Yogurt Pot Cake Ingredients

Asked by natroy. Answered on 3rd September 2013

Full question

Today I made Nigella's Yogurt Pot Cake. I just wanted to check two things. First there is no baking powder or baking soda in this cake, is this correct? Second, in the book it says to use cornstarch and on the website it is corn meal. They are not the same so please could you tell me which is correct?

Our answer

Nigella's Yogurt Pot Cake from Nigellissima has been a popular cake, partly as it is very easy to make. It is based on a traditional Italian family recipe. The cake batter does not contain any baking powder or bicarbonate of soda/baking soda. The whisked egg whites that are folded into the cake batter provide the leavening. The cake will have a slightly closer texture than one made with chemical leavening, but it is not a heavy cake.

We suspect that you are using the US copy of Nigellissima for the cake recipe and the recipe here states cornstarch, which is the correct ingredient, along with all-purpose flour. Nigella's books always contain the definitive recipe. The recipe is not available on the Nigella website and there is a short clip of the recipe on the BBC website that states that cornflour should be used. Cornflour is the UK term for cornstarch and should not be confused with cornmeal, which is different.