Low in sugar and saturated fats, this vegan chocolate cake is a favourite at parties/celebrations/afternoon tea/just because.

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

For the cake

• 150ml hot water
• 80g cocoa powder
• 200ml agave nectar
• 200ml coconut milk
• juice of ½  a lemon
• 80ml sunflower oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 180g white spelt flour or plain flour
• ½  teaspoon baking powder
• 1½  teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
• a pinch of salt

For the icing

• 50g cocnut oil
• 200g dark chocolate
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 50ml agave nectar

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 160°C/325°F/gas mark 3. Grease and line a 20–23cm cake tin with baking paper.

2. Whisk together the hot water and cocoa powder until smooth. Add the remaining wet ingredients and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Pour the wet mixture over the dry and whisk in a circular motion from the centre of the bowl, moving outwards to combine. Pour the mixture into the cake tin.

4. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean and the cake is springy to the touch. Let it cool for 10 minutes before turning it out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. For the icing, put all the ingredients into a heatproof bowl and place over a pan of barely simmering water to melt, and stir. Move the cake to a serving plate and drizzle the chocolate icing over it.

This recipe was taken from Little Leon: Sweet Treats: Naturally Fast Recipes published on 3 September 2015