Why Did My Liquorice And Blackcurrant Cake Split?

Our answer

Nigella's Liquorice And Blackcurrant Chocolate Cake (from [SIMPLY NIGELLA](/books/simply nigella)) has a very liquid cake batter that gives a moist sponge cake. If the cake is splitting when it bakes, we suspect that the cake is also rising quite a lot in the centre (sometimes called "doming"). If this is the case then it is likely that the oven is too hot. This causes the outside of the cake to cook quickly, pushing the centre inwards and upwards and causing a crack in the top. As the cake is moist and tender, the crack can split open once the cake is turned out of the tin. Nigella's recipes give oven temperatures for conventional gas/electric ovens and if you have a fan or convection oven then you will need to adjust the temperature following the instructions in your oven's handbook. For a conventional oven it may help to check the temperature with an oven thermometer and bake the cakes on the centre shelf.

The other possibility is that there is a little too much leavening being used and this can cause the cake to rise too much in the oven, again leading to cracking and splitting. This is the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda). These should be measured with a proper 5ml measuring spoon and should be level spoonfuls. Make sure that the cake is fully cooled before you fill it with jam and pour over the icing.