Chocolate Guinness Cake

Ingredients

• 100 ml (3.3 fl.oz) soya milk

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 300 g (10.6 oz) light brown sugar

• 300 g (10.6 oz) plain flour

• 80 g (2.8 oz) cocoa powder

• 1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda

• pinch of salt

• 100 g (3.5 oz) vegan margarine, plus extra for greasing
• 300 ml (10.1 fl.oz) stout beer (e.g. Guinness)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the icing:

• 550 g (19.4 oz) icing sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 6 tablespoons vegan margarine

• 2½ tablespoons soya milk

• 1 tablespoon Irish whiskey (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan)/400°F (350°F fan)/gas mark 6 (gas mark 4 fan). Then grease 2 x 7” round cake tins with vegan margarine and line the bases with baking paper.

Transfer the soya milk to a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir in the apple cider vinegar. Set to one side for 5 minutes until the milk curdles, then add the sugar and stir until fully dissolved. Leave the bowl to one side.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Melt the margarine, either in a saucepan or in the microwave, and add it to the flour mix along with the Guinness, vanilla extract and sugar milk mixture. Gently fold until fully combined.

Pour half of the cake mixture into each cake tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Once the cakes are ready, leave them to cool in the tins for 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges of the tins and turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack bottom side down. Leave to fully cool.

Meanwhile prepare the frosting by combining all the ingredients either in a food processor or by hand until silky smooth. Transfer a third of the icing to a small bowl to use for the crumb coat later.

Once the cakes have cooled completely, use a serrated knife to trim and discard the dome tops so the top of the cakes are flat. You can use the discarded cake to make cake pops!

Place one of the cakes on a serving dish and use half of the icing that you transferred to a small bowl earlier to add a thin crumb coat. Then wipe down your spatula/palette knife, and use half of the icing in the other container to ice the cake fully.

Place the second cake on top and repeat. And voila, all done!