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🍰Time to Bake! Have you ever wondered how to make moist cakes, or how to make cake moister? You're in right place--the secret to moist cake lies in the bakery methods and secret ingredients that I've been perfecting with my bakery recipes for over a decade!
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Let’s talk about cake. When you think of a delicious made-from-scratch cake, it should be dense and yet soft, with a moist, tender crumb. A cake baked from scratch usually has a much different texture than a grocery store cake or a cake mix cake (which is more light and airy and typically not as moist.) I’m not pooh-poohing on grocery store or cake mix cakes. Any cake is better than no cake, right?
But our goal here today is to make the most delicious, moistest cake that stays moist for days and has your guests raving at every bite. This is what we were known for at Amycakes Bakery. You can create moist, bakery-quality cakes like this at home using these 7 simple steps.
1. Use Buttermilk Instead of Milk
Whenever I look at a cake recipe, I know that it will be moister if it contains buttermilk as an ingredient. In fact, I'm a little skeptical of cake recipes that contain milk instead, and will often substitute buttermilk in these cases. (Be forewarned, simply substituting may not always give you perfect results as other ingredients like baking soda could be affected and change the rise of your cake when switching to buttermilk. I go into tweaking recipes a bit more on #4).
Buttermilk is an acidic ingredient, which helps break down the gluten in your baking and creates a more tender cake. As a flavor bonus, the slight tang of buttermilk compliments the overall sweetness in your cake batter, making a more balanced cake.
2. Add Vegetable Oil
While butter will give you the best flavor, vegetable oil will make your cakes moister. I use a combination of salted butter and vegetable oil in all my cake recipes to get the most flavorful and moistest results. Vegetable oil stays a liquid at room temperature, while butter solidifies. That’s why you’ll notice that cakes made with vegetable oil will have a softer texture at all temperatures, even straight from the fridge.
3. Use Instant Clearjel or Instant Pudding Mix
Instant Clearjel, which is “modified cornstarch,” is a starch that allows your cakes to retain more moisture. Instant Pudding mix is a great substitute as it contains Instant Clearjel as the second ingredient. I recommend checking out this entertaining video by Adam Ragusea where he discusses the science of pudding mix and Instant Clearjel in cakes. I love this ingredient so much that I wrote a whole article on it: Instant Clearjel: A Magical Little-Known Bakery Ingredient.
4. Use the Right Recipe
I know, I know, it’s hard to predict what's a good recipe before testing it out. I suggest scanning cake recipes and choosing one that already contains buttermilk and/ or vegetable oil. But because baking is a science, you may not be able to simply substitute in the above suggestions and be guaranteed a great recipe. (Although if you don’t mind a bit of trial and error, it’s a great place to start).
When I tweak recipes, I like to downsize the recipe first to make the tiniest batch possible to test out the quality (I'll usually do a ¼ or ⅛ of a recipe). If I'm happy with the result, I'll remake it on a larger scale. Or, just check out my Extra-Moist Cake Recipes that I’ve been perfecting over the past 11.5 years. ☺️
5. Don’t Overbake
While this one may seem obvious, it actually requires a few steps to ensure you are never overbaking a cake:
- Bake at a lower temperature, and make sure that the temperature is accurate. In my home oven, I bake my cakes at either 300 degrees or 325 degrees, depending on the cake. For cupcakes, I'll start baking at 350 degrees but turn the temperature down after they rise. If you've ever felt like your oven takes a lot longer or much less time than what is recommended on a recipe, test it with an oven thermometer. These handy tools are pretty cheap and will let you know if you need to adjust the dials on your oven to get the correct baking temperature.
- When I was in the process of moving, I thought my new home oven was baking everything SO FAST! I used my oven thermometer to compare both my previous and new residential oven, and my old oven was the one baking 25 degrees under! Now I use the thermometer every time I bake to make sure I'm providing accurate recipes when sharing them with my readers.
- Always place your cake pan(s) on the middle or top rack. Once the oven is preheated, most residential ovens will heat only from the bottom of the oven. However, the top heat elements will still remain hot. If your cakes are too close to the bottom heating elements, they will bake faster and have a darker bottom and crispier edge. If you do bake on the top rack, just make sure you have plenty of room for the cake to rise and that it's not too close to the top heating elements. I've found I have the best results when baking on the top rack that is around 6-7 inches below the top of the oven.
