Dairy Free Chocolate Layer Cake

Ingredients
For the cake:
400g light brown sugar
120ml vegetable or rapeseed oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
240ml brewed coffee (still warm)
300g self raising flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
75g unsweetened cocoa powder
240ml goats/soya/nut or whole milk if you don’t need it cows dairy free

For the dairy free chocolate frosting:
120g dairy free spread
120g Trex, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
50g cocoa powder
400g icing sugar
1 tbsp hazelnut milk to slacken

Preheat the oven to 170c or gas mark 3 and line the bottom of two 20cm sandwich tins with parchment. These must be very tight fitting loose bottomed tins or one piece tins as the batter is very runny and may leak out!

Mix the oil and sugar until well combined. Add the eggs, salt and vanilla extract and mix thoroughly.

Once the coffee is warm but not hot, add it to the sugar mixture. Sift together the baking powder, baking soda, flour and cocoa powder.

Add half the dry ingredients to the batter, and then add half of the milk. Add the other half of the dry ingredients and then the remaining milk. Whisk briefly to combine, and carefully pour the batter equally between the two sandwich tins.

Bake for 40-55 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Move to a cooling rack until completely cold.

To make the icing, beat the dairy free spread and Trex with the vanilla extract and icing sugar and milk to slacken if needed.

Sandwich the sponges together with a big spoonful of icing spread on one sponge and then crumb coat a thin layer of icing onto the cake with an offset spatula.

Refrigerate for 20 mins or so to set the icing then cover the cake again with the rest of the icing.