Lemon drizzle cake | Jamie Oliver baking recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why is my lemon drizzle cake wet in the middle? ›

My cake has a gooey centre.

The cake hasn't been cooked for long enough. When you check the cake before taking it out of the oven, a skewer should come out clean and the cake should feel the same in the middle as it does around the edges.

The oven temperature is too high. If the top crust forms and sets before the cake has finished rising, the middle will try to push through the crust as it continues to bake, causing it to crack and possibly dome. Check your oven with an oven thermometer and reduce the temperature accordingly if it is running hot.

The problem most likely is improper mixing of the cake. It also could be too low an oven temp or not baking it long enough. It helps to turn the cakes in the oven or re-position them slightly to get an even bake. This is especially true for convecture ovens which don't heat evenly .

Problem: My cake has sunk in the middle.

There are a number of reasons why this might have happened. The oven door was opened before the cake had time to set; the cake didn't go in the oven as soon as the mixture was ready; or too much raising agent was used.

The most common reason for a Lemon Drizzle Cake sinking in the middle is when the oven door has been opened before the cake was set. Be sure not to open the door before 40 minutes, and even then, do it by opening the oven door and checking it as quickly as possible!

The majority of cakes are baked in a regular oven at 180c (350F/Gas Mk 4), on the centre shelf of the oven.

Patterson also suggests simply lowering the temperature by 10 degrees if you notice your cakes significantly doming all the time. “This may be enough to equilibrate the temperature difference between the center and perimeter so that the cake rises at the same level,” she says.

Can you freeze lemon drizzle cake? Yes you can. If you're storing for a few days, then it's best to keep the cake in an airtight container or for longer wait times, you can freeze a lemon drizzle cake for up to one month.

If your cake was cooked to the proper temperature, chances are it is still edible even if it sunk in the center. Check that it's baked through the middle, then try a small piece of your cake. It might not taste good if the ingredient measurements were off. Notice the texture to make sure it's not too dense or spongy.

If your cake is hard, the problem probably lies in the beating. The butter must be beaten well in the early stages to give the mixture enough air for a light and fluffy texture. To achieve this the butter must be lukewarm and therefore not too hard.

How do I make a cake more moist? ›

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. Once you understand which common cake-baking blunders to avoid, you'll know how to bake a moist cake every time.

When a cake is wet in the middle it is because the edges have cooked faster than the centre.

Runny cake batter bakes well, if not better. If you do want to thicken it up, just add more cake mix/dry ingredients and eggs/oil or whatever the recipe calls for in the appropriate proportion.

If the cake is still hot or warm, you can return it to the oven to bake it until it's done. Once an underbaked cake has cooled, you cannot salvage it as a proper cake. However, you can bake it and then use it for other purposes, such as cake crumbles to sprinkle over ice cream or smoothies.