Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 30 g (3 Tbsp) cocoa powder
  • 4 Tbsp boiling water
  • 120 g silken tofu* (excess liquid drained off)
  • 200 ml (½ + ⅓ cup) unsweetened non dairy milk (soy is best)
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ tsp cider or white white vinegar (or lemon juice)
  • 240 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 25 g (2 ½ Tbsp) cornflour (cornstarch)**
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 275 g (2 ⅓ cups) caster (superfine) sugar
  • 120 g (½ cup) vegan block butter (melted)
  • 45 ml (3 Tbsp) neutral oil (sunflower/vegetable/canola/mild olive)

Instruction

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°fan/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease an approx 11.5 x 21.5 cm / 4.5 x 8.5 in loaf tin (2lb loaf tin) and line with a strip of baking parchment.
  • Place the cocoa powder in a large bowl and whisk in the boiling water to make a smooth paste. Set aside.
  • Place the silken tofu, milk, vanilla extract and vinegar in a blender and blitz until smooth. (I just put it all in a large jug and use a stick blender).
  • Place the plain flour, cornflour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
  • Add the melted butter and oil to the dry ingredients and stir until no dry patches remain.
  • Gradually whisk the wet ingredients into the dry to form a smooth batter.
  • Measure 500g of the batter (just under half) into the cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.
  • Spoon ⅓ of one of the colours into the prepared tin. Spoon ⅓ of the other colour on top (it doesn't have to be neat). Repeat this two more times so you end up with three layers of each colour.
  • Drag a skewer or knife through the batter a couple of times to swirl the colours together. Don't go mad here or you will just end up mixing them together rather than swirling; a couple of times is enough.
  • Bake the cake for 60-75 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. You can loosely cover the top with tin foil towards the end of baking if it starts to get too dark.
  • Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 20 minutes then gently turn it out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely before slicing.