When you overmix cake batter, the gluten in the flour can form elastic gluten strands – resulting in a more dense, chewy texture.
If overmixed, the batter may become runny and slack. With cakes featuring whipped egg foam, you'll also want to make sure you mix to the right consistency — forming "stiff peaks" is the usual standard. When overmixed, the egg whites may break and take on a cottage cheese consistency.
I found that the 5 minute mix time resulted in a cake with a nice texture and moderately tender crumb. Anywhere between 2 and 6 minutes should suffice.
If your cake does overflow, simply cut around the edges; if they looked ragged or uneven, pipe frosting or stiff whipped cream around the outsides.
Eggs also contain a variety of proteins that create the structure of a cake, and when beaten, they can act as a leavening agent by adding air to the cake batter. However, if you add too many eggs to your cake batter, then your end result could be spongy, rubbery, or dense.
An overmixed egg foam will be slack, wet, loose, and unable to hold peaks. An overmixed egg foam will look dull or broken, like cottage cheese. With the addition of flour, an undermixed batter will have uneven streaks or visible pockets of flour.
There are a few reasons why cake batter may overflow from the tins while baking but one of the most common reasons is that the tins are too small or too shallow.
And if after all the precautions, the overspill does happen, just give the sides a quick trim to remove the excess batter and then ice or decorate the cake as you normally would.
When you just add fillings, without spreading them, air pockets get trapped between fillings. As you get the cake ready to be displayed, the fillings get softer. At the same time, mother gravity begins her work. The air pockets are pushed out, and the cake bulges.
One common reason is overmixing. Overmixing the batter can lead to excessive gluten development, resulting in a dense consistency. Using too much liquid or fat in the recipe can also weigh down the cake, making it dense and sticky.
Over-creamed butter and sugar adds in too much air and alters the final texture – typically to be more gummy and dense. Sometimes over-creaming can produce cakes, cupcakes, or cookies that collapse upon baking or while cooling if the mixture is well and truly over-creamed (where it looks like curdled milk).
1) You forgot to add baking powder, or you used expired baking powder. 2) Your pan is too big, so the mixture can't rise enough to fill it. Or 3) You over whisked. Next time, make sure to use baking powder, and pay attention to the expiration date.
For best results, you should fill your cake pan 2/3 full with batter. This gives your cake plenty of space to rise. If your cake pan is overfilled, the batter can overflow, causing your cake to bake unevenly (and creating a terrible mess in the oven!).
The idea behind this test is you can insert a toothpick or paring knife into the center of the cake to see if the crumb has set. If the tester comes out clean, it's done. If it comes out gummy or with crumbs clinging to it, the cake needs more time in the oven.
The second chance to over-mix comes when you add the flour: Dorie recommends adding the flour all at once (you mix less than you would if you added it in several additions), pulsing until the risk of projectile ingredients has dissipated, and then mixing on low speed until the flour “disappears into the dough or is ...
Using too few eggs will make your desserts dense, but using too many will make them rubbery. The explanation for this lies in the fact that eggs are made up of protein. As Fine Cooking explains, when the protein in eggs combines with the protein in flour, they produce the overall structure of the baked good.
Overall, changing the number of eggs in your cake recipe can alter the properties of your cake. Too few eggs will yield a cake that is overly compact and doesn't hold together will. Too many eggs can leave you with a spongy or rubbery mess.
Over-Beaten Egg Whites: If egg whites are beaten past the point of stiff peaks, the matrix of proteins will begin to break down and the foam will collapse. The egg whites will become grainy, watery, and flat. They can not be salvaged.
Over-beating – It's possible to take it too far.
After the stiff peak stage, egg whites will start to look grainy and dull. They will eventually collapse back on themselves. Whipped cream will also get grainy and will start to separate into fat and liquid.