Is there a way to moisten a cake that has been overbaked??

You could try a simple syrup.

Yes, I also have heard that you can use simple syrup.

Simple Syrup is water, sugar, vanilla and/or other flavors that you want.

2 cups of water
1 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla

Boil water and and sugar for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Let it cool. Then add vanila.

Spray or use paint brush to wet completely cooled cake.

I agree, a simple syrup will do it. I flavor mine with any extract or liquere that will compliment the flavor of the filling. I cut the tops off my cakes to level them, then brush the simple syrup on with a pastry brush, you just want to moisten it, not soak or saturate the cake. I use soaking syrups on every cake I make.

does the syrup weaken a cake that it cant hold up to the weight of fondant?

i tried a simple syrup for the first time this past weekend. i brushed it on both sides of the cake with a silicone pastry brush, and then wrapped it in saran and stuck it in the fridge overnight.
the next night when i was ready to start filling and stacking the cakes, i had a gooey outside layer of each cake. the syrup didnt' penetrate. i literally scraped a coating of wet cake off of each cake.
what did i do wrong with the syrup?

[quote="chleonard"]i tried a simple syrup for the first time this past weekend. i brushed it on both sides of the cake with a silicone pastry brush, and then wrapped it in saran and stuck it in the fridge overnight.
the next night when i was ready to start filling and stacking the cakes, i had a gooey outside layer of each cake. the syrup didnt' penetrate. i literally scraped a coating of wet cake off of each cake.
what did i do wrong with the syrup?[/quote]

The way I do it is when I am ready to fill, stack and decorate the cake. You don't have to put in the fridge. Maybe the wrapping made the cake gooey.

This is how I do it:

1. I bake the day or 2 days before, wrap in plastic wrap and put it away in a cool place.

2. The next day or days, I take the cakes out of their wrappers, and tort them.

3. Then I place the first layer on the covered cakeboard and wet it with a pastry brush. When you've wet it, slightly press it with your finger to feel it and make sure the cake is wet enough to your liking.

4. Then fill the layer. Grab the next layer, put it on top and then repeat the wetting procedure.

5. When done with the first tier, ice it and put to the side.

6. Repeat with the other layers. So, its soak, fill, soak, and then ice.

I use simple syrup for all of my cakes, but I use equal amount of sugar and water. For my size 10 pan, I use 1 3/4 cups water and 1 3/4 cups of sugar. Once boiled, and sure that the sugar has disolved I remove away from stove and add 3 tbsp of brandy. note that I start this process immediately after taking the cake out of the oven. I remove the cake from the pan, apply parchment paper to the bottom of the pan and place the cake upside down. The simple syrup turns out to be about 3 1/2 cups and I pour the entire amount evenly on the warm cake. This works best when the cake is still warm. Normally I do not let more then 10 minutes go by, as the cake absorbs the liquid while it is still warm, if it is colol this affect will not work.

I do not decorate the cake or remove from the pan for at least 4 hours. But for the most part, I allow the cake to cool. then wrap it completely (pan included) with aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator. When I am ready to decorate, I once again allow 4 hours outside of the refrigerator prior to removing from the pan.

i have been doing this technique for 3 years and it has never failed.

best of luck!

Di