Yummy Vegan Chocolate cake

ingredients

Makes: 36 cupcakes or 1 x 23cm (9in) cake

420g plain flour

400g muscovado/ dark brown sugar

6Tbsp cocoa powder

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

500ml water

200ml sunflower oil

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180°C

method

Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and stir together

Make a well in the centre and add the remaining  ingredients.

Mix until just combined.

Pour the batter into cupcake cakes or a greased and lined tin

Bake – 20 mins for cupcakes or 1 hour for cake

As you can see the cake is very easy to bake – it’s also moist and delicious so why not give it a try!

Happy Baking

Fantastic (very rich) Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 and a half cups unbleached white flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
half a cup of mixed, chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
half a cup cold water or soy milk
half a cup of orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons vinegar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift dry ingredients into 8" square or 9" round baking pan. Mix liquids (except vinegar) and whisk into dry. When batter is smooth, add vinegar and stir quickly, until it is evenly distributed. Put it in the oven, don't let it stand around (that has something to do with the vinegar) Bake for 25-30 minutes...or longer until done. This cake is great served with Provamel's soya dream (cream like).

Vegan chocolate cake

Vegan chocolate cake

 August 24th, 2008 |  Author: georgina

If you only bake one vegan cake, make it this one. It is definitely my favourite sweet vegan treat.

This basic sponge recipe works in a variety of ways. It can make a sandwich cake (two round/square tins sandwiched together with butter icing i.e. typical birthday cake), or loads of fairy cakes, or a single square/rectangle tray bake sized tin.

For some reason though it doesn’t seem to work in a loaf tin, too gooey and took ages to cook.

Anyhow, this cake was one of the first I made back in February and I can’t tell you how chuffed I was that good quality chocolate cake was back on the menu. Since then I’ve probably make this cake over ten times. The latest version was a birthday cake for my beautiful Mum and she loved it. Every one loves it. Make it now. Go on. I don’t care what time it is. Just do it. You’ll thank me.

I first got this recipe online at Cooking for Vegans so this is who I will credit, however I have seen this recipe doing the rounds on plenty of sites since which only goes to show how popular it is! I have used both castor and dark brown sugar and both work well. The brown sugar gives it a really fudgey taste and texture so I tend to opt for that if I can. I have tried it with wholemeal flour too as I’m always looking for a ‘healthy angle’ as an excuse to eat chocolate cake. But alas, although it was edible, it was a bit too worthy for me.

Ingredients

• 250g plain flour
• 50g cocoa
• 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 250g sugar (castor or dark brown)
• 125g vegan marge
• 300ml soya milk (sweetened or unsweetened is fine)
• 2tbsp golden syrup

Instructions

1. Sieve flour, cocoa and bicarb then mix together in large bowl.
2. Add sugar now if using castor sugar. (If using dark brown sugar then add this to the wet ingredients).
3. Melt marge, syrup and milk in a saucepan. (Add dark sugar now if using).
4. When melted, add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
5. Pour batter into cake tins. (Mixture should be fairly runny, don't panic).
6. Bake at 170 for about 35mins.

Date and seed Teabread

 by Nicki 
Ingredients.
175 grams dates, roughly chopped (not sugar rolled)
125 grams raisins
150 ml hot, strong but not stewed tea
125 grams Butter, allowed to soften, but not melted
50 grams chopped seeds
125 grams muscavado sugar (either dark or light)
225 grams of plain flour
150 ml milk
1 teaspoon (5mls) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5mls) bicarbonate of soda
Optional: 1 teaspoon (5mls) of ground cinamon, 1/2 teaspoon (2.5mls) ground nutmeg
Soak the dates and raisins in the tea for at least one hour but up to 8. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat together, an electric mixer is easiest but not a food processor as you lose all the texture. When thoroughly mixed pour into a lined 2lb loaf tin (sorry don't know the metric measurements!) loaf tin and bake for about 1 and 1/4 hours at gas mark 4 or 350 f. Check after an hour and cover with foil if browning. It is done when a skewer or piece of uncooked spaghetti stuck in the middle comes out clean. Leave to go completely cold in tin.
Can be eaten at once but is even better if wrapped in foil and stored in a tin for up to one week. It is surprisingly tasty without the spices but nice with them too. This works with wholemeal flour but will give a dense loaf, our preference is half and half.

Star's Versatile Fruit loaf

This is one of my dad's favourite fruit loafs, he absolutely loves it.

This can be eaten just as it is, or sliced and spread with butter and maybe jam, and if you get fed up of it then use it as a pudding with custard or cream poured over (that is why it is called "versatile" because it is).

