Chocolate Cake – plant-based, delicious, easy to make and (that word…) moist.

On By Judy LeighIn Recipes, Uncategorized

I’m not usually a fan of cakes, but people love them, and it’s fun making them for a celebration once in a while. Cake goes with champagne, apparently…

This rich chocolate one always goes down well. It doesn’t require fancy ingredients, it’s plant based, and it’s light and fluffy. You don’t need chia or flax ‘eggs’ although I’ll blog something that does at some point because its fun when the ‘eggs’ work.

So, here we go. Set the oven to 180 degrees. Grease and/or line two sandwich cake tins. Make space to be creative.

Pour 300ml of oat or other dairy-free milk in a jug, add 1 tbsp cider vinegar and leave it for five minutes – it will split, but just ignore it. Chuck 300 grams of self raising flour, 200 grams of golder sugar or caster, 4tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda and half a tsp of vanilla bean paste into a large bowl. Pour the milk mixture in and beat it really well. Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake them in the oven for 25-30 mins (until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out cleanly.) Leave in the tins for 10mins. Turn out onto wire racks to cool.

Melt 100 grams of good dark dairy free chocolate in a heatproof bowl over heat. Leave it to cool for 5 minutes. Mix 200 grams of dairy-free spread and 400 grams of icing sugar with a wooden spoon then add 5 tbsp cocoa powder and a pinch of salt. Pour in the melted chocolate and a tbsp of oat milk and beat until smooth.

Sandwich the two halves of cake together with half of the butter cream, then use the rest to cover the top. Decorate the cake with whatever you wish. I used fresh raspberries. You could use chocolate, coffee beans, vegan marshmallows…

Mix it up by playing around with extra chocolate, or experiment with different types such as Dirty Cow (my favourite), or using cacao powder and a tbsp orange juice, or a plant-based coffee, or chocolate or orange liqueur. Experiment with the basic recipe and have fun. It’s easy to make and very popular.

10 thoughts on “Chocolate Cake – plant-based, delicious, easy to make and (that word…) moist.”

    1. My kids made Nigella’s guinness cake and loved it. She’s always a very reliable go-to. My recipe is based on the Bosh boys’ cake and adapted a bit. I’m not a fan of all non-dairy free milks – some can be think or taste odd – but Oatly Barista works well for me. 🙂

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      1. I don’t use milk except when I make ice cream, and my attempts to use non-dairy have been… well… less than successful. I’m afraid I’ll never be vegan, mostly because I can’t eat all the beans, legumes, and pulses, but I have cut down on many animal products.

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      2. I use coconut milk to make ice cream but it won’t satsfy people who want the thick unctious dairy stuff, and that’s fine. I’m always impressed when people add more plant based recipes to their diets. People do the best they can. It’s easy for me to give up meat and eggs because I don’t like them. The poople who enjoy them are the ones who deserve most praise for doing without them from time to time. 🙂

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      3. Thanks! You’re the type of vegan that I appreciate. I have a friend who I can talk to about anything EXCEPT food because then he becomes a ninja warrior against anything animal based (and very annoying about it).

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      4. I know the ninja warrior thing. I’m very mellow though. We all share the same planet and do our best. My eldest whinges at me if I get on a plane omce a year, and he’s off to Tel Aviv next week, having just come back from Mexico. I’ve told him Tel Aviv is vegan capital of the world and to bring me some nice spices back. I went years ago. He’s always travelling and yet it’s my one journey that seems to do all the damage. He’s a ninja too… 🙂

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      5. Really! Well, Tel Aviv may be the vegan capital of the world (and one of the world’s most LGBTQIA+ friendly cities) but if he wants to get you spices, he should come over to Jerusalem where I live! The market here is AMAZING (but Istanbul’s is better, I have to admit)!

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      6. I’m hoping he’ll be in Jerusalem. I was there years ago and loved it. I know the market will be stunning. I haven’t been to Istanbul yet but I will. He will love both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Beautuful places and people.

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