Praline Glazed Pumpkin Pound Cake recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my pumpkin cake too moist? ›

If you find that your pumpkin cake is too moist, isn't holding it's shape and is gummy in certain areas, it's usually caused by too much liquid in your recipe.

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.

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.

If you have too much liquid or too much fat in your cake batter, this can result in a cake with a weak structure which can cause it to sink in the middle.

The ratio of wet to dry ingredients determines a cake's moisture level. If there's simply too much flour and not enough butter, a cake will taste dry.

Cook It on the Stove

Briefly cooking your canned pumpkin purée on the stove can help improve both the flavor and texture. This method helps reduce excess moisture, which gives the pumpkin a superior texture. It also releases the natural pumpkin flavor and helps reduce the metallic taste from the can.

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.

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).

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.

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.

Can you over mix a pound cake? ›

It's important to not overmix the pound cake batter once you've added in the flour. Once the flour has been added gluten bonds will start to form and if you mix the batter too much your cake will end up tough and bready!

If you're unsure, it's safest to use a 50/50 combination of butter and oil instead of replacing the butter completely. This way you'll get the added moisture from the oil without sacrificing the structural integrity that butter provides.

Too much air and your cake will collapse because it simply can't hold onto all that air. Overbeating can add too much additional air and/or large air bubbles which the cake can't support, causing it to collapse in the oven.

Even though your cake is completely baked, slicing into it, you may find a dense and damp streak in the center (I run into this issue a lot with pound cakes). This wet ring in cakes can be caused by the cake settling after baking. A cake settles dramatically like this when the eggs, butter and sugar are over creamed.

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.

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.

So, to prevent moist cakes, make sure you're binding the ingredients well. If over-mixing is a problem, so is under-mixing.