- Check your cake often to see if it is done. Cake recipes will usually have a range of time listed for baking, but even with an oven thermometer, all ovens bake differently. When using a new recipe, I start checking the cake at least 5 minutes BEFORE the first part of that listed range. Then depending on how the cake feels, I'll continue to check and see if the cake is done in 5,4,3,2, or even 1-minute increments until I get the perfect bake. This ensures I never overbake the cake.
- Once you've tried a recipe a few times, make a note on your recipe of the baking time so you don't have to check it as often next time. However, even on tried-and-true recipes, I recommend checking on the cake before the time you've noted, as different factors (like how many pans you have in the oven) could affect your cooking time.
- You'll know the cake is finished if a toothpick or thin paring knife comes out clean when quickly stuck in the cake (if you go too slow when sticking the cake, your toothpick or paring knife is more likely to collect crumbs and you might think it's not done yet when it actually is). You can also very lightly press on the top of the cake with your finger and it should bounce back instead of sink with your touch.
6. Bake in Sheet Pans Instead of individual Cake Pans
Most of my cake recipes are baked in a half sheet pan and then cut out using cake rings with what I call the Cut & Stack Method. This sped up our baking and frosting process at Amycakes Bakery and provided us with moist cakes every time. I first saw a similar method in the pastry chef Christina Tosi's book Momofuku Milk Bar. (Here's a video of Christina Tosi's cake stacking process, although we used larger pans and cut and stacked our cakes a bit differently at my bakery without the need for acetate sheets.)
You can view our bakery method in my tutorial How to Bake and Layer Cakes Like a Pro. I love this method because of its versatility (you can bake the cake in the same cake pan each time, and then decide if you want to make an 8” cake, two 6” cakes, several tiny cakes, or an extra tall 6" cake, etc.).
The other reason I do this is to eliminate browned, darker or crispy edges. You may have noticed this on cakes baked in smaller individual pans: As you get to the edge of the cake that has the delicious frosting, the cake starts to get a little darker, drier, and simply not as delicious. The Cut and Stack method means your finished cake will have NO dark edges! Just moist and soft cake in every bite.
Do you only have individual pans or are baking a naked cake? No problem--you can get similar soft edges by baking more layers with less batter in each pan. For instance, 4 round cake pans with one inch of cake batter in each pan will bake faster and more evenly than 2 round cake pans with 2 inches of batter in each pan.
7. Use a Simple Syrup or Glaze
Simple syrup is not going to make a dry cake moist (it may just make it soggy). But if your cake is already moist from using the steps above, simple syrup is the last step to seal in all your hard work and ensure it stays moist even longer. Simple syrup is in fact, incredibly simple. Just mix equal parts water and sugar, and microwave until the sugar is fully dissolved, stirring frequently in between heats. I use a silicone pastry brush (no risk of lost pastry brush hairs with silicone brushes) to lightly brush a thin layer of simple syrup on the top of all my cakes.
For some cake flavors, you may prefer a flavored glaze instead of a simple syrup. For instance, my Lemon Cream Cake has a lemon glaze made with lemon juice and powdered sugar, and my Coconut Cream cake has Cream of Coconut drizzled on top. Flavored glazes give you the option to add moisture and a flavor boost at the same time!
Now you're ready to get to baking an incredibly moist cake--let me know how it turns out! Check back soon if you'd like to try my extra moist cake recipes--Please Request a Recipe if you haven’t yet, or sign up for my Newsletter to be notified with a weekly email when new recipes are ready.
Thanks for Reading. ❤️
angela says
Hi, I am making a number cake for my daughter's birthday and I know they tend to dry out on the edges. The recipe I am using already has buttermilk. However, I want to try to include the instant clearjel or instant pudding as well as add vegetable oil. The recipe calls for 2 cups flour, 2 1/4 tsps baking powder, 3/4 cup unsalted butter and 3/4 buttermilk. How much of the clearjel, instant pudding, and vegetable oil do you think I would add?
Amy says
Hi Angela! Thanks for checking! I'd recommend comparing the ratios of your recipe to my cake recipes, as the amount needed can vary between flavors. With the amount of flour you listed, typically adding either 1/4 cup instant pudding mix or 2 Tablespoons instant clearjel would be a good place to start, and I recommend adding an additional 2 to 4 Tablespoons vegetable oil, as the instant clearjel or pudding mix will allow your recipe to retain more moisture. That being said, it may take some tweaking or test batches to reach the perfect ratio. I'd love to hear how it turns out for you! 🙂
Kenyata says
Heyyyyy!! Can’t wait to try these tricks out. If I use instant pudding, am I incorporating in powder form or do I need to make the actual pudding first😂😂 I’m sorry if this is a dumb question
Amy says
Great question! No need to make pudding first! The instant clearjel that is in the pudding mix in powdered form is what will make the cake extra moist! I recommend whisking the dry pudding mix with your dry ingredients. Feel free to check out my cake recipes for ratio suggestions. 🙂
denise says
i've always heard that in a cake mix if it calls for three eggs you can use 4 instead but using only the egg whites and that'll also make it moist or is that true?
