Spent 6 hours trying to fix a cake that kept falling flat last Friday

Claire Sullivan · 2026-06-05T13:35:04.800945+00:00

I had a simple vanilla cake recipe I've used for years. But last Friday, I baked three batches and every single one fell flat in the middle. I checked my oven temperature with a separate thermometer. I sifted the flour twice. I even switched to a different brand of baking powder. Nothing worked. Turns out my roommate had stored the baking powder in a damp cabinet and it lost its strength. I lost a whole afternoon and about 20 dollars worth of ingredients just because I didn't check the expiration date on the can. Has anyone else had a baking disaster that took way longer to solve than it should have?

kellygrant4mo ago

Walked into my garage one Saturday to find my toolbox soaked because the roof had a slow leak that I didn't know about. Spent two hours trying to figure out why my drill wouldn't spin, took the whole thing apart, checked the battery contacts, even bought a new battery pack. Finally called a buddy who works on tools and he just asked "you check the reverse switch?" Felt like an idiot when I flipped it back and the thing started right up. That little green plastic switch cost me a whole morning and forty bucks. You ever have a fix that was simpler than what you made it out to be?

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the_alex4mo ago

Did you check if the oven was even on?

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lily_cooper4mo ago

@kellygrant reminding me when I found stale baking powder after three failed cakes too.

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