Full question
I am making Nigella’s Birthday Custard Sponge for my daughter’s birthday (having made it as directed previously and loved it). This time I was hoping to try a flavoured sponge - possibly chocolate - but am unsure if it’s as simple as adding cocoa to the recipe? Any advice appreciated.
Our answer
Nigella's Birthday Custard Sponge (from FEAST) is an easy golden coloured sponge cake. The colour and flavour comes from the addition of custard powder, which is a cornflour (cornstarch) based ingredient. It would be possible to switch the custard powder for cocoa powder, to give more of a chocolate flavour. However cocoa powder can make cakes a little dry and dense and it usually needs the addition of extra liquids and leavening to improve the moisture and texture.
We would suggest trying the Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake as an alternative. This cake is also made using an all-in-one method in a food processor but has some bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) for a light crumb, sour cream for extra moisture and vanilla extract to help to round out the chocolate flavour. This cake has a chocolate icing, but you could also use the custard buttercream and chocolate glaze from the Birthday Custard Sponge instead.
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