Amy says
Interesting, I have never tried this! Egg yolks also add moisture so I'm not sure if that is true or not. I have found that more egg whites can make a cake lighter and fluffier in certain recipes (like my Vanilla Almond cake or Vanilla Bean Cake, where the egg whites are whipped separately and folded into the cake batter), but for moistness, I combine that egg white technique with the methods mentioned in this article for a moist and fluffy cake. If you have luck with it, let me know! 🙂
Nora Thomason says
I really appreciate your input. I have a pound cake recipe that tastes wonderful but is dry as a powderhouse... I am definitely going to try your techniques and see if I can turn it around.
Thank you so much!!!
Amy says
Oh good!! I'd love to hear how it turns out! 🙂
Donna says
How do you know how much pudding or clear gel ro put in the cake mixes?
Amy says
Hi Donna, a good place to start is the ratio I use in my cake recipes (feel free to scroll through to compare ratios). Generally, 2 Tbsp Instant Clearjel or 3-4 Tbsp Instant Pudding Mix per 1 1/2 cups flour is the ratio I use, and you can usually add an additional 2-4 Tablespoons buttermilk or vegetable oil to your cake recipe when you add Instant Clearjel or pudding mix. You can adjust the ratios to your preference, and I always recommend making small test batches first when tweaking recipes. 🙂
Kelley Still Nichols says
Dearest Amy--I am so excited to have discovered your website--I have missed popping into the bakery so much, AND, I had to do a wedding for my youngest son, Lucas, without you!
However, I am determined to become a better baker and am diligently following your instructions.
I would love to catch up--all my best, Kelley Nichols (used to be Dr. Still :))
One question--if I am out of Clearjel and have to use instant pudding, do you match flavor of the cake or use vanilla?
Amy says
Hi Dr. Still, it's so great to hear from you! 🙂 I'm so glad you've been enjoying the recipes! I recommend matching the pudding mix to the flavor in certain instances--I use chocolate pudding for red velvet or chocolate cakes, lemon for lemon cake, and vanilla for everything else. 🙂
Joan says
I have been trying over and over to make a raspberry cake for someone but I just can’t get it moist enough. I’ve used freeze dried powdered raspberries and also tried puréed raspberries. ( she wants fully incorporated raspberries in the cake, not vanilla cake layered with raspberries)
Can you advise on what I can do?
Thanks 😊
Amy says
Hi Joan, at my bakery we mixed our fresh raspberry compote into the cake batter similar to my ultimate strawberry cake recipe. It was very moist and flavorful! I don't have that raspberry cake recipe ready to post yet, but a good start would be to look at the ingredients in my strawberry cake recipe. We used Olive Nation's red raspberry extract and it had a delicious flavor--there is a coupon code for Olive Nation in my strawberry cake post if you end up going that route. 🙂
Aleina Hodnett says
Have you written anything for fat free, or low carb recipes?
Amy says
I haven't, I'm sorry! We never did any special diet recipes at Amycakes Bakery. But I do hope I have time to experiment at some point in the future. The instant clearjel I mention in this article is a great ingredient to enhance moisture in cakes without adding extra fat or sugar, so that would be a good place to start 🙂
Paul says
You mention pudding mix often. Is there a specific product that you recommend beside the clear gel???
Amy says
Hi Paul! Thanks for checking. To make sure I understand your question, are you asking if there is a substitute that I recommend for the Instant Clearjel (besides Instant Pudding mix)? Or are you wanting to know if I recommend a specific brand of pudding mix?
Paul says
Thanks for your reply Amy. I understood you recommend clear gel and it’s not readily available locally. You also mentioned instant pudding which I believe contains clear gel. I was just wondering if there is a specific brand or flavor free instant pudding that would substitute for actual clear gel.
