Nigella Lawson revealed her most cherished dessert in an exclusive video interview with Good Housekeeping.
TV’s iconic Queen of the Kitchen, Nigella said that she ultimately favours simpler desserts over more decadent occasion dishes.
“What I’ve grown to cherish particularly are those old fashioned, plain cakes,” she told GH. “It isn’t all layered up with icing, it isn’t celebration cake time except in a very deep and private sense.”
In particular, Nigella revealed her love for classic recipes including her favourite loaf cake flavours.
“I’ve returned to my mother in law’s madeira cake,” Nigella told GH. “For those who, like me, really love marzipan, I’ve got a got a really easy marzipan loaf cake and I’ve got a dense chocolate loaf cake too.
“I think there’s something about a loaf cake that’s perfect with a cup of tea or when you’re relaxing by yourself. Just cut another slice. For me, that’s heaven.”
Nigella also imparted her wisdom on another classic cake, the Victoria sponge. To keep the cake fluffy and light, she advises substituting a little of the regular flour in a recipe for some cornflour.
Or, to take your Victoria sponge to the next level over the Jubilee celebrations, Nigella had a special tip inspired by a classic coronation recipe.
“Coronation chicken has apricots in and I think it would be rather wonderful to make a compote of dried apricots so they’re very, very soft and you could spoon that with some crème fraiche over one cake and top with the other,” she advised. “Some apricot jam would also be lovely.”
Alternatively, she says simply swapping vanilla essence for orange blossom water could elevate your classic sponge and give it a fresh, floral twist for Spring.
You can watch Nigella Lawson's full Q&A with Good Housekeeping in the video at the top of this article.
Bethan is Features Editor at Good Housekeeping, working across the magazine and website. You’ll spot her writing longer reads and interviews as well as lifestyle news, and perhaps chatting with a celeb or two. Otherwise, she’s usually off on a run or road-tripping around unusual places.
