The best Vegan Chocolate Cake – From Audrey one of our wonderful data people
Ingredients:
2 cups / 280g light spelt flour (or flour of your choice)
½ cup / 50g unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup / 250ml pure maple syrup
1 ¼ cup / 300ml milk of your choice (soya, nut, seed, rice, goat, …)
6 Tbsp. / 90ml melted coconut oil or ghee
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
2. Lightly oil and dust a small loaf tin with flour, shaking out
excess.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and
salt. Whisk to combine.
4. In a separate bowl combine the maple syrup, milk, olive oil, vanilla and
vinegar. Whisk to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk to remove
any lumps.
5. Pour batter into cake pan and smooth the top. Place in the oven and bake until a
toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean (approx. 60 minutes).
Alternatives:
Use 1/3 wholemeal 2/3 normal flour
Only use a bit of maple syrup and replace the rest with caster sugar + increase liquid (maple syrup =
££££!)
Use a mix of vegan margarine or vegetable oil + a bit of coconut oil (1 tbp)
Dark Chocolate Glaze
Ingredients:
1 cup / 250ml milk of your choice
200 grams high-quality extra dark chocolate (I used
85%)
1 vanilla bean, scraped
pinch sea salt
Directions:
1. Slice vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and place them in a small saucepan.
2. Add cold milk to the saucepan and warm slowly over medium heat. When hot, remove from heat
and add chocolate. Stir until fully melted, whisk in a pinch of sea salt and glaze cake immediately. If
the glaze sets, simply reheat to melt again.
Christmassy Fudge from our Santa run 2012
Ingredients:
350g of sugar
1 small can of evaporated milk
Large scoop of butter/margarine
300g of chocolate broken up
Added bits – mixed spice, dried fruit, extra choc for chunks, flavourings – orange/peppermint oil,
Small Pyrex dish lined with greaseproof paper
Directions:
1. Put sugar, milk and butter in a deep pan and melt together slowly, then heat up to boiling –
stir with wooden spoon constantly. When boiling turn down and keep at low boil for 5
minutes exactly
2. Remove from heat and stir all chocolate and extras in quickly and pour into dish before it
sets in the pan
3. Press down and add toppings if you want them – extra choc chunks, dust with cocoa powder
etc. you can be quite inventive and use diff choc as chunks if you want
4. Put in fridge for at least 2 hours (scrape out pan while you wait)
5. Remove from dish in paper and slice carefully with large knife
6. Give as presents or scoff!!
Arctic Rock Cakes
Ingredients:
100g honey
100g black treacle
75g natural yoghurt
1 medium egg
25-50ml milk
The finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. each ground cinnamon and nutmeg (or 2tsp mixed spice)
300g rye flour
100g plain flour (or just 400g of plain flour)
100g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3 tsp. baking powder
Dark chocolate or lemon icing, to finish
Oven tray covered in grease proof paper – dust with flour to stop sticking
Directions:
1 Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan-assisted)/390F/gas mark 6 and line a tray with non-stick
paper.
2 In a bowl, stir the honey, treacle and yoghurt, beat in the egg, and then stir in the milk, zest.
3 Toss the spices and flours in a bowl, then rub in the butter and stir in the baking powder.
Add the honey mixture and work with a spoon to a sticky dough – it should hold its shape,
but add a dash more milk if it's too stiff.
4 Using two forks, scoop egg-sized dollops on to the tray spaced a few centimetres apart, and
bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden-brown. Leave to cool, then drizzle with melted
chocolate or lemon icing before serving.
5 To make a snowy arctic scene use white melted chocolate and heap into piles! You can go
for controversial oil/arctic scenes using dark chocolate on some and white on others!
Issy’s mincemeat slices to leave out for Santa
Ingredients:
150g (5oz) butter
300g (10oz) self-raising flour
75g (3oz) caster sugar
1 – 2 tsp Mixed spice
2 egg yolks
2-3tbsp cold water
411g jar mincemeat (I find I use about 1.5 – 2 jars – depends how deep you like it)
1 cooking apple, chopped
100g (3½oz) cranberries (or mixed fruit with cranberries)
150g (5oz) marzipan
Icing sugar
Large Pyrex dish lined with greaseproof paper
Directions:
1 Preheat the oven to Gas 4, 180°C, fan160°C.
2 Rub the butter into the self-raising flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and then
add the egg yolks and water and mix to a soft dough.
3 Pat the dough into a 25cm (10in) square baking tin. This can be fiddly and I find a wet fork can help
get it all into the corners (I use a Pyrex dish lined with greaseproof paper can be easily lifted out then
when cool) sprinkle the mixed spice over the dough.
4 Spread the mincemeat over the dough and sprinkle with the chopped apple and the cranberries.
5 Roll out the marzipan thinly and then cut out lots of 5cm (2in) star shapes. Place the star shapes
across the top of the fruit mixture, and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until the marzipan stars
are golden.
6 lift carefully form dish onto a cooling rack when it is cool enough to handle and then leave til
completely cold, Cut into slices and dust with icing sugar to serve.
To freeze
these are easier to make than a batch of mince pies. Make to the end of the recipe, and then freeze.
To serve, just take out a slice at a time and thaw for a couple of seconds in the microwave.
