Forget over-mixing your cake batter—maybe under-mixing is your real problem

You can tell what you get when you mix cake batter: a dense cake with a firm texture (and maybe even a few unappetizing sticky streaks). But far fewer bakers know that undermixing the dough can cause the same or similar results.

So if you're having problems with your cake crumb, this unexpected culprit could be – here's why.

A mysterious failure – and a lesson learned

Our Test Kitchen team recently ran into a problem while working on the recipe for Blueberry Corn Coffee Cakeour last iteration The recipe of 2023. Senior recipe developer Molly Marzalek-Kelly noticed that when the recipe went through cross-testing (a regular part of our rigorous recipe development), some of the tester's cakes had a thin but noticeable layer of heavy gum towards the bottom .

Photography by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne

To fix the problem, Molly says she “tried adjusting the amounts of baking powder/soda, mixing in different sized mixing bowls, mixing by hand, baking in different ovens, and baking in different pans “. But nothing worked, leaving her and her fellow recipe testers stranded.

“After many conversations and brainstorming with (Test Kitchen collaborators) Frank Tegethoff and Sue Gray,” Molly continued, “we realized that the batter should have been unmixed. My theory is that we fell into the common trap of being so anxious to overmix the batter, we ended up underwhelming it and not properly developing the structure needed to support the cake.”

Photography by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne

Further tests supported this theory: undermixing can yield cakes with dense bottoms, due to the lack of gluten development and subsequent poor texture (both of which prevent the cake from rising completely). Extending the mixing time only slightly can solve this problem. The Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe instructions have now been changed to include this warning instruction: “… mix again on low speed for 1 minute; this final mix is ​​key to ensuring the best texture, so don't skip it.”

What happens if the cake batter doesn't mix?

Flour is a critical ingredient in baking. Not only does it provide the bulk in the form of starch, but its own gluten is responsible for the structure of a cake.

As you mix the cake ingredients together, the flour gluten hardens and stretches into an elastic web that will support the cake as it rises. However, developing the gluten beyond its ideal point makes the cake tough and can also cause it to rise too strongly and then fall as it bakes, resulting in rubbery streaks in its texture. But undermixing pastry dough—and thus underdeveloping its gluten—also presents structural problems: it can produce pastry that crumbles easily and doesn't rise very high, resulting in a dense layer of unrisen dough on top of the bottom crust.

Photography by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne

What types of cakes are prone to undermixing?

In theory, the batter for any type of cake can be overmixed, but some cakes are less likely than others to suffer from undermixing. For example, sponge cakes, made by folding sugar and flour into beaten egg whites (think food for angels) do well even if it's a little undermixed. Since they contain no fat that can interfere with their gluten development, gently (but thoroughly) folding the flour into the dough is enough to develop its gluten.

“One-bowl” mixed cakes that don't require beating are also fairly immune to poor mixing. My favorite mixed cake, cake pan, is so foolproof that the original version required skipping the mixing bowl and just mixing everything at once in the cake pan! While it is possible to mix the batter for a mixed cake, it is unlikely. By the time all the different ingredients are fully combined, the flour gluten has had enough time to fully develop.

Desserts made using cremation the technique seems more prone to undermixing. To preserve the whipped air in the sugar/buttercream mixture, the careful baker may hesitate to mix the final batter as long as necessary. Outcome? Underdeveloped gluten and cake with a compacted “wet bottom” thanks to its inability to fully rise.

Lydia Fournier

Reverse-cream Cakes (aka pastes), like the Recipe of the Year coffee cake, can also suffer from undermixing. This technique begins by slowly beating together butter, sugar, and flour, which coats the flour and helps prevent its gluten from developing too much during the subsequent mixing process. Paradoxically, that layer of protection can be so effective that if the final dough is not sufficiently mixed, its gluten risks being undeveloped – with the same unfortunate result mentioned above.

How to avoid undermixing cake batter

Short answer: Follow the recipe. A good pastry recipe will specifically detail how long the batter should be mixed. And not always “mix until smooth” – carrot cake The dough is lumpy from start to finish, and even a perfectly soft one yellow cake the dough may need another minute for its gluten to fully develop. So if your recipe says “Mix for 2 minutes on medium speed, scrape the bowl and mix for an additional minute on low speed” – don't skip the last minute.

Julia Reed

Now, you may be tempted to take shortcuts—especially if you're an experienced baker. For example, if the recipe says to “beat on high speed for 5 minutes,” do you actually set a timer for 5 minutes – or do you wing it? Set that timer!

If the recipe calls for the milk, eggs, and butter to be at room temperature, then make sure they are. Ingredients at room temperature are much easier to mix together than those fresh out of the fridge. And for cream-technique desserts, adding cold milk or eggs to an airy, fluffy mixture of butter and sugar can turn everything into a curdled mess.

Finally, even if the recipe doesn't say so scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl at regular intervals – do so. For best results, it is important that the sticky residue you scrape off is deposited back into the batter to be fully incorporated.

How can you tell when your cake batter is perfectly mixed?

Some recipes tell you to “Mix briefly, just until combined.” Others want you to “beat for 3 minutes on high speed until light and fluffy.” Is there a certain “look” to perfectly mixed cake batter?

PJ Hamel

While custard cakes usually require the final batter to be “fluffy”, this is not a universal goal. Cake batter can range from thin as heavy cream to thick as porridge, and everything in between. In general, though, look for your well-mixed pastry dough to be smooth, with no grainy texture, visible butter lumps, flour streaks, or faint scratches from the bottom of the bowl.

Professional recipe writers, like those in our King Arthur test kitchen, tell you exactly what to make, how long to make it, and what the result will look like. So follow a well-written cake recipe (like our recent Perfection Blueberry Corn Coffee Cake) to a tee and you won't be disappointed.

Creaming vs. reverse cream, mousse vs. sponge and then comes the mixing… What do these terms mean and which technique for mixing the ingredients will produce your favorite cake? Find out in our post on Cake mixing methods.