Can I Reduce The Sugar In The Orange And Almond Blossom Cake?

Our answer

Nigella's Orange And Almond Blossom Cake (from HOW TO EAT) is a cake that includes ground almonds (almond meal or almond flour) and can be made gluten free by using rice flour instead of plain flour.

The cake does not contain any chemical leavening in the form of baking powder or bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and neither does it have any leavening from whisked egg whites. So the only way that the cake gets any lift is by incorporating air when the butter and sugar are creamed together at the start. Beating, or creaming, the butter and sugar together will incorporate air, but this process is much more efficient than just beating butter on its own. This is because the sharp edges of the sugar crystals become embedded in the butter fat molecules, helping to trap tiny pockets of air. Without sugar the cake will be heavier and denser. Sugar also helps the cake to brown in the oven. It may be possible to reduce the sugar by a very small amount (say 20g), but beyond that we would be worried about the effect on the texture of the cake and overall it is not something we can recommend. You could consider trying Nigella's Chocolate Banana Muffins or Chocolate Tahini Banana Bread (you can omit the chocolate chips, if necessary), as these recipes rely more on the natural sweetness of ripe bananas rather than refined sugar.