Tropical Chocolate Cake Refrigeration and Rum

Our answer

Nigella's Tropical Chocolate Cake (from Feast and on the Nigella website) has a marshmallow-like frosting that is made from whisked egg whites. This type of frosting is known as a 7 minute frosting because it usually takes 7 minutes to make, though it can take slightly longer, depending on the power of your electric whisk.

Although the frosting contains egg whites, heating them over a pan of simmering water is usually sufficient to bring them up to a safe temperature. If you are not sure then you can check with a digital or instant-read food thermometer - the frosting should reach 72c (160F) while you whisk the whites over the pan of water. This means that the frosting should be safe to store at room temperature and we would suggest storing the cake in a cool place. The frosting is also at its best if eaten within 24 hours. Although you can refrigerate the cake you may find that the frosting starts to turn soft quickly as it will start to absorb water from the more humid environment in the fridge. The cake should also be covered tightly as egg whites tend to absorb odours from other foods in the fridge.

If you can't use alcohol then Nigella suggests substituting the white rum with an equal amount of pineapple juice (from the can of pineapple rings).