Cracking Clementine Cake

Asked by lak. Answered on 25th February 2016

Full question

Hi team, I have just taken my Clementine Cake out of the oven and was disappointed to find it had cracked quite badly. The oven temperature was correct according to the thermometer. The clementines were very juicy, could this have made a difference? Is there any other reason for it? Thanks for your help.

Our answer

Usually if cakes crack on the surface they are either under-baked or the oven may be too hot. If the cake is slightly domed and cracked then usually the oven is too hot and the outside of the cake cooks too quickly, pushing the centre up and causing cracking. But if the cake is not baked in the centre then it will crack as it cools as it may not have set enough to maintain its structure. The cake should be baked until a ckae tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Nigella's Clementine Cake (from HOW TO EAT and on the Nigella website here) is made from cooked and pureed clementines and the cake should be moist, but not wet in the centre. Usually the juciness of the clementines doesn't matter too much, though if they have split during the cooking time then they may have absorbed too much water. The clementines should also be drained before they are added to the food priocessor. Clementines vary in size and you should use as close as possible to the 375g (13 ounces) weight.