Full question
My Apple And Almond Cake was more like a souffle in texture and not cake-like at all, which I found odd. It was eggy in flavour and not at all buttery as described. I didn't get enough apple flavour, instead the lemon was a bit overwhelming and left a sour taste. What went wrong?
Our answer
Nigella's Apple And Almond Cake (from FEAST) is a flourless cake that is made with a combination of apple puree, eggs, sugar and ground almonds (almond meal). The buttery flavour comes from the almonds, which have a high oil content and replace butter in the cake. As the cake is made without flour, it has a very different texture to a regular sponge cake and will be moist, tender and slightly crumbly. The cake may puff up a bit as it bakes, but should sink back slightly as it cools.
The cake does contain a lot of eggs, though should not taste "eggy". It is possible that the cake was slightly over baked, which can make the sulphurous compunds in eggs more prominent. Sometimes an eggy smell is due to the eggs being slightly stale, so make sure they are within their "best before" date and have been stored correctly. The apple sauce doesn't really add an apple flavour to the cake, it helps with the overall moisture and structure of the cake. If you aren't keen on the hint of lemon in the baked cake then we would suggest that when you add the ingredients to the food processor that you add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract instead of the lemon juice.
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