly flour and cocoa powder, that you do not overflow the measuring cup or spoon. Doing this could compact the dry ingredients, causing you to end up with too much without even realizing it. 

The best way to ensure that the amount of dry ingredients is accurate is to measure the flour into the measuring cup using a smaller spoon, and level it off at the top without pressing it down or packing it in. this works for all dry ingredients, particularly flour. 

Likewise, with your wet ingredients, do ensure that you measure them accurately. Something that should be taken extra care with is the eggs you use. If the recipe calls for large eggs, you should use large eggs rather than small or medium. Using too big or too small a size egg can affect the whole liquid content of the cake and in turn affect the texture. 

Don’t Overmix 

Yes, overmixing is a thing. Fear not, though, cake connoisseurs we are here to tell you how to avoid this and to know exactly when the mixture is integrated perfectly. 

The recommended way to mix is to incorporate the dry ingredients together in one bowl (flour, sugar, baking soda or powder, and cocoa powder if needed), and the wet ingredients (eggs, butter, milk, and vanilla) into another bowl. 

When the respective bowls are mixed you can start to incorporate wet and dry ingredients together.

 You should add the wet ingredients very gradually, mixing gently each time until all the wet ingredients are incorporated. When they are altogether you should stop mixing. 

Overmixing causes air bubbles which pose the risk of rising too far in the oven which will then inevitably sink, producing a dense cake rather than a spongy, moist texture. 

Add in sour cream 

It’s not just a delicious dip for your chips and veggies! Sour cream makes a wonderful addition to your favorite baked goods, especially chocolate fudge cake and vanilla pound cake. There are countless blog posts about people adding a dollop to their box mixes to make them taste better. 

It can also improve your homemade cakes, too. Just add in a generous tablespoon or two and you are well on your way to baked-good bliss. 

The moistness of the cream ensures that your cake comes out soft every single time. The fact that it is so thick means that unlike milk, it won’t thin out the mixture too much. 

Our top tip is to ensure you use a pinch of baking soda if you don’t want to taste the acidity of the cream. The soda neutralizes the taste. Although we think it tastes good either way! 

Add oil 

Oil is another t way to get a moist cake. This is because most oils are practically flavorless compared to butter and sour cream, meaning it will not alter the taste of your cake. 

We recommend that you use some good old fashioned vegetable oil in this case. You can use olive oil (or any other oil if you so wish) but we have found that vegetable oil is the least likely to alter your cakes taste.

There are two ways of going about this – you can either totally omit the butter from your recipe and replace it with vegetable oil instead, promising a smooth, moist cake that tastes like it has been sent from heaven. Alternatively, you can simply add a tablespoon or two of oil with the wet ingredients. 

Brush a liquid or syrup over the baked cake

Our final tip is to be used as a last resort. Imagine this: you’ve done everything right, you’ve measured with the most exact preciseness you can imagine, you’ve dolloped your sour cream in and you are waiting patiently for your chocolate cake to finish baking… but OH NO! You’ve been a little too patient and over baked it, resulting in a dry cake.

This may seem like the end of the world for any cake lovers out there, but worry not, we have the key to saving your cake! You can simply brush a simple syrup or liquid over your cake. 

For a chocolate cake, try brushing on some cooled black coffee. For a vanilla cake, a simple syrup made by dissolving sugar in a cup of water will do. The key is not to soak the cake, but rather hydrate it, allowing it to become moist again.

Follow these tips on how to get moist cakes and you’ll be a pro in no time! Don’t just take our word for it though – put these tips into practice in your own cake-baking. The proof is in the pudding as they say…