Best Ever Chocolate Cake (DF, V)

This recipe is really versatile...

You can pour the batter into cupcake wrappers and make single serves, or fill a 20cm round springform pan for a high, rounded cake.  Grossify it for Halloween ... ice with vegan-friendly fondant, rolling into 'worms' and twisting them all over the rounded cake surface  Depress the back edge of a knife down the middle to create the two hempispheres of a brain and glaze with 'melted' raspberry jam!

Sometimes I share the recipe between two sponge tins and sandwich together with chocolate cream icing.

If you're wanting a yummy brownie recipe, use gluten free flour and fold in a handful of dark chocolate buttons.  Dribble raspberry coulis on top and serve warmed as a dessert, with a trickle of soy cream as a garnish.

You might've cottoned on that I pretty much just substitute butter for Olivite/Olivani, dairy milk for almond milk and egg for No Egg and voila!  Being vegan is easy.  Don't be put off from trying to 'convert' a recipe, it is incredibly easy.

Anyway, here is my chocolate cake recipe after a number of experimental efforts!

Ingredients:

100gm Olivite or Olivani (dairy-free spread) melted with small handful of dark 
chocolate (Whittaker's 50% dark cocoa or Pam's dark cooking chocolate buttons)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tsp (+ 4 tbsp water) of No Egg (egg replacer by Orgran)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 3/4 cups plain white flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups almond milk

Icing:

3 tbsp Olivite or Olivani spread
2 tbsp coca powder
1 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

1. Melt dairy-free spread and chocolate together. 
2. In mixer combine chocolate mixture, No Egg and vanilla essence.
3. Add sifted dry ingredients.
4. Add almond milk and mix until smooth.
5. Mixture is quite runny. Pour into lined baking tin.
6. Bake at 180 degrees until cake is starting to shrink from edges and is firm, but springy to the touch.
7. When cool, ice with chocolate cream icing.

Icing:
Mix spread, cocoa, vanilla essence and icing sugar until creamy.  If need be, add a teaspoon or so of water (or a dash of soy cream) to make a butter cream consistency.

Recipe by Alina @ LittleByLittle