28 Dec A Chocolate Cake With Some Festive Zesty Orange

Find your perfect festive slice in this chocolate cake with a refreshing orange kick. Great for surprising friends and family with something totally delicious for the table after the main meal.

Ingredients

• 225ml plant milk
• 25ml orange juice
• 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 ¾ cup brown sugar (or with coconut sugar – it won’t be as sweet).
• Zest of 1 orange
• ¾ cups cacao powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup apple sauce
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 TBS vanilla extract

For the icing:

• 2 cups icing sugar
• ½ cup vegan butter/margarine
• ½ cup cacao powder
• 1/8 cup plant milk

Chocolate Cake Method:

1. Heat your oven to 180C and grease two spring form cake tins. I prefer using an 18cm for this cake, but you can use a larger one if you like.
2. If you haven’t bought apple sauce you can make your own like I do. Just peel and core about 4 apples and cut into cubes. Boil until they are soft, pour off the water and blend the apples. You can keep the water the apples were boiled in and cool it. It is delicious.
3. In a mixing jug add in the milk and apple cider vinegar, stir and let it curdle. It will thicken really nicely like buttermilk.
4. In a large mixing bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cacao, orange zest and sugar and mix together.
5. Add the apple sauce, boiling water, and vanilla essence to the milk mixture and mix together. Add into the flour bowl and whisk. 
6. Pour into the greased cake tins and place in the oven for about 35 minutes or until a fork comes out clean. This is a beautifully moist and dense cake.