Shmez's Profile

My boyfriend is not the most excited when I start talking about making a cake and having a cup of tea but this cake was an absolute winner! It was almost the same as a divine cake we used to buy from our local Farmer's Market when we lived in London so that was a very happy thing to discover. Nigella's cake was super moist, chocolaty with an ever so slight Guiness taste, super easy to make and looks very impressive served up to guests. I did however have to make this twice before getting it right. For some reason the first time I made it, it came out with a beautiful texture but with a horribly bitter after taste. After doing a bit of internet research i decide to make sure I melted the butter in the Guiness over a super low heat and knocked off a teaspoon of bicarb soda which can apparently cause this type of after taste. It cooked even better the second time without rising up too high in the middle with only the 1.5 teaspoons of bicarb soda and I didn't use a spring form tin, instead buttering and flouring a regular tin and it slid out easily. I only used 125 mls of sour cream too as in the Netherlands where we now live the tub from the supermarket comes in that size and it wasn't really worth buying another tub just for a bit more. I cooked it on a fan setting at 180C and it only needed the 45 mins and it sank in the middle ever so slightly when it came out to create a perfectly flat top. I only had enough icing to make about 2/3 of Nigella's recommended amount and it was more than enough for the top. Last time with the full amount it was enough to ice the sides as well. Totally recommend making this cake!