diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index 63b7cec27..d3cec9819 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 * 0.9.2-DEV
 
+ * fixed empty cache files when the template contains an error
+
 * 0.9.1 (2009-10-14)
 
   * fixed a bug in PHP 5.2.6
diff --git a/lib/Twig/Loader.php b/lib/Twig/Loader.php
index db63a58d1..57ef9c4a7 100644
--- a/lib/Twig/Loader.php
+++ b/lib/Twig/Loader.php
@@ -85,7 +85,11 @@ abstract class Twig_Loader implements Twig_LoaderInterface
 
         return $cls;
       }
-      file_put_contents($cache, $this->compile($template, $name));
+
+      // compile first to avoid empty files when an Exception occurs
+      $content = $this->compile($template, $name);
+
+      file_put_contents($cache, $content);
       fclose($fp);
     }