Amy says
Thanks, Paul! Yes, that's correct, instant pudding mix does contain instant clearjel. I prefer to use Jello brand Instant Pudding in recipe testing just because I know that the instant clearjel (listed as "modified cornstarch") is the second ingredient in that brand. (I make all my cakes with Instant Clearjel, but I do a test round with pudding mix when I want to list that as an optional substitute in the recipe). I don't know of a flavor-free pudding mix, so I use Chocolate instant pudding mix in my chocolate and red velvet cakes, and vanilla instant pudding in almost every other cake flavor because I am wary of the other flavors affecting the cake flavor. I have used lemon in lemon cake with good results. I hope that helps! 🙂
Alex says
I use a healthcare product, Thick-It powder, for this purpose. It's *just* modified starch. It's intended for adjusting food textures for people who have swallowing issues. I found it at the pharmacy.
Amy says
Thank you for sharing, Alex! I hadn't heard of thick-it powder and I'm happy to know about it now! It sounds very similar to instant clearjel, which is also just modified cornstarch.
Victoria H. says
My mother would use mayonnaise to add moisture to her cakes if she felt that the recipe would be a little too dry. She would also add sour cream in some instances in her recipes too depending on which she readily had available. Always a perfect moist cake.
Amy says
Those are great tips! I've never tried Mayo but I've heard that it makes moist cakes! I love adding sour cream in my muffins because it keeps them moist and adds a little tang. 🙂
asia, s says
i recently tried this when making a chantilly cake but it still isnt as moist as i'd like it. any suggestions?
Amy says
Hi Asia, it's hard to say without seeing the recipe, but if your recipe already contained buttermilk, vegetable oil and instant clearjel (or instant pudding mix), then you might just need to adjust the ratios--I'd recommend comparing the ratios of all the ingredients (including the flour/sugar/leaveners/eggs) in my extra-moist cake recipes, and then tweak your recipe as needed. Sometimes it takes trial and error to get the perfectly moist recipe! 🙂
Nan says
How much clear gel would you add to a standard cake?
Amy says
Hi Nan! I start with around 2 Tablespoons in my recipes--though it depends on the other ingredients of the cake as well. If you are trying it out in a new recipe I'd recommend starting at 1-2 tablespoons, and you can typically add additional vegetable oil (like 2-4 Tbsp) to the cake as the instant clearjel will allow the cake to retain more moisture without getting heavy. Feel free to check out my cake recipes to compare ratios!
Dee says
How much oil do I use to substitute butter
Amy says
I recommend adding vegetable oil in addition to butter if you are not happy with a cake moisture level, but you can also substitute it ounce to ounce. (So 1/4 cup oil would be 1/2 a stick of butter, for instance). Feel free to take a look at my cake recipes to see the different ratios I use!
Russ says
Hi Amy. I'm a chef for a retirement community. I came across your site while looking for dessert ideas, and my wife said your cakes look and sound amazing. I want to bake the cakes as single layer in a standard half hotel pan. Will these cakes bake as a thicker layer, and do you have any scaling suggestions for these pans ?
Amy says
Thank you Russ! I hope you enjoy the recipes! When googling it looks like a half hotel pan is around 12x10? That should bake around the same as a 1/4 sheet pan, which is what I use for a 1x batch (9.5x13x1"pans). Or when I double my cake recipes (the 2x button within the recipe) I use a 1/2 sheet pan (18x13x1).
These cakes are usually a little over 1" in height--I tend to bake my cakes this height (even for sheet cakes, I'll usually do double layers instead of a thick one layer sheet cake), because they are so moist and the cakes bake more evenly and are less likely to sink with less batter in the pans. I hope that helps!
Jean says
hi ms amy,
Is it ok to use atlernative buttermilk lyk all purpose cream plus vinegar.
Aside from buttermilk i also put full cream milk..is it still neccessarily to put them all together in a moist cake recipe.
Thanks
Amy says
Hi Jean! Sorry for the delay, I missed your comment. I personally find that real buttermilk makes moister cakes than the substitute, but you can certainly use the substitute in a pinch! If you are using the other moist ingredients (vegetable oil, Instant Clearjel/Pudding mix), it will probably still be really moist!
Kelly J Schupbach says
What's the difference in the finished product using regular flour versus cake flour?
Amy says
Hi Kelly, I only use all-purpose flour (I prefer gold-medal brand) in my cake recipes unless I'm making an angel food cake. Some bakers only bake with cake flour-- Cake flour contains less gluten, so it can create a finer or lighter texture. It's been a long time since I've tried cake flour in my cake recipes to provide a comparison, but what it came down to is I just found that my cakes were moister with all-purpose flour. 🙂
Kelly Schupbach says
Thanks!!
