Why Is My Apple And Almond Cake Dense?

Our answer

Nigella's Apple And Almond Cake (from FEAST) is a gluten-free cake that is made with an apple puree that is blended with sugar, eggs and ground almonds (almond meal/flour). The resulting cake is not light and airy like a sponge cake, since there is no leavening added. Instead, it is moist and pudding-like. So there may be a slight difference in perception of what the cake should be like.

You could try without the food processor. Sometimes if you let the processor run for too long then a cake can become a bit dense, though it should be less of an issure here as there is no flour in the cake, so no gluten to overwork. But make sure that your apple puree is smooth before you add it to the batter so that incorporates easily. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until the eggs are paler and have increased in volume, then fold in the apple puree, ground almonds and lemon juice and continue with the recipe. Also make sure that your apple puree is not too wet, as this could make the cake heavier. Ovens do vary, so the cake may need 5 minutes or so longer in the oven than the time stated in the recipe and if it is becoming too dark on top then cover the cake pan with a piece of foil. When the cake is done a cake tester inserted into the centre should come out clean, or with a few damp crumbs attached but no raw cake batter.