I do love an easy chocolate cake that you don't need eggs for. Benjamina Ebuehi's recipe from A Good Day to Bake (Hardie Grant, 2022) is vegan and you can make it gluten-free and refined sugar-free too. I added swirls of jam or you could go to town with peanut butter, nuts or dried fruit.

1/2 tsp espresso powder

1 c hot water

1 1/2 c flour of choice

1 c granulated sugar of choice

1/3 c cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c neutral vegetable oil

1 Tbsp vinegar

Preheat oven to 160C. Line a 20 cm or 23 cm cake tin with baking paper.

Dissolve the coffee powder in the hot water.

In a large bowl whisk in all the dry ingredients. Stir in the oil and vinegar. Pour in half the coffee and mix until loosened, then pour in the rest and mix until fully combined.

Transfer into the cake tin and add any extras now if you desire - dollops of jam, marmalade or nut butter, or chopped nuts or fruit.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until cooked through. Leave the cake in the tin to cool for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely.

Leave as is, dust with icing sugar or top with ganache (1 c coconut cream heated up then mixed with 200 g dark chocolate, and cooled till thickened and spreadable).