Ingredients.
12oz/350g/2 and a half cups self raising flour (or 12 oz plain with 3tsp baking powder added.)
12 oz/350g./2 and a half cups mixed dried fruit
1/2 pint/1 cup/250 ml. tea
4 oz/100g./1 cup sugar (white is ok, brown better and muscavado is the biz)
1 egg


Soak the sugar and fruit in the tea for a minimum of 2 hours, but the longer the better and overnight is ok.
Put oven on at between reg.2 and 3/150C/300F.
Grease a loaf tin with vegan margarine.
Add the flour and an egg mix, till all incorporated, then put in the tin and bake for about 2 hours. I test to see if it is cooked by putting a skewer or thin blade knife in, and if it comes out clean the cake is done. Turn out on rack to cool.

cocoa pudding cake

Ingredients

1 c All purpose flour
3/4 c Sugar
2 tb Cocoa powder
2 ts Baking powder
1/2 ts Salt
1/2 c Skim milk
2 tb Oil
1 t Vanilla essence
Nonstick vegetable spray
3/4 c Brown sugar
1/4 c Cocoa powder
1 3/4 c Hot water

Directions

1. Sift together the flour, sugar, 2 T of cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

2. Add the milk, oil, and vanilla, mixing by hand untill smooth. 

3. Pour into an 8x8x2-inch baking pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. 

4. Combine the brown sugar, 1/4 c cocoa powder, and water and pour over batter. 

5. Bake at 350/180 degrees for 45 minutes. 

Sticky pear & ginger cake

This is a cross between a sticky toffee pudding and a ginger cake. Serve warm with ice cream or cream as a dessert.

Ingredients

For the cake

250g stone dates , finely chopped 

300ml milk 

100g butter , plus extra for the tin 

140g ginger preserve (you'll find this with the jams) 

140g dark muscovado sugar 

3 large ripe pears

175g self-raising flour 

50g pecans nuts, reserve 10 and chop the rest 

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

2 tsp ground ginger 

½ tsp mixed spice 

2 eggs , beaten

FOR THE BRANDY SYRUP

85g light muscovado sugar 

150ml brandy

 Method

Put the chopped dates in a pan with the milk, butter, ginger preserve and dark muscovado. Heat gently until the butter has melted and the mixture starts to bubble round the edges of the pan. Stir well and set aside for 1 hr to cool.


Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line the base of a buttered 23cm springform tin with baking parchment. Peel and chop the pears into large chunks. Mix the flour, chopped pecans and bicarb with the spices, then stir into the cooled date mixture with the eggs. Pour into the tin and scatter over the pears. Roughly break the reserved pecans and drop on top. Bake for 40 mins, then cover the top loosely with foil and return to the oven for 25-30 mins more until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with just sticky crumbs - the cake may still look a little wet around the pears.


While the cake is baking, make the brandy syrup. Tip the light muscovado sugar into a pan with 50ml water and dissolve over a low heat until syrupy. Stir in the brandy and set aside. When the cake is ready, spoon over half the syrup, then leave the cake to cool before serving with extra syrup on the side.

To freeze, cool the cake in its tin, then wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost and warm through in a low oven. The syrup can be frozen separately, warmed, then drizzled over as before.

Beltane celebration cake

Accounts of the Beltane festivities mention a Beltane Cake. This spicy cake was prepared on the last day of April in readiness for the evening’s festivities.  The cake was broken up and distributed to the crowds.  

Here is my version adapted from a recipe I found online. 

Ingredients: 

12fl oz milk

3½oz oats

4oz butter

½ teaspoon salt

8oz sugar

2 eggs

2 eating apples, cored, peeled and sliced

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

7oz S.R. flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Method:
 In a saucepan, heat the milk with the oats, butter and salt. 
Cook until thickened then leave to stand until it reaches room temperature. 
Mix in the sugar, eggs and vanilla.
 Add the flour,  and spices and mix well.
 Grease a 9 inch x 13 inch baking tray and pour in ½ the mixture.
 Place a layer of apple slices.
 Pour over rest of cake mixture.
 Bake in the centre of the oven pre-heated to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4 for 30 mins.
 After cooling to room temperature the cake should be covered tightly until ready to serve.
 When ready to serve the top of the cake can be dusted with icing sugar then cut into squares.

 

I know that traditionally apples are used to celebrate Samhain, but as I am currently planting a small orchard of fruit trees using apples in my cake seemed appropriate. I am hoping for a good fruit harvest.