Can I Cook The Clementine Cake In A Microwave Or Air Fryer?

Our answer

Nigella's Clementine Cake (from HOW TO EAT) is an extremely popular gluten-free cake made with clementines that are cooked whole and then pureed with eggs, sugar and ground almonds (almond flour). We have given instructions in the Additional Information box for cooking the clementines in a microwave or pressure cooker/Instant Pot. The cake itself needs to be baked in a springform pan for two reasons. The first is that a springform pan has the correct depth for the cake, a regular cake or sandwich pan will be too shallow. The second is that as the cake has no gluten, it is quite tender and needs a springform pan to help to make sure that the cake can be turned out without breaking up.

We don't think that the cake can be cooked in a microwave as we have not seen a springform pan that is suitable for use in a microwave. You may be able to cook the cake in an air fryer, as this is essentially a small and powerful fan oven. But you do need to bear in mind that the top of the cake can colour fairly quickly and it can be difficult to cover the top of the cake pan with foil, to prevent the top from browning too much, as foil will be blown off or displaced by the force of the fan. If you have an air fryer that can accomodate a 20cm (8-inch) springform pan, then you should heat the air fryer for a few minutes at 160c/325F and then bake the cake at this temperature. Air fryers tend to cook more quickly than regular fan ovens, so we suspect the cake would take around 45-50 minutes to bake. But keep a close eye on it after 30 minutes or so to make sure that the top doesn't burn. Please note that we have not tried baking the cake in an air fryer ourselves, so are unable to guarantee the results.