Full question
Hi there, I followed the Chocolate Guiness Cake recipe exactly and I used a 9-inch tin. My oven's temperature was 160°C (fan), but after only a few minutes in the oven, the cake started pouring out all over the place! I was wondering if it would do that before putting it in the oven, as I noticed the batter almost went to the top of the tin. What did I do wrong? Too much baking soda? Was the beer not warmed enough? As for the taste, it seems fine although a bit bitter. Thanks for your help!
Our answer
Nigella's Chocolate Guinness Cake (from FEAST is made with the melting method, where the butter, sugar and liquid are heated together until the butter and sugar have melted. In this case the liquid is Guinness, which gives the cake a slightly bitter edge, and if the Guinness is too carbonated then this could have contributed to the cake batter bubbling up. Usually the Guinness stops frothing once it has been heated and the flour has been added but it may help to open the Guinness a few hours ahead and let the bubbles subside before you use it.
Make sure that it is plain flour as self-raising will cause the batter to froth up too much. The bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) should also be measured carefully, making sure the measures are level and using a 5ml measuring teaspoon and a 2.5ml half teaspoon. If the cake batter was very frothy when it went into the tin then it is likely that one of these factors caused the cake batter to rise up too much. The cake should also be baked in a deep springform tin with a depth of at least 7cm. If the tin is too shallow then the batter will also rise up and out of the tin as the cake bakes.
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