Rich Chocolate Cake with Dairy-Free Icing

A rich, moist homemade chocolate cake with a tender crumb, plenty of cocoa and chocolate pieces. Delicious on its own or finished with the optional dairy-free chocolate icing.

Prep: 20 minutes  |  Bake: 40–50 minutes  |  Oven: 175°C fan  |  Makes: One 23–25 cm round cake

Ingredients

Dry

• 2½ cups (approximately 310 g) plain flour, or spelt flour
• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons cacao powder
• 1½ cups coconut sugar
• 2½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt

Wet and chocolate

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups (500 ml) unsweetened dairy-free milk
• 145 g Olivani or dairy-free baking spread, melted and cooled slightly
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup chopped dairy-free dark chocolate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C fan. Grease and line a 23–25 cm round cake tin.
2. Whisk the flour, cacao, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.
3. In a second bowl, whisk the eggs, dairy-free milk, melted spread, maple syrup, vanilla and vinegar.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined. Fold through the chopped chocolate.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for around 40–50 minutes, checking from 35 minutes. A skewer should come out with a few moist crumbs rather than wet batter.
6. Leave in the tin for 10–15 minutes, then transfer to a rack. Cool completely before icing.

Optional dairy-free chocolate icing

• 1½ cups icing sugar, sifted
• ¼ cup cacao powder, sifted
• 60 g dairy-free baking spread (such as Olivani), softened
• 2–4 tablespoons dairy-free milk, added gradually
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the spread until smooth, then mix in the icing sugar, cacao and vanilla. Add dairy-free milk a little at a time until thick and spreadable. Swirl over the completely cooled cake. Finish with shaved dairy-free dark chocolate if you like.

Gluten-free variation

Replace the plain or spelt flour with approximately 310 g of a gluten-free 1:1 baking flour blend that is intended for cakes and contains a binder such as xanthan gum. Different blends absorb liquid differently; add a small splash of dairy-free milk if the batter looks unusually thick. Begin checking doneness at 35 minutes. This substitution is suggested but has not been independently tested with every gluten-free flour blend.

Dairy-free notes

Use dairy-free milk, dairy-free baking spread and chocolate labelled dairy-free. Check the ingredients of your chosen icing sugar and chocolate if you are avoiding particular allergens. Eggs are included in this recipe.

Real Food Direct kitchen tip: The cake is delicious slightly warm without icing, or cooled and topped with the chocolate frosting.

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Made with love in our family kitchen ♡

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Find the baking ingredients for this chocolate cake at Real Food Direct:

• Flour or gluten-free flour blend
• Cacao powder (cake and optional icing)
• Coconut sugar
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Maple syrup
• Vanilla
• Apple cider vinegar
• Dark chocolate
• Icing sugar (optional icing)