Full question
I want to make Nigella’s Chocolate Fudge Cake. I live in Spain, where the protein content of plain flour is 8.8%. When making US recipes, I search for a flour of at least 11% protein or use a combination of plain flour and bread flour (12.6%). With Nigella’s recipe, which calls for UK plain flour, can I use the Spanish plain flour with only 8.8% protein or should I try to find a stronger flour? Thank you!
Our answer
Nigella's Chocolate Fudge Cake (from NIGELLA BITES) is a moist chocolate cake with a rich, dark chocolate fudge frosting. The cake is made with plain (all-purpose) flour.
In the UK the protein content of plain flour actually varies a lot, from around 9.5% up to 11%. Most are around the 9.7-9.9% level. We suspect that the Spanish plain flour will be fine for this recipe and, since the batter is fairly liquid, the lower protein content could be a slight advantage as in theory it will give a slightly finer, more tender crumb. In addition, if you are looking at American cake recipes that use cake flour then the Spanish flour is an ideal alternative, as US cake flour usually has a protein content of 7-8%.
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