Vegan chocolate birthday cake

Baking a cake hasn't given me this many smiles in a long, long time. I usually find the whole process pretty traumatic and steer well clear of things you can't properly taste as you make, adjust the seasoning for or make it up as you go along. But this cake was FUN.

From making a gazillion batches of this vegan brownie recipe for my boyfriend and my birthday earlier in the year, I figured the texture would work quite well in a cake: it's spongey and gets stickier and richer the longer you keep it. So I doubled the recipe I'd been using for brownies and the result was this supersize cake that I then had to recruit best friends and neighbours (also bezzie ms!) to help me eat. We only managed half before I had to stick it in the freezer, this cake really is GINORMOUS. Perfect for a birthday or summer party, not so much a solo mission.

Serves 10
Ingredients
3 cups of plain flour
1 cup cocoa
3 cups organic brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup fresh brewed coffee
1 1/2 cup soy milk
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup plain dark chocolate chips (about two small packets' worth)/ broken chunks of plain dark chocolate


For the icing and fruit topping

1 tbsp cocoa powder
Around 200g icing sugar
Around 3 tbsp vegan margarine such as Vitalite
200g strawberries
100g raspberries
1/2 peach or nectarine

Grease and line your baking tins. I used one large springform baking tin, and two smaller tins to go on top. You could make this cake with four layers, there's enough mixture- but I fancied making it look a little OTT with one bigger layer at the bottom.

Preheat oven to 160 °C.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Then in a separate bowl, pour and mix in the coffee, soy milk and oil. Add the liquid to the dry mix, stirring in the chocolate drops. 

Pour the cake mix into the tins. It will be quite runny at this point, but they do stodge up.

Leave in the oven for at least 25 minutes, checking back after that point to see if a tooth pick will come clean when inserted in the middle of the cake. 

Once the mixture springs back from light pressure when you touch it gently, it's ready. Take out and leave, in the tins, to cool for about five minutes initially. Then tip over and gently remove the baking paper, before leaving on cooling racks to cool down completely.

When the cakes have just about cooled, begin making the icing so they will be totally cool by the time it's all ready to assemble. I've kept the measurements between icing sugar and margarine vague as it often changes for me depending on heat or how stiff the icing goes, but I would stick to the rule that the less margarine you use the better, so the icing remains stiff and not too gloopy. Sift in the icing sugar to get rid of any lumps, and then use a fork to mix it into the sugar, using bit by bit, adding the cocoa as you go too.

Once you're happy with the consistency, begin assembling your cake. I chose to do one thin layer of chocolate icing with slices of strawberries for the base layer, then a layer of icing between bases 2 and 3, before topping off with a thicker layer for the top and chopped fruits. 

Remember once you've added the chopped fruit, it won't handle the heat very well, so clear some room in the fridge for this! I found myself laughing away once it was all ready, I couldn't quite believe what I'd managed to make with vegan ingredients. That's some magic right there!

When birthday cakes go wrong

The day after my birthday I spent a train journey home plotting how to make this cake. There were diagrams, there were pros and cons lists drawn up for each recipe, a somewhat lengthily discussion with various friends over txt about which theme the cake should take and even a Pinterest inspiration board. The minute I got home, I ran out to the cake decorating shop (aka Nirvana) to stock up on glitter and sprinkles. I then ran home and began construction, which took around three hours.

It was a four layer vanilla victoria sponge cake with a jam centre and pastel pink faux-butter icing top and sides. And some sprinkles and pale green icing piping for good measure. It was meant to stand at around 12cm high, but it only came to about five. Because it was also inedible. Although the batter rose at first, it later sunk somehow even lower than the level it was when it went in the oven, and never lifted again. When I cut through the many layers of icing and piping and sprinkles (with my whole family looking on, actually quite hungry now too) it was to four layers of wafer thin raw cake mixture. Nice. We all tried to eat a slice, drank twice as much prosecco and didn't mention it again for the entire weekend.

So there you are, when bad cake happens.

Vegan Tiffin

Ali is my favourite London neighbour of all time. We met when the roof between our flats caved in, and have lived on the top floor of our dilapidated building ever since. I made up a tray of tiffin for Ali to say thank you for looking after my rabbit while I was away- and in the process also managed to work out a vegan recipe for it so I could save a bit back in the mixing bowl!

Tiffin, or fridge cake, is just about the easiest thing to make- it's not even baking as it never touches the oven. The name comes from British India, as another word for a snack or small meal. As it's still December I think it would be perfectly acceptable to eat this for breakfast.

