Vegan Honey and Mint Syrup Cake

This cake is moist, rich and—above all—sweet. The recipe I use here differs only slightly from the original and those changes are largely to make a vegan version rather than my usual inability to follow recipes without making alterations along the way.

Ingredients:

• Cake Batter
• 160 g margarine*
• 300 g sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp chopped mint
• 1 banana
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp soy milk
• 4 tbsp custard powder†
• 180 g shredded coconut
• 210 g self-raising flour
• Syrup
• 150 ml water
• 135 g sugar
• 1 1/2 cups roughyl chopped mint
• Topping
• 50 g margarine*
• 120 g honey‡
• 180 g sliced almonds

Directions:

• Cake Batter
• Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F (160°C/320°F non-fan-forced). Beat the margarine, sugar and mint until they become light and fluffy.
• Mash banana to a fine puree and combine with custard powder and baking powder. Stirring constantly, add vinegar, baking powder, soy milk and 2 Tbsp water. The resulting liquid works as a the substitute for the raising, binding and moisturising properties of egg in most cake batters.
• Adding small quantities at a time and beating between each, add egg substitute, coconut and flour to the beaten margarine.
• Line a spring-form cake tin with baking paper. Even if the tin is non-stick, baking paper will be required for the base. Pour the batter into the tin and spread evenly. Bake for 1-1 1/2 hours until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
• Syrup
• Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. When it comes to the boil, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Leave for at least 45 minutes before using.
• Strain to remove mint leaves immediately before using.
• Assembling
• Increase oven temperature to 170°C/340°F (180°C/355°F non-fan-forced). Leaving the cake in the tin, prick holes over 2 cm in the top. Pour the mint syrup over the cake and wait for it to soak in.
• To prepare the topping, place margarine and honey‡ in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until combined. Stir through the almonds and remove from the heat without letting the mixture come to the boil.
• Spread topping immediately over the top of the cake and place in the oven for 15 minutes until the top starts to darken. Allow to cool for half an hour before removing from the tin. Be careful when removing the cake from the tin, as the syrup softens it significantly.

* The majority of the margarines sold at your local supermarket are most distinctly not vegan, using milk solids to reproduce the flavour of butter. Check the ingredients before buying.

† In theory, custard powder is powdered eggs, cornflour and vanilla flavouring meant to reproduce an egg custard. However, cost cutting means that most custard powders don't contain egg any more. Check before you buy.

‡ There are two schools of thought on the vegan qualities of honey. Put simply: honey is vegan vs. honey is not vegan. To avoid getting bogged down in the debate, which runs deep, some less controversially vegan-friendly options are: agave syrup, maple syrup and golden syrup. Each has its own distinct flavour that it will impart, and the choice between them is down to individual taste.