It’s time for another Free From recipe!

As most of you regular Severn Wishes readers will know, my son was born with a number of allergies. I love to cook and baking is something that I am gradually getting better at. I wanted to make up a recipe that was easy and that I could use with what I usually find in my baking cupboard. But not only that, it had to taste like proper chocolate cake. There’s nothing worse than it not resembling what you know and love!

This moist and soft chocolate cake recipe is egg free and dairy free. You could even change the flour to make it gluten free too if you like. I made it normally first, and then with gluten free baking flour when my sister (she’s coeliac) visited us, and both times it still baked as a soft sponge. Delicious! A great treat if you’re doing Veganuary this year! Why not make this Vegan delight at the end of the month? Give you a treat to look forward to!

This cake serves 10 people, you only want a small slice as it’s rich!
Time to Prepare, Make and Bake is… 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Preheat your Oven to a Temperature of 180’c or 360’F
You will need baking parchment to line your 8″ Tin
You shall need a Jug for the Sauce, one Large Bowl and one Small
You will also need a Sieve, a Spoon and a Whisk
And finally a Cooling Rack

Ingredients

For the Cake:

175g Flour – I used plain or a mixture of Plain and Raising, or use GF
200g Caster Sugar
50g Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract – You could use Mint Flavouring instead
240ml Tepid Water
120ml Vegetable Oil

For the Sauce to pour on top:

4 to 6 Tablespoons of Tepid Water
2 Tablespoons of Golden Syrup or Maple Syrup
2 Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder
130g of Icing Sugar

Method – Making the Cake

Step 1. Sift the Flour, Cocoa Powder, Caster Sugar and Baking Soda together in a large bowl. Make sure you mix them together thoroughly to combine.

Step 2. In a small bowl mix oil, water and vanilla together and stir until mixed.

Step 3. Gradually stir your wet mix bowl into the dry ingredients. Once you have combined them use a whisk or hand processor in order to make the mixture smooth. Mix until all the liquid is combined with the dry mixture.

Step 4. Pour your smooth mixture into the lined cake tin and shake gently from side to side to make it even inside.

Step 5. Bake in the Centre of your Preheated Oven, between 26 and 32 minutes depending upon oven type. Keep an eye on your cake so that it doesn’t over bake, use a knife of skewer in the centre, when it comes out clean it’s baked.

Step 6. Once cooked gently transfer the cake to a rack so that it can cool. You don’t want to pour on your sauce until it is cooled. Make sure the cake is completely cool before serving, you don’t want your sauce running off!

Method – Making the Sauce

Step 1. Sift the cocoa powder and icing sugar together in a bowl. Mix with a spoon until combined and a brown colour over all.

Step 2. Pour the syrup of your choice and the water into the bowl, make sure you stir it immediately and keep stirring until the ingredients resemble a smooth consistency. Start with 4 Tablespoons of water, if it’s not resembling a sauce that is pour-able then you can add more, one spoonful at a time until it’s how you want it to be. It can vary on the size of the spoon you use for example. TIP: Always better to start with less water and add it gradually, if it’s too wet to start with then you’re going to be measuring out more sugar which is a consistency much more difficult to get right.

Step 3. Cover this sauce until your cake is cooled and ready to serve, cut your cake slices, plate them up and then pour the sauce on to each piece. It’s easy to make more sauce if you need it and only takes a matter of minutes!

✩ ✩ ✩

Thank you for coming to Severn Wishes today to read this recipe blog post. I hope you have enjoyed it. Can you please leave me a comment on this post if you try the recipe, and let me know what you think!

Have a great week!

✩ Sabrina ✩