Characteristics of Good Quality
| COLOR | Uniform color, light golden brown crust for white or yellow cake. Crusts of dark cakes may be slightly darker than inside. |
| SHAPE AND SIZE | Cakes should be slightly rounded on top with even height at sides. Cakes should come to slightly above top of layer or sheet pans. |
| CRUST | Thin tender crust with slight sheen. Flat bubbles may appear on surface and be slightly darker. |
| TEXTURE | Breaks easily but does not crumble. Moist but not gummy. Light, velvety, fine to medium walled cells. |
| FLAVOR | Determined by type of cake. Sweet, no off-flavor. |
Causes for Poor Quality
| OUTSIDE APPEARANCE | |
| Peaks | Oven too hot. Not enough liquid. Batter overmixed. Pans too close together or too close to sides of oven. Too much flour. |
| Sag in center | Underbaked. Oven too cool. Too much batter in pan. Too much sugar, shortening, or leavening. Not enough eggs or flour. |
| COLOR | |
| Too Dark | Oven too hot. Too much sugar or milk solids. |
| Too Light | Not enough batter in pan. Overmixed or undermixed. Underbaked. |
| CRUST | |
| Too Thick | Oven too hot. Overbaked. Pan too deep. Batter overmixed. |
| Cracked | Too much flour. Oven too hot. Overmixed. |
| Sticky | Underbaked. High humidity. Cake placed in pastry cabinet, refrigerator, or freezer while still warm. |
| Tough | Overmixed. Oven too cool. Too much flour. Not enough shortening or sugar. |
| Hard | Overbaked. Pan too deep. |
| INSIDE APPEARANCE | |
| Coarse Grain | Overmixed or undermixed. Oven too cool. Too much leavening. |
| Tunnels | Undermixed or overmixed. Oven too hot. |
| TEXTURE | |
| Too Dry | Overbaked. Not enough liquid or shortening. Too much flour or leavening. Omission of eggs. |
| Crumbly | Not enough shortening. Too much shortening. Too much leavening. Oven too cool. Undermixed or overmixed. Not enough eggs. |
| Tough | Overmixed. Too much or wrong type of flour. Not enough shortening or sugar. Oven too hot or too cool. |
| Too Tender | Batter undermixed. |
| Too Heavy | Too much shortening. Underbaked. |
| EXCESSIVE SHRINKAGE | Overmixed. Too much grease in pan. Overbaked. Not enough batter in pan. |
| OFF FLAVOR | Ingredients not measured accurately. Rancid pan grease. Dirty pan. |
| HOLLOW SPOT ON BOTTOM | Not enough liquid. Too much flour. Excess bottom heat in oven. Pan not properly prepared. |
| UNEVENLY BAKED | Undermixed or overmixed. Uneven or dented pan. Not panned properly. Hot or cold spots in oven. Low fan not used in convection ovens. |
| FALLS DURING BAKING | Overmixed. Jarred during baking. Oven too cool. |
| LACKS VOLUME | Not enough leavening. Undermixed or overmixed. Not enough batter in pan. Oven too hot or too cool. |
| CAKE STICKS TO PAN | Pan not properly prepared. Oven too cool. Cake left in pan too long. Too much liquid. Too much sugar. |