Vegan Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

This vegan chocolate olive oil cake is a breeze to make. It has a lovely deep chocolatey flavour and a texture that’s enhanced by the inclusion of wholemeal spelt flour in the mix.

Using olive oil in place of margarine, butter or coconut oil means that it’s lower in saturated fat than ordinary chocolate cakes and has a soft, moist texture.

I used Dutch-processed (alkalised) cocoa for the pictured cake. Most well known brands in UK supermarkets, including Bournville, Green and Blacks and Dr Oetker, are Dutch-processed but I’ve included a variation just in case you’re using natural cocoa powder, which is more acidic.

The icing is a simple dark chocolate ganache made with maple syrup and oat milk, and I’ve include a thin layer of ginger jam underneath it for extra moisture and a slight tang reminiscent of sachertorte. Apricot jam would make this very much like the famous Austrian cake in flavour, although sachertorte itself has a distinctly dense, drier texture which distinguishes it from most other chocolate cakes.

If you serve this cake before the ganache icing has fully cooled, it will be beautifully glossy. The ganache sets firm with a soft sheen.

Vegan chocolate olive oil cake…

Ingredients

• 120 g white self-raising flour
• 90 g wholemeal spelt flour
• 120 g soft dark brown sugar
• 30 g Dutch-processed or natural cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• pinch of salt (no more than 1/4 tsp)
• 140 ml barista style oat (or other non-dairy) milk
• 55 g olive oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon juice (if using natural cocoa powder omit this)

for the ganache icing

• 90 g ginger (or apricot/other) jam
• 140 g dark non-dairy chocolate (70% cocoa solids is good)
• 65 g maple syrup
• 35 ml oat (or other non-dairy) milk

Method

1. Set the oven to 180ºC/360ºF. Lightly oil and line the base of an 8″/20cm round cake tin. It will be much easier to remove the cake from a springform/loose-bottomed tin.
2. Sift the flours, cocoa, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Add the brown sugar and salt and mix/whisk until you have an even, sandy mixture.
3. In a separate jug or bowl, combine the milk, olive oil, vanilla, lemon juice (if required) and 140 ml of water. Whisk thoroughly. (Note both olive oil and maple syrup is given in grams, because it’s usually easier to measure it that way.)
4. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and stir until it is fairly smooth. The mixture does not have to be completely smooth but you should avoid pockets of unmixed flour. It will be runnier than an ordinary cake batter.
5. Transfer the cake mixture to the baking tin and bake in the centre of the over for 35-40 minutes until it is well risen and firm to touch in the centre.
6. Allow the cake to cool for half an hour before removing it carefully from the tin and transferring to a board or plate for icing.
7. Heat the jam in the microwave until it is runny and paint in a layer across the top and sides of the cake. You can use a pastry brush to do this, or make do with a spoon and flat-bladed knife.
8. Allow the cake/jam to cool completely before icing.
9. To create the ganache, break up the chocolate into small pieces. Heat the oil and milk in the microwave or a pan until it is boiling then removed to a cool surface. Stir in the chocolate pieces until they are fully melted and you have a thick glossy ganache.
10. Spoon the ganache on top of the cake (you might want to do this in two or three stages) and spread over the top and sides using a spatula or flat-bladed knife.
11. Leave to settle for a while before cutting. If you are cutting the cake after the icing has set completely, pour boiling water over a sharp knife and dry it lightly – it will cut cleanly through the ganache without cracking it.

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