The ‘Ace of Cakes’ Shows You How to Fix 4 Common Baking Disasters

When it comes to baking, Rach jokes that she causes more disasters than she can save (check out one of her hilarious baking fails here). Feel the same way? Don’t panic -- the “Ace of Cakes” Duff Goldman shares his genius fixes for all your dessert emergencies.

When Life Gives You Overbaked Brownies, Make Cheesecake

We’ve all done it. And there’s an easy fix. Take the overbaked brownies out of the pan and put them in a food processor. With it on low, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar and about 4 ounces of melted butter. Press the brownie crumbs into a springform pan, and voila! You now have the most decadent, chocolatey crust for a CHEESECAKE! Yep, he went there. You’ve never wanted to ruin a batch of brownies in your life until now, right?

Let’s say you did bake a batch of perfectly gooey brownies -- is there a way to cut them without making a mess? You bet! Goldman says to stick the pan of baked brownies in the freezer. Once froze, they’ll be easy to cut and will return to room temperature in all their perfect glory.

The Secret to Making Sure You Never Overbake Your Cookies

Goldman says that cookies are one of the easiest things to mess up since they only bake for a few minutes. Bake cookies at the exact temperature and for the exact amount of time the recipe states, and when you take them out of the oven, be sure to take them off the baking sheet to cool, otherwise they’ll continue to bake on the hot pan. “Now they’re going to be nice and gooey in the middle, and nice and crispy on the edges.”

Don’t Let an Underbaked Crust Ruin Your Perfect Pumpkin Pie

“Overbaked pumpkin pie is gross,” says Goldman. “It’s scrambled eggs, you don’t like that.” When you pull a pumpkin pie out of the oven, sometimes the filling is baked perfectly but the crust isn’t. So what do you do? Goldman says to raise the oven temperature to 400°F, then cover the top of the pie with aluminum foil so you’re protecting the top from overbaking and only baking the bottom.

The Reason Your Cake Sinks After it Bakes

If your cakes are sinking in the middle, Goldman says there is either too much liquid in the batter, or there is too much leavening (baking soda or baking powder). “When something rises in the oven, it’s because air is being trapped in the holes that are in the gluten, in the flour,” explains Goldman. “So when there’s too much of the leavening, it expands too much, and then deflates.”

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