diff --git a/libgnucash/engine/qof-string-cache.cpp b/libgnucash/engine/qof-string-cache.cpp
index 68e4fe479c..eb236ebd0e 100644
--- a/libgnucash/engine/qof-string-cache.cpp
+++ b/libgnucash/engine/qof-string-cache.cpp
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ qof_string_cache_destroy (void)
 void
 qof_string_cache_remove(const char * key)
 {
-    if (key)
+    if (key && key[0] != 0)
     {
         GHashTable* cache = qof_get_string_cache();
         gpointer value;
@@ -111,6 +111,11 @@ qof_string_cache_insert(const char * key)
 {
     if (key)
     {
+        if (key[0] == 0)
+        {
+            return "";
+        }
+
         GHashTable* cache = qof_get_string_cache();
         gpointer value;
         gpointer cache_key;