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.

• Cheddar Cheese Risotto

  Hi Nigella, first of all, I am a great fan of yours!. I wanted to ask what is the substitute of white wine in the Cheddar Cheese Risotto, as I cannot buy alcohol in my home state of Gujarat, India.

  Posted by rufinashah. Answered on 15th May 2013 at 12.00

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• Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake

  I tried this recipe for the first time today but missed out the bicarbonate of soda in error. I thought as it was only half a teaspoon it wouldn't have too much of an effect but the cake didn't rise and it was dense rather than fluffy so it went in the bin! Apart from missing the bicarb I did everything as per the recipe (all ingredients together in the food processor) so does the bicarb make the difference and if so why? 

  I wanted to make my brother's 21st birthday cake! I found the Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake on Nigella's website. I thought yes, this is exactly what I am looking for! I am just curious why the cake I made is as flat as a pancake? I made it in a moderately small cake tin, followed all the instructions and used all the right measurements. Is it because we have different ingredients here in New Zealand vs. the UK? Or is it because I used baking soda that expired in 2011? I would like to make this recipe again because it is just so simple. Thank you. S.T

  Posted by kblackett. Answered on 14th May 2013 at 12.00

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• Instant Chocolate Orange Mousse

  When I was making Nigella's Chocolate Orange Mousse I melted the dark chocolate and tried to loosen it with a third of the cream mixture but it just all seized up and went very thick which meant I couldn't fold it into remaining cream mixture. I had left the chocolate to cool first. What could have gone wrong and how do I avoid this next time? Thanks

  Posted by Katrina Blake. Answered on 13th May 2013 at 12.00

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