Welcome to Kitchen Queries, where the nigella.com team will answer your cooking or food related questions.  We’d love you to submit some of your recipe problems, dilemmas or queries for us to get our teeth into!

Please note, we are only able to answer questions selected for publication and aren't able to enter into personal correspondence.

• Red Velvet Cake - red food colour

  I am making the Red Velvet Cake from Nigella's Kitchen book for my sisters birthday cake. However, I was not able to get the red food colouring paste which she recommends, I could only get the spectral paste concentrate from Sugarflair. How should I adapt the recipe to incorporate it?

  Posted by LYNDS28. Answered on 9th Mar 2011 at 12.00

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• Types of Sugar for Cakes

  i want to make a cake today. I don't have caster sugar. I do have granulated and soft light brown can I use these or is there a better recipe to use them?

  Posted by Sharps. Answered on 8th Mar 2011 at 12.00

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• chocolate fruit cake

  I am making this cake for our son's wedding. the cake is to be covered with marzipan and soft icing. The recipe states the cake will last a similar time to a rich fruit cake. Please could you confirm how many weeks this is from (a) baking and (b) covered with icing and (c) once it is cut? Thank you.

  Posted by Anniss. Answered on 7th Mar 2011 at 12.00

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