Deborah Moore says
How can I get my cake to rise higher?
Amy says
There are a few things that can help! If it’s for one of my cake recipes, feel free to send me an email and I can help you troubleshoot. But generally, overcreaming and overbeating is one of the things I notice the most that affects rise. I find that in addition to adding moisture, Instant Clearjel helps in the stability and rise of my cakes because it thickens the batter, and some flour brands rise better than others (I prefer Gold Medal). 🙂
Deborah Moore says
How much olive oil should I put in a cake?
Amy says
Hi Deborah, I've never actually used Olive Oil in cakes before, but I use vegetable oil in addition to butter in all of my cakes. Most of my cake recipes have around an additional 1/4 cup of vegetable oil per 1 stick of butter. Feel free to check out my cake recipes to take a look at the ratios! 🙂
Renee Brown says
I saw a YouTube video the other day where they were making a cake that called for buttermilk and the baker commented that it was an odd ingredient in a cake and I thought, “That’s not what Amy says!”
Amy says
Haha, that's funny! It's one of my all-time favorite cake ingredients!
Joan says
I just ordered clearjel. Anxious to start baking!
Amy says
Wonderful, you are all set! 🙂
Demnis says
How much instant clear gel do you add to a cake recipe?
Gianna Gregory says
Thank you for the tips. Never even thought about using buttermilk instead of milk.
Amy says
Buttermilk is one of all my all-time favorite bakery ingredients! 🙂
mary powell says
These are great tips, especially the Clearjel. What a difference it makes in the end result. Your advice has given me confidence to start baking again.
Amy says
Thank you Mary! 🙂
Donna Coppock says
Thanks SO much for sharing your knowledge and expertise! I’m looking forward to making your recipes. . . After I buy some Clearjel!
Amy says
Thank you Donna! 🙂
Pam says
I am so excited to start baking! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and recipes!!!
Amy says
Thanks wonderful to hear, thank you Pam! 🙂
Melissa says
I'm so sad I didn't find you when you were making cakes but I'm glad to be in at the start of your blog 🙂 Thanks for the great tips so far! I have a tip or suggestion for you 😉 How about a once a month (or twice a month) in person cake class!! Make the cake as a class, eat the cake as a class 😀 If you like my idea and use my idea, I want to be the first to to know!! 🙂
Amy says
I love your suggestion! What a good idea! I don't think my schedule will allow it any time soon, but if I'm able to figure something out I'll definitely let you know! 🙂
Melissa says
🙂
Trude says
Great article! I often judge if a recipe will be moist by its basic ingredients, such as oil, I never knew exactly what I was looking for, or why. So helpful!
Melissa says
🙂
Laura Anthem says
Love these tips! And looking forward to your recipes!
One question... I was always taught that cakes don't like to be peeked at, how can I avoid a deflated cake from checking too early? I struggle knowing precisely when it's done. Forgive my amateur question! I know just enough to get myself in trouble lol.
Amy says
Thank you Laura! Great question! In fact I think I'll update my post so it's a bit more specific on this part. During the beginning of baking it's best not to open the oven door because you are right, the cake could deflate or sink. As you get to the end of baking, you can peek on the cake by opening the door briefly and lightly touch the top with a knife (ideally without moving the cake pan. Moving the pan when it is not almost done could cause it to sink). If it jiggles at all you'll want to close the door and continue to bake a few minutes at a time. As it gets to the very end of baking, when it is not jiggly at all, it is safer to check it often. At this point we can poke the cake to see if the toothpick or knife comes out clean (a few moist crumbs on the knife are ok as long as it is not wet looking). This is at least what has worked for me with my recipes. Once I post my recipes you'll see that I like to start most of my cakes at 325 then go down to 300 degrees, which requires them to bake a little longer but they are less likely to sink that way. 🙂
Laura Anthem says
Wonderful info! Thank you!
Amy says
Love these tips! Thank you Amy!
Amy says
Thank you Amy! 🙂
Karen Scott says
Very informative. I think I'm a lazy baker, but definitely willing to try all this in the hope of something that comes close to your amazing cakes.
Amy says
Thank you Karen! You'll have to let me know how it turns out for you. I'm going to start posting recipes mid-June, and I'll have videos of the process too. 🙂
Sam says
These tips are AMAZING. I love it. I’ve baked a ton of cakes in my life and I’ve never done any of these things. I can’t wait to bake a cake and test them out
Amy says
Thank you so much, Sam! I'm so happy to hear this! Let me know how they turn out! 🙂