Full question
After 55mins of baking the Apple And Almond Cake, I finally took it out of the oven after a clean toothpick test. But it was still not done and fell apart trying to shift it back into the form to keep baking it. Of course, it was now on a platter too big for the microwave oven. We ate it anyway. Hard to judge how much better it would have been had it been thoroughly baked.
But how do we know that it was fully baked? If it failed the toothpick test? And the middle tap & spring test?
Our answer
Nigella's Apple And Almond Cake (from FEAST) is a gluten-free cake made with apple puree, ground almonds, sugar and eggs. When the cake is baked the centre should feel firm to the touch (it won't spring back but should feel firm underneath), a cake tester should come out clean and the cake should also be shrinking away slightly from the sides of the springform tin. If the top of the cake is browning too quickly, you could cover the tin with some foil for the last few minutes of baking.
The baking time can vary a little, though 55 minutes should be long enough to cook the cake properly. The cake is good served slightly warm (or also cold) but as it is gluten free it can be slightly fragile when still warm, so we would suggest unspringing the tin, but leaving the cake on the base of the tin and transferring cake and base to a serving plate. If you need to remove the cake from the base of the tin then it may be better to wait until the cake is completely cold.
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