The Overlooked Step That Can Make or Break Your Cake

You've spent hours making a spectacular cake. Shortly after it comes out of the oven, you grab a knife to slice into it for a bite—only to find it unpleasantly moist and gummy. You're not sure what went wrong: You followed the recipe exactly, taking care to cream the butter and sugar well, and even used a cake tester to confirm it was fully baked. So what happened? Chances are, you cut into the cake without letting it cool completely. It's a small but crucial step, and one that can make or break your dessert.

Cooling is an essential step that allows the cake's structure to fully set. "When a cake bakes, expanding gas from steam and leavening enlarges the air bubbles trapped in the fat during the mixing process," baking expert Rose Levy Beranbaum explains in her book The Cake Bible. "The bubbles expand until the surrounding cell walls rupture, the flour and egg proteins coagulate, and the flour's starch gelatinizes to set the structure." 

When a cake is fresh out of the oven, those fats, proteins, and starches haven't had time to set. If you slice into it or unmold it too soon, its structure will likely collapse. There are very few exceptions, with molten chocolate cake being one of them, as it's supposed to be, well, gooey.  For layer cakes, that makes stacking difficult, if not impossible. That's why so many recipes, including my hot milk cake, recommend letting your cake cool in the pan for 10 to 30 minutes before inverting it onto a wire rack to cool completely. (The exact timing will depend on the kind of cake you're making.) 

The key, though, is to let the cake fully cool all the way to its center. No matter how much its aroma is pulling you towards it, no matter how badly you want to let your impatience win out and call it "cool enough"—wait! Your patience and restraint will be rewarded.

Another reason you should let your cake come to room temperature before digging in: It's much easier to decorate when cool. Attempt to frost it while it's still warm, and your buttercream will slide off the top and sides in a greasy mess. Even the best recipe can't save a cake that's been rushed. So cool it—literally.