Cakes
Of course most cakes contain eggs and so aren’t suitable for vegans. However, it is really easy to make a cake without egg.
If you want to but a vegan cake, head over the to Cake page of our gift-
Vegan Chocolate Cake
The orange juice and peel in this recipe give it a Christmassy flavour but you can use soya milk and chopped nuts if you prefer. Made with wholemeal flour and raw cane sugar, and left un-iced, this cake is better for you than most.
Ingredients
- 200g (8 oz.) plain wholemeal flour
- 100g (4 oz.) vegan margarine
- 100g (4 oz.g) raw cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon golden syrup
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 175ml (1/3 pint) orange juice (or use soya milk)
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon orange peel, finely grated (or use chopped mixed nuts)
Method
- Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 / 250°F / 180°C.
- Grease a medium sized square tin.
- Cream together margarine, sugar and syrup in a mixing bowl.
- Put the orange juice (or soya milk) into a jug and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Add it to the bowl.
- Sift flour, baking powder, cocoa and salt and gradually stir into the bowl. Add orange peel or nuts.
- Spoon the mixture (which will be quite sloppy) into the greased tin. Generously sprinkle the top with more sugar.
- Bake for about 35-
40 minutes, until cooked in the centre. Cool briefly in the tin and then turn out onto a wire rack.
Vegan Christmas Cake
This fruit cake can be made a couple of months in advance and kept until Christmas.
Ingredients
- 675g (24 oz.) dried fruit (mostly currants, raisins, sultanas but you could include some glacé cherries, cranberries, blueberries etc.)
- 1 lemon (rind only) or 1 tbsp. (15ml) candied peel
- 250g (9 oz.) white self raising flour
- 150ml (5 fl. oz.) vegetable oil
- 50g (2 oz.) chopped mixed nuts
- 75g (3 oz.) raw cane sugar
- 2 tsps. (10 ml) mixed spice
Method
- Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 2 / 300°F / 150°C.
- Put all the ingredients into a very large mixing bowl with 450ml (15 fl. oz.) cold water. Mix thoroughly.
- Line two 1lb loaf tins (about 20cm x 10cm) or a deep 20cm square tin with greaseproof paper, leaving the ends of the paper sticking out at the sides (you can use these to lift the cake out after cooking).
- Press the mixture lightly into the tins and cook for two hours.
- When cooked, lift the cake out onto a wire cooling tray.
- When the cake has cooled, wrap it in tin foil, place in an airtight box and store in a cool, dark place until required.