Can I Use Ginger Beer Instead Of Ginger Ale For The Chocolate Gingerbread?

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Gingerbread (from FEAST) is a spiced and sticky chocolate sponge that is topped with a cocoa and ginger glacé icing. The icing gets its ginger flavour from ginger ale.

Ginger beer and ginger ale are both fizzy non-alcoholic drinks. Ginger ale is made in the same way as most other carbonated drinks (sodas), with a ginger flavouring. Ginger beer is also fizzy but it is made with fresh ginger, sugar and yeast and is fermented to produce the bubbles. Ginger beer tends to be less sweet and have a slightly stronger spicy ginger flavour than ginger ale, though brands do vary. So you can certainly use ginger beer for the gingerbread icing, but just bear in mind that it has a slightly different flavour profile to ginger ale.