Why Was My Apricot Almond Cake Batter Too Thin?

Asked by vptoth. Answered on 12th March 2016

Full question

I tried the Apricot Almond Cake With Rosewater And Cardamom today. While it sounds amazing and looks amazing in the photo, sadly mine didn't work out at all. The recipe states use 6 large eggs, so I bought large eggs in the shops. I think this made the dough extremely runny, I couldn't even have to use all the leftover from the apricot-cardamom juice as this would have made it even worse. As a result, the cake never baked all the way through, burned at the top and remained liquid inside. I'm not sure if you really meant large eggs or I just had super bad luck. It is a shame as I was really looking forward to it.

Apricot Almond Cake With Rosewater and Cardamom

By Nigella

Our answer

Nigella's Apricot And Almond Cake With Rosewater And Cardamom (from SIMPLY NIGELLA here and on Nigella.com here) uses UK large eggs, which usually weigh between 63g and 73g (in their shells). In Europe the sizes are similar and in the US this size is classed as extra large. So we suspect that the eggs should be the correct size. The cake batter itself is slightly runny but also you should have very little liquid left after cooking the apricots, and any liquid should be quite syrupy, so make sure that you are not using a saucepan that is too large. The apricots should fit snugly into the pan in a single layer, or slightly shingled or stacked up. A pan that is too large will mean that too much water is used to cook the apricots, which will make the batter thinner.

If you have a fan oven then make sure that you have adjusted the temperature following the manufacturer's handbook or user guide, as if the oven is too hot the outside will burn before the inside is cooked. The cake does brown quite easily so you may need to cover the top with foil during the latter part of the cooking time (as mentioned in the recipe) and if you are using a conventional oven you may want to use a shelf that is slightly below the centre.