Crumbly Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake

Our answer

Nigella's Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake (from Feast and on the Nigella website) should be fairly moist, thanks to the syrup that is poured over the warm cake, and the regular cake shouldn't have any particulalr problems in slicing. We suspect that the substitution of egg replacer for the eggs is the cause of the crumbliness as eggs act as both a raising agent and a binding agent in baking.

The substitution of eggs in baking can be slightly tricky as each recipe has to be treated slighty differently and unfortunately we don't test recipes with such substitutions so we regret that we can't give specific advice for Nigella's recipes. But sometimes recipes that already include ingredients such as mashed bananas are easier to convert.

For the cake you have made you may find it easier to slice if you use a serrated knife, as this will cut through a crumbly cake slightly more easily. If you don't want to serve the cake as it is then you could use it in a dessert instead. We would suggest trying it in Nigella's Chocolate Cherry Trifle (from Feast). You can make the custard using Bird's custard powder (following the instructions on the packaging) instead of eggs, and adding the cocoa powder to the custard powder. If you don't want to use the cake immediatley then wrap it in a double layer of clingfilm (plastic wrap) and a layer of foil and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours.