Full question
I'm planning to make the Chocolate Fudge Cake for my daughter’s birthday, but wondering if it is possible to reduce the sugar as it’s a very sweet recipe? I understand sugar can be reduced by about a quarter in most cake recipes without affecting the overall taste & quality of the cake.
Our answer
Nigella's Chocolate Fudge Cake (from NIGELLA BITES) has chocolate sponge layers that are sandwiched together with a fudgy chocolate buttercream. The sponge cake itself actually has less sugar as a ratio to other ingredients than some other cakes, such as a Victoria Sponge. Reducing sugar in a cake really depends on the cake type and the other ingredients. However, we tend to prefer not to reduce the sugar in the sponge itself too much as this can affect the moisture and texture of the cake as well as the keeping qualities. In addition, you have to be careful with cakes that contain cocoa, as they can become unpleasantly bitter if the sugar is reduced too much.
Instead you may want to try Nigella's Devil's Food Cake. This also has a moist chocolate sponge and the frosting is a water-based ganache that has a deep chocolate flavour and a fudgy texture but has less sugar than the chocolate fudge frosting.
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