Adjust for Altitude

• At higher altitudes air pressure is lower, which can have a significant effect how cakes rise. Cakes also lose moisture faster at higher altitudes. If your elevation is above 3,000 feet, adjust your recipe to compensate for the effects altitude has on a cake as it bakes. Too much sugar gives a cake a mottled surface. Reduce the sugar by one to three tablespoons. To compensate for quicker moisture loss, add one to two extra tablespoons of liquid and an extra egg white or whole egg. The extra egg proteins should also help the cake set faster. If the cake doesn’t seem to bind effectively, add one tablespoon of flour to the batter. Decrease the baking powder or baking soda by 1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon per teaspoon in the recipe. Raise the baking temperature 25 degrees Fahrenheit, and decrease the baking time five minutes.

Use Name-Brand Ingredients

• Name brand products have an advantage over generic ingredients, according to Southern Living. Subtle differences in how products are manufactured may affect the texture and consistency of your cake. For example, generic sugars are ground finer than brand name sugars, and the generic version ultimately yields more sugar per cup. Store brand butter may have more liquid fats while store brand flour may contain more hard wheat. Excess sugar, liquid fat and hard wheat all contribute to a denser, heavier cake that is less likely to rise sufficiently. Name brand sugar, butter and flour are more likely to yield a fluffy cake.

Beat It

• Eggs are one of the most delicate ingredients in a cake. In a butter cake, overbeaten eggs cause the cake to overflow or develop a crust that may separate from the rest of the cake. Add one egg at a time, mix it into the batter until the yellow yolk disappears, then add the next egg. Mix the ingredients as little as necessary to create a consistent batter. Stop mixing as soon as the wet and dry ingredients are no longer discernible and the color of the batter is uniform.

Whip It, But Not Too Good

• A sponge cake gets its volume from whipped egg whites. If you overbeat them it may prevent the cake from rising altogether. Typically, egg whites are most vulnerable after you beat them, when you add the dry ingredients. Sift the dry ingredients into the egg whites slowly but steadily, mixing as little as necessary to incorporate the ingredients.

Always Aim for Room Temperature

• Allow all of the ingredients to warm to room temperature before you mix the batter. The butter and eggs incorporate with dry ingredients more effectively if they are room temperature. Do not soften the butter in the microwave, which would partially melt it, yielding a flat cake. Do not crack the eggs until you are ready to mix the batter. Cracking them ahead of time expose them to contamination. Cool baked cakes to room temperature before removing them from their pans. For many bakers, waiting for the cakes to cool thoroughly is the hardest part of the process. But if you attempt to remove a warm cake from the pan, it is more likely to fall or even break apart.