Serves 15 | Prep 40 mins | Cook 25 mins
For the basic chocolate cake:
300ml plain soya milk
2/3 tsp apple cider vinegar
180g unbleached plain fl our
2/3 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2/3 tsp baking powder
40g cocoa powder
pinch of salt
40g plain wholemeal fl our
pinch of ground cinnamon
120g pure maple syrup
70g sunfl ower or saffl ower oil
grated zest of 1 orange or lemon
80g fruit jam
2 tsp vegetarian rum or juice of
½ orange or lemon
500g strawberries
For the cocoa buttercream:
200g demerara or other good quality
brown sugar
150g cocoa powder
½ tsp bourbon vanilla powder
450g non-hydrogenated margarine, at room temperature
2–3 tbsp plain soya milk, at room temperature
Double cocoa and strawberry cake
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C/gas 4. Oil a 23cm springform cake pan and baseline with parchment paper.
2. Mix together the milk and vinegar in a bowl and set aside for 10 minutes.
3. Sift the unbleached flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cocoa and salt into a mixing bowl, then add the wholemeal flour and cinnamon and mix well.
4. Add the syrup, oil and zest to the vinegar mixture and mix well. Gently fold these into the dry ingredients
with a spatula. Make sure not to mix too much, otherwise the cake might turn chewy. When everything is just
incorporated, spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan and spread evenly with the spatula.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Spring open the cake pan and allow the cake to cool completely.
6. When the cake is cold, peel off the paper. Slice the cake in half horizontally with a large, serrated knife. You can also cut off the top if it has domed while baking and you prefer it to be flat.
7. Put the jam and rum or juice in a small saucepan and heat until it comes to the boil. Spread this over both cake layers – this will make the cake moist and stop any frosting from seeping into the cake. Allow to cool.
8. For the cocoa buttercream, very finely grind the brown sugar in a spice mill or food processor; you should
get about 2 cups powdered sugar. Sift together the cocoa powder and powdered brown sugar in a bowl. Stir in the vanilla powder.
9. In a separate, large bowl, beat the margarine with an electric whisk until soft. Gradually add the sifted
ingredients, beating well and adding a little milk when the mixture gets dry. Continue to beat until the buttercream is light and fluffy – this will take a couple of minutes, so be patient!
10. Hull and slice half of the strawberries. Hull and halve the remaining strawberries (or leave some unhulled if you prefer – these will be used to decorate the top of the cake).
11. Put the bottom cake layer on a serving plate. Spread half of the cocoa buttercream over it with a spatula.
Arrange the strawberry slices over the buttercream, then cover with the top cake layer. Spread the remaining
buttercream over the top of the cake. Decorate with the strawberry halves.
12. Store the cake in the fridge, but bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving, as the
buttercream firms up when chilled.