Jaffa cakes were the technical challenge on week one of the 2016 Great British Bake Off. I got a yen for them and had a go at veganising the recipe. To be honest they're a right clart on and I'm not sure they're worth the effort, but here it is:
For the sponge:
150 ml aqua faba (the water out of a tin of chick peas. Use unsalted unless you're weird)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g caster sugar
125g plain flour
25 ml sunflower oil
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F and grease a 12 hole cupcake tin.
Whisk the aqua faba, vanilla extract and sugar for a good five minutes until the mixture is creamy and at the ribbon stage. Gently fold in the flour and oil, spoon into the cupcake tin and bake for 12 minutes until a skewer will come out clean from the sponge.
Allow them to cool in the tin then remove (a small spatula helps as they stick a bit) onto a wire rack
For the jelly:
6 oranges
2 tablespoons of agar agar flakes
Squeeze the oranges until you have about 350ml of juice. Sprinkle the agar agar flakes on top and bring to the boil without stirring. Reduce the temperature to a simmer and stir occasionally for about 5 minutes. Test a drop of the mix on a cold surface to see if it will set. Transfer the liquid into a shallow dish, allow to cool then chill until it sets firm. Take a cookie cutter and cut out discs of jelly. Sit these on top of the sponges
For the topping:
200g dairy free dark chocolate
Gently melt the chocolate over a pan of water or in the microwave (blasts of 30 seconds at 40% power, then stir, then another 30 seconds) then spoon over the sponges. To create the jaffa cake's trademark pattern, drag a fork over the chocolate then allow to set.