Now, I know what you’re thinking. ‘There are already so many vegan, gluten-free recipes! why on earth do we need another ?!’ or ‘can’t I just eat a normal cake and enjoy it ?’ Ah, but I have answers for your questions.  Yes, there are many recipes, but they probably require you to hand-mill your own home-grown wheatgrass or buy some flaxseed which you can find ‘in all your local supermarkets’. Well, not when you’re in Durham. This cake doesn’t require grated beetroot, syrups cultivated in the high Andes mountains or kale. You can find all the ingredients easily and cheaply. And the best thing, is that you can eat this cake, and enjoy it, because it tastes…’normal’. 

         free from everything, except calories.

What you need for the cake:

175g Gluten-free plain powder (any – if you are not making this cake gluten-free, substitute for normal flour)

150g Sugar (I always forget that sugar is vegan ! life is not all bad !)

25g Cocao powder

1 banana (or an avocado, but bananas are cheaper and it’s a good way to use up that one brown one that you found at the bottom of your bag)

2 tsp Baking powder (gf)

½ tsp Bicarb of soda (if you have it

200ml Soya milk

75ml Sunflower oil

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Frosting :

4 tbsp Vegan spread (or, an avocado)

1 tbsp Cocoa powder

2 tbsp Icing sugar

(I’m unsure on quantities as I just mix it all together and keep adding more sugar and cocoa until it tastes goooooooood)

Optional : dark chocolate chips anywhere and everywhere

In case you were interested, the reason this cake works  – it sticks together, but not too much – is because the banana is an ingredient from the gods. It acts as a glue which replaces qualities given by gluten and eggs, while it keeps the cake moist. Gluten-free flour is hydrophilic so it needs a lot of liquid, which is why the oil and milk balance it well.

Method:

• Grease a tin with a little of the vegan spread and line with grease-proof paper. Turn on oven to 160C.
• Mash banana and then mix in sugar.
• Add the rest of the cake ingredients and mix together.
• Put in tin. Put tin in oven. Leave in oven for about half an hour (or until you poke a knife in the middle and it comes out clean).
• While it is cooling, mix together frosting. When the cake is cold, either cut it in half and put the frosting in the middle or just slop it on the top.

                                Happy Easter!

                            So there you have it! An easy, cheap cake that will satisfy even the most difficult sweet tooth.