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Dark and sumptuous chocolate cake

Preparation time Cooking time

less than 30 mins 30 mins to 1 hour

Serves Dietary
Serves 10-12

A vegan chocolate cake to die for from Nigella Lawson's Simply

Nigella.

For this recipe you will need a leakproof 20cm/8in springform cake
tin.

By Nigella Lawson
From Simply Nigella

Ingredients

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 For the icing
75g/2½oz coconut butter (this is not the same as oil)
50g/1¾oz so dark sugar
1½ tsp instant espresso
1½ tbsp cocoa powder
150g/5½oz dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), finely
chopped

For the cake

225g/8oz plain flour
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
1½ tsp instant espresso powder
75g/2½oz cocoa powder
300g/10½oz so dark brown sugar
375ml/13fl oz hot water, from a recently boiled kettle
90ml/3fl oz (or 75g/2½oz if weighed when solid) coconut oil
1½ tsp cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tbsp edible rose petals, to decorate
1 tbsp chopped pistachios, to decorate

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and pop in a baking
sheet at the same time.
2. For the icing, put all of the icing ingredients except the
chopped chocolate into a heavy-based saucepan and add 4
tablespoons cold water. Bring to the boil, making sure
everything’s dissolved. Then turn off the heat but leave the
pan on the hob. Quickly add the finely chopped chocolate and
swirl the pan so that it is all underwater, so to speak. Leave for
a scant minute, then whisk until you have a darkly glossy icing,
and leave to cool. I find this takes exactly the amount of time
the cake takes to make, cook and cool. But do give the icing a
stir with a spatula every now and again.
3. Line the bottom of your springform cake tin (you will need a
good, leakproof one as this is a very wet batter) with baking
parchment.
4. Put the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, instant espresso and
cocoa powder in a bowl and fork to mix.
5. Mix together the sugar, water, coconut oil and vinegar until
the coconut oil has melted, and stir into the dry ingredients.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes. Though do

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 check at the 30-minute mark to see if it is already done. When
it’s ready, the cake will be coming away from the edges of the
tin and a cake tester will come out clean, apart from a few
crumbs. This is a fudgy cake and you don’t want to overdo it.
6. Once the cake is cooked, transfer the tin to a wire rack and let
the cake cool in its tin. Once completely cool remove from the
tin.
7. Turn to your icing, and give it a good stir with a spatula to
check it is at the right consistency. It needs to be runny
enough to cover the cake, but thick enough to stay (mostly) on
the top. So pour over the cake, and use a spatula to ease the
icing to the edges, if needed. If you wish to decorate, now is
the time to do it. In which case, sprinkle joyously with rose
petals and chopped pistachios or anything else that your heart
desires; otherwise, leave it gleaming darkly and, indeed,
sumptuously. Leave to stand for 30 minutes for the icing to set
before slicing into the cake.

Recipe Tips
My version has coconut oil in the cake, and coconut butter in the
icing, but of course you can use vegetable oil in the cake, and vegan
margarine for the icing if you prefer. The combination stipulated in
the ingredients list, however, creates a cake and icing of such depth
and fudginess that I never veer from it, even though I know the
shopping list is a tiny bit demanding.

Both the coconut oil and coconut butter need to stand out of the
fridge for a good couple of hours before using. I oen take them out
the night before, as then they are easier to measure out.

Please check the labelling on the chocolate you buy. It needs,

whatever your concerns, to be dark (minimum 70% cocoa solids for
my taste), but if you need this to be absolutely dairy-free or vegan,
make sure it says so on the packet.

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