Double Dark Chocolate & Licorise Vegan Cake

This is the easiest and most delicious cake I have ever tried. The foundation of the recipe is based off Nigella Lawson, but I've tweaked it a little as I love licorise, it gives such a beautiful hum and depth of flavour to the cake.

Photography credit by Ann

INGREDIENTS Serves: 10-12 slices

CAKE

• 225 grams plain flour

• 1½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1½ teaspoons instant licorise (Lakrids) powder

• 75g dutch processed cocoa

• 280 grams soft dark brown sugar

• 375 ml hot water from a recently boiled kettle

• 75g coconut oil or flavourless vegetable oil such as sunflower oil (i used olive oil)

• 1½ teaspoons cider vinegar

FOR THE ICING

• 60ml cold water

• 75g coconut butter (this is not the same as oil)- if you are not vegan, just use butter

• 50g soft dark sugar

• 1½ teaspoons instant licorise (Lakrids) powder

• 1½ tablespoons dutch processed cocoa

• 150g 80Noir Ultra chocolate, finely chopped

Instructions

You will need a 20cm/8in round springform cake tin.

1. Start with the icing, though first preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/350°F/gas mark 4 and pop in a baking sheet at the same time. Put all of the icing ingredients except the chopped chocolate into a heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil, making sure everything’s dissolved. Then turn off the heat – but leave the pan on the hob – then quickly add the finely chopped chocolate and swirl the pan so that it is submerged. Leave for a minute, then whisk until you have a darkly glossy icing, and leave to cool.

2. Don't forget to stir with a spatula every now and again whilst you make the cake.

3. Line the bottom of your springform cake tin (make sure its secure as this is a very wet batter) with baking parchment.

4. Put the flour, bicarb, salt and instant licorise and cocoa in a bowl and fork to mix.

5. Mix together the sugar, water, coconut oil and vinegar until the coconut oil has melted, and stir into the dry ingredients, then pour into the prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes. Though do check at the 30-minute mark to see if it is already done.

6. Mine took around 40 minutes so just watch it. When it's ready, the cake will come away from the edges of the tin and a cake tester will come out clean, apart from a few crumbs. This is a fudgy cake and you don't want to overdo it.

7. Once the cake is cooked, transfer the tin to a wire rack and let the cake cool in its tin.

8. Turn to your icing, and give it a good stir with a spatula to check it is at the right consistency. It needs to be runny enough to cover the cake, but thick enough to stay (mostly) on the top. So pour over the unmoulded cake, and use a spatula to ease the icing to the edges, if needed.

9. If you wish to decorate, add what ever you want to the top, as it has licorise in, I would recommend fresh black berries or strawberry powder as it just lifts the flavour even more.

10. This is a sumptuous cake which you can also freeze, just cut them into pieces so you can just pick one out, pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds and it comes out fudge delicious. I cant believe how amazing this cake it! It truly is a beautiful cake to make when you want a mid afternoon bite.

Don't forget to get baking and tag in your photos with @80noir_ultra and be featured on Instagram. I can't wait to see how you get on x