Vegan Chocolate Guinness Cake

Preheat your oven to 180˚C fan/200˚C convention and line two 20cm cake tins.

Start by making a flax egg. Combine ground flaxseeds with 5 tbsp of warm water in a small bowl and let sit for at least 10 minutes - until thick.

In a large bowl combine the flour, cocoa, caster sugar and light brown sugar. Stir well for 2-3 minutes, until all of the elements are fully incorporated. Add the baking soda, baking powder and salt and stir for another minute. Set aside while you mix the liquids.

In another large bowl, combine the Guinness, milk, oil, vanilla, cider vinegar and the flax egg and whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir lightly until fully incorporated.

Transfer the batter into the prepared tins. Bake them for for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

While the cakes bakes, make the frosting. Add the plant based butter and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat the butter for 1 minute, until fluffy. Add the icing sugar in small increments, along with the salt. Mix until you’ve added all of the icing sugar, and the frosting is light and fluffy. Transfer it to the fridge.

Once the cakes are baked, let them cool in their tins for 10 minutes. Remove them from their tins and let them cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, use a cake divider or a serrated knife to split the two layers in half, leaving you with four layers. You can also leave the layers as they are for a two-layer cake.

Place a dollop of frosting onto the base of your cake stand or dish. Place the first layer of cake on. Dollop 2 heaped spoons of frosting on and use an offset spatula or spoon to spread the frosting along the top of the cake, all the way to the edges (don’t worry if it gets on the exterior - it will all be frosted at the end). Try to spread the frosting as evenly as possible.

Place the second layer of sponge onto the froster first layer. Dollop 2 heaped spoons of frosting on and spread it like you did with the first layer. Repeat the process with layers 3 and 4. 

Now that the layers are frosted between them and on the top, it’s time to do a crumb coat (a base coat) of frosting - this is a light layer of frosting along the whole cake that helps seal the sponge in and makes it easier to decorate the cake later on. 

Spoon some frosting along the sides of your cake. Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting in a thin layer across the cake -  you want as little excess frosting as possible. 

If you have a bench scraper, place it where it’s just touching the edge of the cake and turning the cake dish, to get a smooth and uniform finish along the cake sides. If you don’t have a bench scraper, use a knife to remove as much excess frosting as possible. 

 Pop the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up - this makes it easier to put the final layer of frosting on. 

Remove the chilled cake from the fridge. Dollop the remaining frosting along the top and sides of the cake, and use the back of a spoon to create little swooshes and divots all over the cake.

Place the cake back in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up slightly. Remove the cake from the fridge, dust it with cocoa powder and slice it up!