Why Was My Liquorice And Blackcurrant Cake Icing Runny?

Asked by Jbowj. Answered on 11th April 2016

Full question

I made Nigella's Liquorice And Blackcurrant Chocolate Cake and everyone thought it was delicious - however, I noticed my icing seemed a lot runnier and darker in colour than it is in the picture in Simply Nigella. I used 85% Lindt chocolate, perhaps this was too dark? Or, should I have boiled the golden syrup for a touch longer, or perhaps whisked more at the end? Thank you for all the lovely recipes, I am thoroughly enjoying cooking my way through your wonderful book.

Our answer

Nigella's Liquorice And Blackurrant Chocolate Cake (from SIMPLY NIGELLA) is a chocolate sponge cake that has a chocolate glaze icing made from dark (bittersweet) chocolate, golden syrup, hot water and fine liquorice powder. The liquorice powder is dissolved in the hot water and then heated with the golden syrup, then the chocolate is added and melts in the heat of the pan to finish the glaze. Nigella usually uses chocolate with 70% cocoa solids and if you used a chocolate with 85% cocoa solids then this would likely make the icing a little darker due to the higher level of cocoa solids. The icing will also turn a little lighter as it cools.

The higher cocoa solids could also make the icing taste a little more bitter, though this is a matter of personal taste. It could also be that the lower fat content made the icing a little runnier, though it should still set as it cools. If you used this chocolate again it may help to let the icing cool a little, stirring frequently, before pouring it over the cake. The golden syrup mixture should just be brought to boiling point, when it is just bubbling, before removing it from the heat. If you let the mixture boil for any length of time then it will become very hot and there is a risk that the chocolate could burn when it is added to the pan. The chocolate mixture should only need to be whisked until the chocolate has melted.