Our birthday girl requested the usual for her cake again - chocolate with vanilla buttercream. So I made it gluten-free and vegan so all the kids in the 12-strong party could get stuck in! I increased the recipe by 50% to make a higher cake.

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 c plant-based milk (I used rice)
1 c coconut sugar
3/4 c organic golden sugar
2 c flour of choice
3/4 c cocoa powder
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 c + 2 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 c boiling water

Buttercream:
170g vegan butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 c icing sugar
3-4 Tbsp plant-based milk

Preheat oven to 180C. Line 2 x 22cm round sponge tins or 3 x 20cm round tins (I used these but also increased the recipe by 50%).
In a large jug mix the vinegar and milk and leave to curdle.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Mix in oil, vanilla and coffee to the milk jug.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until combined. Divide equallly into your tins and bake for 25-35 min until cooked through. Leave in the tins to cool them turn out onto a wire rack.

For the buttercream, whisk the butter in a large bowl until super soft. Mix in vanilla extract. Whisk in icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time until you get the consistency you want. Add in 1 Tbsp of milk at a time to loosen the mixture.

Place one cake layer on your serving plate. Slather with 1/2 or 1/3 of your buttercream depending on how many layers you have. Roughly cover the top and sides of your cake (crumb coating), reserving some buttercream. Refrigerate for about half hour until firm then apply the final layer of buttercream on top and sides. Dot the sides with giant chocolate buttons.

For the decoration I just printed out a 9 at 600pt in the middle of an A4 sheet and cut it out, Place on top of your cake (don't forget the middle bit of the 9) and dust with edible sprinkles, dust or glitter until your number is solid. Remove the paper carefully.