Coffee and Walnut Cake

This is the best vegan sponge cake I have ever made, both in terms of taste and texture. I would challenge anyone to tell that it was vegan in a blind tasting!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Method

• Make up the coffee and set to one side to cool.
• Pre-heat the oven to 170C/160C Fan/325F/Gas3.
• Cream the spread and sugar.
• Add all of the remaining ingredients (reserving 25g/1oz of the nuts) and mix until just combined.
• Divide the mixture between 2 greased and lined 7″ sandwich tins.
• Bake for 20-25 mins until the cakes are firm and spring back slightly if pressed gently in the centre.
• Turn out onto a wire rack and remove the greaseproof paper.
• Allow to cool before icing.
• Soften the spread in a bowl and stir in the icing sugar.
• Mix together, adding just enough of the coffee to make a thick, spreadable icing.
• Spread in the middle and on top of the cake.
• Decorate the top of the cake with the remaining nuts.

Suitable for freezing.

*I made this cake as an experiment, to try out the tub of xanthan gum I had recently bought. Xanthan gum is a binder and emulsifier which is often used in gluten-free baking – it can be found in the baking or free-from section of most big supermarkets.