Vegan chocolate bundt cake

Despite making this cake a few weeks ago now, I have put off writing this particular blog post. I really, really want to share this chocolate cake recipe, given that it’s the best one I’ve used, but I have some conditions that must be adhered to before you make it.

Here are some acceptable reasons you might want to make this cake: it’s raining, you are craving chocolate, it’s a friend’s birthday, you have a new cake tin, your distant relatives are coming to visit…. etc etc.

Here is an unacceptable reason you might want to make this cake: you think that because it is vegan it could be cleaner/healthier/lower fat/be considered diet food.

The reason I bake this chocolate cake is because a) it’s the tastiest chocolate cake recipe I have and b) I want my vegan friends to be able to enjoy my cakes too. I share this recipe in the spirit of great cake and inclusivity, and I do so hoping that anyone who believes food can be inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad’ will let it go and enjoy a huge wedge of this cake with no negative feelings.

SO on to the cake. A bundt tin is essentially just a tin with a whole in the middle and fluted edges. I absolutely love using a bundt tin, mainly because it’s incredibly impressive for very little extra effort. The bundt tin that I use is a reasonably-priced silicone one I got at Morrison’s. I find the metal tins a lot more expensive and a lot harder to grease thoroughly, not to mention the extensive cleaning they require!

I appreciate that lesser frequent bakers may not have a bundt tin within their baking supplies, and if that is the case I could suggest using a 9″ round cake tin. It should take slightly less time in the oven, so just keep an eye out during baking.

I really love using blueberries on this cake as I think it looks great and I love the combination of blueberries and chocolate, however, whatever kind of berry you want would work. I made this the following week with raspberries. If using fruit that is particularly moist or that you have to slice (i.e. apricots/strawberries) this cake will have a shorter lifespan. Mainly because it won’t look quite as nice, but it tastes so good I’m sure you can let that slide.

Vegan chocolate bundt cake

310g plain flour
400g sugar
120g cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
300ml non-dairy milk (soya/almond/rice/coconut)
160ml vegetable oil
4tbsp white vinegar
1tbsp vanilla essence
300g icing sugar (or thereabouts!)

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4. I like to place my bundt tin on a small tray to keep it steady in the oven given that it is a silicone mould. Grease your bundt tin really well; I tend to drip a bit of vegetable oil on my hands and run it over all of the little grooves and bumps to make sure the cake won’t stick anywhere. Pour 1tbsp plain flour into the tin and shake it around to coat the sides. Shake out any excess.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl with the sugar.

Add the milk, vanilla and the vinegar. I tend to use white wine vinegar, but it is such a small amount a general white vinegar would not make much difference. It is important to bake this cake in one batch and not leave the cake mixture sitting on the side. This is because when the raising agent is baking powder, it is activated by the heat in the oven. When the raising agent is bicarbonate of soda combined with vinegar, it is activated as soon as the two ingredients come into contact. Therefore leaving it on the side for too long will reduce the efficacy and result in a cake that does not rise as well.

Pour the cake mixture into the cake tin and bake for approximately 1hr. This will depend on your oven and your tin shape and size, so start checking the cake after about 45 minutes. It is done once the mixture no longer wobbles and a knife inserted comes out clean.

Once the cake has cooled, carefully turn it out. Combine the icing sugar with 3-4tbsp cold water, until you have a gloopy consistency. Drizzle the icing over the cake and then cover it with your fruit of choice, or sprinkles!