Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake | The BEST Cinnamon Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes a pound cake gooey in the middle? ›

When a cake is wet in the middle it is because the edges have cooked faster than the centre. This happens because of the way the cake cooks naturally in the tin – the sides of the cake tin heat up first.

A dry cake is usually the result of one of the following pitfalls: using the wrong ingredients, making mistakes while measuring or mixing the batter, or baking the cake too long or at too high a temperature.

Store brands of sugar are often more finely ground than name brands, yielding more sugar per cup, which can cause the cake to fall. Store brands of butter may contain more liquid fat, and flours more hard wheat, making the cake heavy.

The difference is mainly in the cooking method. True to its name, the recipe uses the cold oven approach, aka forgoing the preheat. Cooking pound cake at a lower temperature for a longer period of time results in a fluffier cake with a crunchy golden crust. Simply put, it's the ideal baking method for pound cake.

Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Not 350°F. Generously grease a 10-12 cup Bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.

Rotating pans: Some recipes instruct you to rotate the cake pan(s) halfway through baking. Wait until the cake has set to minimize the chance of collapsing as you rotate. Utilize your oven's light to avoid opening the door when checking on your cake. Be super careful not to slam the oven door!

Cake flour – This flour works considerably better for pound cake than using plain/all-purpose flour (see in post for comparison). It rises better, and has a more tender crumb. Measuring cake flour: If using cups, sift flour into a large bowl first, then scoop out a cup of flour.

If there's simply too much flour and not enough butter, a cake will taste dry. On the other hand, if there's too much milk and not enough flour, a cake will taste too wet. Finding the right balance between wet and dry ingredients is key.

Be careful not to overbeat the butter-sugar mixture, especially on a hot day — you could rupture the air cells and cause the batter to be heavy.

Should pound cake batter be thick? ›

Unlike layer cakes, which use a thin batter that should never fill the pan more than halfway (more on that here), pound cake batter is thick, and should fill the pan within an inch of the top to encourage a prominent crown.

When it's done baking, let the cake sit in the pan for 10 minutes: no more, no less. It's enough time for the cake to firm up some after baking so that it doesn't fall apart, but not so much time that the cake gets stuck to the pan. Ten minutes is the sweet spot.

Prepare cake pan by coating with butter and sugar. Set aside a different pan filled with a few inches of water (this creates moisture in the oven and prevents the cake from drying out while baking).

Cool Before Flipping

When you remove your cake from the oven, don't flip it out of the pan right away! Instead, let the cake cool for ten minutes in the pan. Then, placing the wire rack over the base of the cake, invert the pan. Peek under the wire rack and see if the cake has dropped out.

Starting your pound cake in a cold oven also impacts the texture of the cake. A longer bake time and lower temperature allows the leavening more time to work before the cake sets, resulting in a taller, fluffier cake.

Those gluey pound cake streaks happen when your over-cream the butter and sugar.

A cake that's wet in the middle, in most cases, has not baked long enough. Put it back in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Be sure to check every 5 minutes with the toothpick test for any changes. If sliced, cover with aluminum foil to prevent the top from browning even more.

This cake layer was made with too much flour and was over-mixed. The crumb isn't tender or soft, and the texture is dense with an oddly gummy center. It causes the cake layer to almost look underbaked once it's leveled, even though it's cooked through.

Pan Issue. The depth of your cake pan and the volume of batter in your cake pan can also contribute to a sunken cake. If the cake pan is too full and the oven temperature is too high, the cake will again cook around the edges and not in the center.