Crumbly Chocolate Fudge Cake

Asked by Fanny adams. Answered on 27th February 2015

Full question

I have made the Chocolate Fudge Cake about 6 times now and although it is a bit crumbly it covers well and holds together with the icing. However, today I made it (using a free standing mixer for first time) and it has just fallen apart!!! Any idea what I am doing wrong?

Our answer

Cakes that have a crumbly texture are often dry due to too much flour. However Nigella's Chocolate Fudge Cake (from Nigella Bites and on the Nigella website) is a popular cake as it is quite moist. The batter also has a high moisture content as it contains both sour cream and chilled water.

We suspect that the problem is less likely to be the free standing mixer and instead may be that the cake is being over-baked. This can cause the cake to dry out and become crumbly. You may like to check that your oven is running at the correct temperature with an oven thermometer and also postion the cake pans on the centre shelf of the oven. Too much leavening can also sometimes cause a crumbly cake so measure the baking powder and bicorbonate of soda carefully, using a 5ml measuring teaspoon.