You could add sour cherries, cocoa powder or even macadamia nuts to this recipe, but I prefer to keep to the recipe my Mum has used for as long as I can remember. I replaced the milk chocolate with dark, which as well as being vegan gave it an even richer, intense flavour that's perfect cut in to tiny chunks with a coffee.

Ingredients
Two packs of digestive or rich tea biscuits- Sainsbury's have quite a few options- you can click here to read their full list of vegan-suitable products. I used their freefrom Rich Tea biscuits for this recipe.
160g vegan magarine
2 handfuls of raisins or sultanas
2 tablespoons of golden syrup
300g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

Grab a carrier bag and place all the biscuits inside, tie a knot and bash with a rolling pin until the biscuits are roughly broken up, but not too fine, as it's nice to have some crunch in the texture of the tiffin. Pour into a large mixing bowl.

In a pan, melt down the margarine and then stir into the biscuits. Then add in the raisins and golden syrup. On a very gentle heat, slowly melt the chocolate pieces making sure to take off the heat the second it has turned to liquid and velvety in appearance. Add to the mixture and stir well.

Now pour into an oven tray, spreading so the tiffin mixture is around 2-3cm thick. Cool in the fridge overnight or for about five hours, then get the kettle on and your neighbours round for a slice!

Work in progress: Chocolate and cherry Bundt cake

Last Sunday I got up at the crack of dawn to get this little blighter in the oven. Eating cake for breakfast is certainly a decadent pursuit, but unlike most involves getting up very early! A bowl of leftover cherries from the vegetable box became the perfect excuse to try the Bundt tin my Mum gave me- they are so much fun!!

I added some glace chocolate icing and cherries to finish it off. No recipe this time as there's still some parts to the ingredients and method I want to tweak- but here's a visual taster...

Aint nothing going on but the rent brownies

On Monday night I walked in my front door at half six with a packet of plain, dark chocolate drops and a bag of flour. By seven these were in the oven, by half seven their days already numbered.

Although I chose to simplify the original recipe and take away the glazing and walnuts, by all means gild that lily if the mood takes you!

One thing I am really fond of with American baking is the use of cups instead of grams or ounces. If, like me, you are living without kitchen scales, just chose a smaller sized coffee mug that doesn't change shape at the sides. As most baking is all about the ratio between each ingredient, you can easily double or halve the cup measurements to suit.

Makes 16 brownies

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of plain flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cup organic brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 pinch of salt
3/4 cup fresh brewed coffee
3/4 cup soy milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain dark chocolate chips (about one small packet's worth)/ broken chunks of plain dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 160 °C, and grease and line one or two baking trays. These will cook and rise better if they are poured out thinner, so if in doubt, favour two trays over one.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Then in a separate bowl, pour and mix in the coffee, soy milk and oil. Add the liquid to the dry mix, stirring in the chocolate drops. 

Pour the brownie mix into your trays. It will be quite runny at this point, but they do stodge up.

Leave in the oven for at least 25 minutes, checking back after that point to see if a tooth pick will come clean when inserted in the middle of the brownies. Once cooked, leave to stand for five minutes if you can bare it, before digging in.

These will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for five days- and they only get better!

Vegan Carrot Cake

Vegan Carrot Cake 


The sign that this is a great carrot cake? My Mum has adopted the recipe into her baking repertoire (she's Queen of Puddings in my fam) and no-one can tell it's vegan. I've made this cake a few times now, and it's perfect for wrapping a few slices up and bringing to your friend's house for a cuppa, or even to keep on stand-by at home; it will last in the fridge for about a week. 

This is the first bit of vegan baking I've done that's actually worked out- so it would be ideal for anyone new to Veganism, also because there's no better way to tell your best friends you've decided to try out a new way of eating than by bringing a cake along that exemplifies it; Surprise! I'm a vegan! Now have some cake....


The recipe I used is from the Ethical Chef. However I would also add that I've cooked this twice now and needed much longer in two different ovens- more like 40 minutes to an hour. The only other thing I would mention is that I've tried out a few different vegan margarines for making butter icing with, and Vitalite is by far the best- if you're looking for that American cup-cake style  icing texture, just start with the mixed-in margarine and sieved icing sugar, and carry on adding more icing sugar until it goes stiff.

Funnily enough I've found this cake is perfect fuel for marathon catch-up with best friends. Liz and I managed to devour half of one recently after her trip back from Japan. Hellllooo sugar high!