Treat yourself to this

DARKLY DIVINE VEGAN CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE

Ingredients:

Cake
240g self raising flour

1½tsp bicarbonate of soda

35g cocoa

75g ground almonds

240g granulated sugar

150g hard 100% vegetable margarine

260ml soya milk

150ml natural soya yoghurt

1 – 2tsp vanilla extract

1 – 2drops almond extract (optional)

Filling
50g soya margarine

3tbs water

200g icing sugar

50g cocoa

1tsp vanilla extract

To decorate
Icing sugar

200g 70% cocoa plain chocolate, melted

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 190C / 375F / Gas mark 5. Grease and base line 2 x springform 20cm cake tins, or 2 x 20cm deep sandwich tins.

2. To make the cake: sift flour, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa together into a large bowl.

3. Mix the ground almonds and sugar with the flour and cocoa mixture until evenly blended.

4. Melt the margarine. Cool slightly. Put soya milk, soya yoghurt and melted margarine in a blender and blend until smooth and well combined.

5. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until incorporated, but do not beat.

6. Divide between the two tins, level the tops and bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes until firm to the touch. Do not worry if the top cracks – this is quite normal. Cool in the tins – overnight is fine.

7. To make the filling: melt the water and margarine together until the margarine is just melted. Do not let boil or get too hot. Let cool slightly.

8. Sift the icing sugar with the cocoa into a large bowl. Add the vanilla extract to the margarine and water then tip into the bowl with the icing sugar and cocoa. Mix well – the mixture will end up quite stiff. If it is runny, the margarine mixture was too hot – just leave it to cool down and set for a while.

9. Turn the cakes out of the tins. To make one large cake divide, and carefully spread the filling over the two halves and sandwich together.

10. Sprinkle with icing sugar and decorate with drizzles of melted chocolate.

Darkly Divine Chocolate Fudge Cake is taken from The Vegetarian Society’s vegetarian & vegan recipe collection ‘Eat Shoots & Leaves?”. For a free copy call 0161 925 2000.