IRISH COFFEE CHOCOLATE CAKE, butter & egg free, higher fibre, healthier, vegan

Special occasion cake for St Patrick's Day that tastes and feels like proper cake but is vegan...

'One of the best cakes you've made' 'Melt-in-the-mouth, spongy, cream v. silky' Tasters

Irish Coffee Cake is truly worthy of a St Patrick's Day knees-up. 

Dark, rich and gorgeously chocolate, the cake is fine-crumbed and hinting of whiskey.  The frothy topping can be served on the side or made into icing (as in photo).  It's very rich so portions can be kept small - it'll feed 16 happily.  

67's tasters delivered their verdicts on the dessert before being told that the cake was vegan.  They were stunned -- in a good way.  The cake* passed the 'carnivores love it' test with flying colours as well as meeting the 67 criteria for  budget-conscious and low-cholesterol.  

Butter and egg free, the cake is healthier than most.  67 also replaced some plain flour with wholemeal and cut back on sugar, adding sweet ground almonds instead.    

Cost: £4.00 plus topping
Makes: 12-16 slices 

Ingreds:

   125g plain flour 
   100g wholemeal flour 

   1½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

   ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

   1½ teaspoons instant espresso powder

   75g/2.6oz cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate)

   375ml hot water, from a recently boiled kettle
   1 tsp vanilla

   90ml sunflower/light vegetable oil

   1½ teaspoons vinegar 

   260gm/9.1oz soft dark brown sugar plus 
         40gm/1.4oz ground almonds
   (OR 300gm soft dark brown sugar)

  1-2 tbsp/30ml whisky 

Topping:
    150ml vegan cream (or dairy for vegetarians) whipped to med firm peaks
    1 tbsp whiskey
    3-4 tbsp icing sugar (opt)
    finely grated 70% dark chocolate

1 x  23cm/9in circular pan with removable sides 

Method:

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350f/180C/gas 4 
2. Place pan on a piece of greaseproof paper, run a pen around the bottom, cut out the circle & use it (ink-side down) to line the base. Lightly brush veg oil over the sides.
3. Mix flours, bicarb, salt, espresso & cocoa in lge bowl (NOT the sugar)
4. In a separate bowl, blend sugar, water, oil and vinegar; add to dry ingred.  Beat with whisk or electric beaters (3-4 mins) until thick & glossy.
5. Pour into tin; bake 30-35 mins.  It's ready when cake comes away from the tin and a cake tester comes out relatively clean.  It's a fudgy cake; don't overdo the cooking
6. Leave cake in tin; poke plenty of holes in surface with a skewer; brush with 1-2 tbsp good whiskey  
7. Let the cake go completely cold in its tin on a wire rack 
8. Remove sides; add topping

Topping:

1. whip cream to medium-soft peaks
2. stir in whiskey
3. Either serve on the side dusted with cocoa 
4. OR add 3-4 tbsp sifted icing sugar until it holds its shape & sits nicely on the top of the cake; dust with cocoa  

Comments:

On the cake being vegan: 'Really!!?? Wow. Amazing!'

Otherwise:

'It's yummy - one of the best cakes you've ever made; the sponge is very light and the icing is great.' Political agent

'Moist & lovely; a great cake.' Campaign manager

'Melts in the mouth; really nice and spongy; really silky cream.' Boston intern 

Tips:

• 67's preferred topping is a (non-vegan) whipped cream with whisky & chocolate.  Vegans can go with a non-dairy cream or buttercream icing made with vegan margarine and non-dairy milk.
• If the cake is for a family with kids, divide the cake in 2, either in halves or 2/3:1/3.  Decide which portion is for the kids and don't add whiskey.  The adult portion can be sprinkled with finely chopped nuts as well as chocolate
• vegan cakes are not normally 67's choice; there's something about the taste and texture that often doesn't appeal to conventional palates.  Also, vegan sweets often call for flax/chia seed, gallons of maple syrup and coconut oil (high in saturated fat), which are either not wallet-friendly for experimenting or good for your heart. This recipe is so unlike that kind of vegan cakes, people are astonished that it's vegan.   

*adapted from Nigella

  For more cakes go to NavBar/Recipes I:Baking

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This recipe has been adapted by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.