Cake:

300 grams or 1 1/2 cups, Sugar (Caster or Granulated)

1, Can of Cola (330 ml & room temperature)

90 grams or 6 tablespoons, Vegetable Shortening (Stork or Crisco)

90 ml, Vegetable Oil

1 shot of Espresso (optional)

1 1/2 teaspoons, Baking Powder

1/2 cup or 50 grams, Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (not hot chocolate mix!)

1 teaspoon, Vanilla Bean Paste ( or good quality extract)

1/4 teaspoon, Salt

300 grams or 2 1/2 cups, Self Rising/All Purpose Flour

 

Ganache:

100 grams, Very Good Quality Dark Chocolate ( or lighter dairy free chocolate of your choice)

100 ml, Almond Milk (or dairy free milk of your choice)

 

 

 

Line an 8 inch cake tin with baking parchment or grease proof paper and set aside.

(Tip: Rub a bit of vegetable oil all around your tin to get the paper to stick well.)

Pre-heat oven to 176 degree C or 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, add all your wet ingredients, and mix well.

Next incorporate all your dry ingredients, except the flour.

Lastly, add flour and gently mix just enough to combine. If you work the gluten in the flour too much, it will produce a bready cake. Very important not to over mix once the flour has been added!

Pour cake batter into prepared cake tin. Feel free to lick every bit of extra batter off the bowl and utensils! Since there isn’t any egg in here it’s perfectly fine…and yummy!

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.

Turn out cake onto a plate, remove baking parchment, and turn over again onto a serving dish.

Allow to cool completely!

Whilst your cake is cooling, make the ganache.

Cut your chocolate into very small pieces, and place in a microwave safe bowl.

Cover chocolate with diary-free milk, and put in the microwave on 30 second intervals or until milk is hot (mine took about 70 seconds but will vary depending on the power of your microwave.)

Stir mixture until combined, and a nice and shiny! Let cool for a few minutes to thicken a bit, then pour over cooled cake.

Let ganache set at room temperature before adding chocolate shavings or decoration of your choice!