The Butter Topping Hack For Photo-Worthy Loaf Cakes

Whether you're enjoying a slice of coffee cake with your cup of joe in the morning or a piece of buttery pound cake with some fresh berries, loaf cake is a delicious treat. These cakes are typically dense and baked in a rectangular loaf pan, which is where they get their name from.

However, when it comes to picture-perfect loaf cakes, a slight crack along the top middle can make it look like your baked goods are fresh from a bakery. Plus, that leaves a little extra space for some icing, fruit, or a crumbly topping to collect.

While it may seem like pure luck is the only way to get the flawless crevice down the middle, there may be a way to nail the look every time. In other words, once you've made and poured the cake batter into the loaf pan, there's one extra step you can take to ensure a perfect line down the center.

As it turns out, a little extra butter might be all you need to make a perfect crack down the middle of your loaf cake. However, you'll need to soften up some butter before trying this trick. Then, scoop your softened butter into a piping bag. On the other hand, you can also get a hold of a plastic sandwich bag, then cut off a bottom corner to mimic a piping bag.

Once the butter is ready to go, pipe a line of the softened butter straight down the center of the cake batter. The butter will melt on top as the cake bakes, so it should be more of a guideline for the crack rather than a perfectly straight line.

After the butter has fully melted and the cake has baked, there should be a split right down the center. To see if this trick really made a difference, Nea Arentzen, a writer, recipe developer, and editor based in New York City, tested cake baking with and without butter on top (via Allrecipes). While her sans-butter cake did have a crack, it was off-center and sideways, whereas the added butter perfected the look. "I was more than pleased with the results and will make sure to always have softened butter and a zip-top bag on deck whenever I bake going forward," she concluded.

Luckily, if you don't have softened butter on hand, there may be another way to get the design you desire. You can also use an offset spatula or butter knife to slice lengthwise down the batter, inserting your preferred kitchen tool only about an inch deep. This will create a seam in the batter, creating a guideline for the crack to bake up perfectly.

Whether you opt to use an offset spatula or a butter knife, you should leave a half-inch of space between where the slice begins and the side of the pan. This will prevent your cake from splitting at the ends.

Though this method of simply slicing through the batter may be a little easier, the addition of some butter can be especially beneficial for denser cake batters. If you don't want to pipe out the full length of butter, you can also melt some butter and brush it onto your knife or spatula before slicing through the batter. This extra step will help define the crack a little more, creating a nicer visual for the end product.