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Chocolate Raspberry Hazelnut Cake

This recipe comes from The Joy of Vegan Cookery by Amanda Grant. For a delicious alternative, replace the frozen raspberries with fresh blueberries. Keep some blueberries for the top, they look great in contrast with the white icing.

2 oz (55g) hazelnuts
9 oz (250g) self-rasing flour
3 oz (85g) cocoa powder
3 tsps baking powder
9 oz (250g) golden caster sugar
1½ tsps vanilla extract
4 fl oz (120 ml) corn oil
12 fl oz (360 ml) soya milk
4½ oz (125g) frozen raspberries

icing
2 oz (55g) vegan margarine
4 oz (115g) icing sugar, sieved
1/2 tsp vanilla essence - optional
some small lumps of chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Preheat the grill to high. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking tray and toast them under the grill, turning frequently, for 5 minutes or until golden. Cool, then chop finely. Grease a 20 cm/8 in cake tin with a removable bottom.

2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a bowl. Mix in the sugar, then add the vanilla extract, if using, oil and soya milk. Beat the mixture with an electric whisk until it has the consistency of a thick batter. Stir in the raspberries and hazelnuts.

3. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 40 minutes until the outside of the cake is cooked and the centre is still slightly squidgy. Cool on a wire rack.

4. Make the icing by mashing the icing sugar into the margarine and vanilla essence. Once the cake is cool, cover the top of the cake with icing, and put chocolate chips around the edge.

5. Alternatively, serve the cake warm as a dessert, with no icing.