Chocolate Fudge Cake

Asked by cakelady. Answered on 30th March 2013

Full question

Daughter has requested the Chocolate Fudge Cake from Nigella Bites for her birthday. The only ingredient I can't seem to find is corn oil. Is there any other oil I can use instead?

Our answer

Cakes made with oil are particularly useful as they can be mixed quite quickly. Unlike butter, the oil doesn't need to be softened in advance, and generally the cake batter is just mixed without the need for creaming butter and sugar first. The oil also gives a moist tender crumb.

Nigella specified corn oil in the Chocolate Fudge Cake recipe, but you can use any flavourless vegetable oil, such as sunflower, peanut/groundnut or canola oils. Olive oil is not a particularly good choice as many olive oils have a fairly strong flavour which can affect the taste of the cake. If you would like to make a cake with olive oil then we suggest trying the Chocolate Olive Oil cake from Nigellissima.