Quick and Easy Double Lemon Cake Recipe Made in a Mug (2024)

FAQs

Why did my mug cake turn out rubbery? ›

A rubbery mug cake is indicative of being overcooked, or incorrect measurements. Please be precise with the measurements and stop cooking once the cake is soft but not wet on the top.

You didn't use self-rising flour

This type of flour gives these baked goods a light and fluffy consistency. Without all the right science involved with flour and other ingredients, cakes can be too dense and dry.

Sprinkle in lemon or orange zest to give your box cake batter a hint of zing. You can also replace the water with lemon, orange or lime juice or soda. Use this method with any type of cake mix, but it works best with lemon, yellow and white cake.

Don't overfill your mug with ingredients

Even with the perfect mini whisk, things can still go wrong when making a mug cake. One big mistake involves overfilling the mug. Just like with any other baked good, mug cakes rise during the cooking process.

One of the most common misfortunes among bakers is that they are using too much baking soda or baking powder. Know that too much baking soda or baking powder in cakes will not just lead to a metallic and bitter taste, but it can also make a big mess in the oven as it will rise beyond expectations.

Most cakes begin with creaming butter and sugar together. Butter is capable of holding air and the creaming process is when butter traps that air. While baking, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffy cake. No properly creamed butter = no air = no fluffiness.

It is entirely possible to change this recipe to make it without milk. If it is an issue with lactose intolerance or other dietary restrictions, you can use almond milk, cashew milk, or oat milk. An almond cashew blend is my particular favorite. If you'd prefer not to have any milk at all, you can use water instead.

Leaving the cake inside the microwave after baking -

Overheating the cake is one of the reasons why your cake turns out to be hard and tight.

Combine lemon zest with oil or butter

Rub the lemon into the sugar, then add your cooking fat, like butter or oil. The tangy zest will infuse the whole batter, elevating the tart flavor of your dessert. For a shortcut, you can use lemon-infused olive oil.

Baking tip #2: adding milk to your box cake mix in place of water adds a dense texture to your dessert leaving it moist and flavorful like a homemade cake. Or, if you prefer, you can add buttermilk, giving your cake a tangy flavor to balance out the sweetness.

What happens when you mix lemon with baking soda? ›

Lemon Fizz

When basic baking soda (NaHCO3) is combined with acidic lemon juice (mainly citric acid, H3C6H5O7) an acid base reaction occurs. The reaction releases CO2 which can be captured using dish soap to form bubbles.

Many protein mug cake recipes suffer from dryness because they don't contain enough fat. They use wheat or oat flour, protein powder, and no eggs or oils. Naturally, it's going to be very dry with these ingredients.

The microwaving times included in the instructions left the cake completely cooked, although the melted chocolate made it difficult to tell. If anything, the mug cake may have been slightly overcooked. Panelists reported that the texture was just a little bit dry, leaving the cake to coat the insides of one's mouth.

Undercooked cake can make you sick and according to the FDA, the highest risk does not come from eggs like people might believe, but rather from flour. Grains can be contaminated by bacteria from animal droppings, which are harvested and turned into flour. The cooking process kills the bacteria.

Over mixing cake batter can result in a heavy, closed rubbery texture.

Why does my cake have a gummy streak in the center? Developing too much of the flour's gluten can make the cake rise beautifully in the oven, but sink as soon as you pull it out. The sinking part is what makes the dense and gluey streaks. This can be result of over-creaming the eggs, butter and sugar.

Overmixing

Overworking the batter, especially if it contains gluten, will result in a tough, chewy cake. You'll often see the instructions, “mix until just combined,” in cake recipes. This means to stop mixing as soon as you see that all ingredients are evenly incorporated.

This is because brown sugar is more hygroscopic than white sugar. Both sugars will draw water molecules to themselves, but brown sugar does so more readily. It holds onto those water molecules even during baking and leads to that chewy texture that we love so much in cookies.