Lemon Polenta Cake Browning Too Much

Asked by HelenHatesPeas. Answered on 25th October 2016

Full question

I made the Lemon Polenta Cake at the weekend, although I thought 40 mins sounded a long time so cut it down to 30, it still went very dark/black in spots on the top and sides. Is there a technique with the cooking time? Mine also sunk a little in the middle.

Our answer

Nigella's Lemon Polenta Cake (from KITCHEN) is a gluten-free cake made with polenta. It is baked at 180c/350F, however it should be noted that Nigella's recipes give oven temperatures for conventional ovens and if you have a fan or convection oven then you will need to adjust the oven temperature following the recommendations in the manufacturer's handbook. It is likely that the oven was slightly too hot, causing the darker spots during baking.

As the cake is gluten-free it will tend to sink slightly in the centre as it will not have the same structure of a cake made with regular flour. It is also possible that if the oven was slightly too hot then the outside will be brown but the centre may not have quite cooked completely, which will make the cake sink slightly more. However as long as the cake is not raw in the centre then it should still be fine to eat.