ELLA MILLS’ ALMOND VICTORIA CAKE

“I know lots of people get worried about baking cakes and think they’re not natural ‘bakers’,” says blogger Ella Mills of Deliciously Ella, “but the brilliant thing about vegan cake mixes is that they are so simple to make. There is quite a lot of maple syrup in this cake but that’s because it’s really for a special occasion.”

Ingredients (Serves 12)

For the cake: 300g ground almonds, 240g buckwheat flour (or plain flour), 1tbsp bicarbonate of soda, pinch of sea salt flakes, 440ml maple syrup, 100ml almond milk, the water from 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas

For the icing: 400g pure coconut yoghurt, 50ml maple syrup, the scraped seeds of 1 vanilla pod or 1tsp vanilla powder

For the middle: 100g strawberry jam

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C). Line two 23cm cake tins with baking parchment.

2. Mix the ground almonds, buckwheat flour, bicarb & salt, stirring well; add the maple syrup, almond milk and chickpea water and mix again until a smooth batter.

3. Pour equal amounts of the batter into the lined tins and bake for 20 minutes, until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool in their tins until room temperature.

4. For the icing, whisk the coconut yoghurt with an electric whisk until it becomes really thick. It’s really important to whisk the yoghurt on its own first. Once it feels very thick and holds its shape, add the syrup & vanilla and whisk for another minute.

5. Once the cakes are cool, spread the jam over one and sandwich it with the other. Spoon the icing over the top of the cake and smooth it over evenly. We like adding berries and edible flowers as decoration.

Deliciously Ella The PlantBased Cookbook by Ella Mills, photography by Nassima Rothacker, is published by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £25.