Full question
I had a bit of a problem with the Pear, Pistachio And Rose Cake, which I was making for the Cookalong. I gave it an hour at Gas mark 4, as my cake tin just under 20cm - it was shrinking away from the sides and skewer test ok. It sunk quite a bit as it cooled, when I came to slice it the middle was very wet, not just nicely moist.
Our answer
Nigella's Pear, Pistachio and Rose Cake (from AT MY TABLE) is a gluten-free cake so it will tend to sink slightly as it cools. The cake needs to be made with room temperature ingredients, particularly the eggs. If the eggs are fridge cold then the cake batter will be quite cold when it goes into the oven. If the ingredients are at different temperatures then they tend not to amalgamate quite as well and when the cake bakes the cold batter could result in a damp and slightly gummy cake.
If your eggs are fridge cold then you can put them in a large bowl and cover them with warm water from a tap. Let them stand for about 20 minutes and they should have lost some of their chill and be closer to room temperature. You can do this and leave them to stand while you prepare the tin and gather the other ingredients. There is also a slight chance that the oven is running a little cool, so it may also be worth checking it with an oven thermometer.
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