Clementine Cake Edges Too Dark

Asked by tbird78. Answered on 1st November 2016

Full question

I made the Clementine Cake and buttered the pan (and lined it with buttered parchment paper), but the sides are burnt. I'm afraid it will taste burnt and not be pleasant. Is there a way to prevent burning sides?

Our answer

Nigella's Clementine Cake (from HOW TO EAT) is a popular gluten-free cake made from boiled and pureed whole clementines. It is baked at 190c/375F and this temperature is for a conventional oven. If you have a fan or convection oven then you will need to adjust the temperature following the instructions in the manufacturer's handbook but even then the cake may brown slightly more quickly so you need to keep an eye on it. If your oven runs a little hot then it may help to turn the oven down slightly and make sure that you are baking the cake in the centre of the oven. You can also carefully rotate the cake pan after 40 minutes of baking.

If the edges of the cake are too dark then you can sometimes remove them using a fine grater. Wait until the cake is completely cold then run a fine grater gently around the edges of the cake and shave away the dark sections. A microplane grater or the fine side of a box grater is good for this.