Monday, 26 July – Sunday, 1 August 2010

Ever wanted a simple, fun and inspiring way to raise money to help save the lives of millions of farmed animals with Viva!? Well now’s the chance! Viva! is funded entirely by your donations and is the only campaigning-based vegetarian and vegan organisation in the UK.

If you support our aims to end cruelty to farmed animals and help the world become a kinder place, please join our Vegan Cake Bake. Funds are for our campaign Factory Farming - It's Gotta Go! which exposes the true horror and complete lack of humanity involved in the way most animals are reared in the UK.

Get on board with our Fundraising Vegan Cake Bake (Monday, July 26 - Sunday, August 1) by following our tips below!

• Organise your cake bake
• Where to sell your cake(s)
• Tell us about your cake bake
• Cake books to buy from Viva!
• Recipes: 

-   Carrot cake
-   Luscious lemon slices
-   Vanilla sponge
-   Chocolate berry cake
-   Chocolate chip cookies
-   Muffins
-   Chocolate Fairy cakes
-   Chocolate rice krispie cakes

Organise your cake bake

Decide which cake you want to make by following one of our delicious vegan recipes below or by calling 0117 944 1000 or emailing helen@viva.org.uk to be sent recipes.

Where to sell your cake(s)?

-     To family, friends and neighbours
-     Work colleagues
-     Organise a tea party or veggie bbq and serve up your cakes for donations or a set price per slice/item
-     Take your cake(s) along to clubs or activities you take part in
-     Host a cake stall at a community event

Tell us about your cake bake

We’d love to hear about your event, what you made and how much you raised. Please send your name, details of your event and any money raised to: Viva! Fundraising Vegan Cake Bake, 8 York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol BS2 8QH. Email any pictures to helen@viva.org.uk and they might feature in the next Viva!life and our web site.

Cake books to buy from Viva!

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero, £9.99

Perfectly sized and loaded with yummy pictures, this is the ultimate cupcake book given a vegan make-over. For the drool factor try baking your family and friends some Banana Split or Coconut Lime cupcakes. For those with a gluten-free, low-fat preference, try the Vanilla Gluten Freedom Cupcakes with Agave Icing.

Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero, paperback, £10.99

Ready, steady, get your oven pre-heated for some seriously fun baking with this almost pocket-sized, wonder of a book from the best-selling authors who brought you Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. With over 100 dairy-free recipes for drop cookies, fancy cookies and bars & slices, there is a sweet treat to suit every preference and skill level in the kitchen (kids included!). The layout is easy-to-follow and there are oodles of photos to get you drooling. Helpful 'morsels' of tips and cookie facts adorn the pages too. My favourite cookies at the moment have to be the Mocha Mamas - a vanilla/coffee based cookie and the Green Tea Walnut Biscotti a perfect partner to your daily cuppa.

The Cake Scoffer

Ronny, paperback, £1.25

There’s so much sweetness shoved into this tiny book. Cakes and sweets are brilliant, but wait until you see the recipe for vegan chocolate bars!

Mmm…Yummy Cakes

Paperback, £2.99

Tasty, easy-to-make recipes for cakes, puddings and muffins. The Plum and Almond Upside Down Cake is a real crowd pleaser. Includes gluten/wheat-free recipes.

Vegan Cupcake tunic

It would be great if everyone selling cakes could wear our Vegan Cupcake tunic (£16) too (well ladies, you guys may not look so good!).

Order from Viva! on 0117 944 1000 (Mon-Fri, 9-6) or online at www.viva.org.uk/shop

Part of Fruity Fundays Helping people go and be veggie or vegan!

Visit www.viva.org.uk/shop to place an order or call 0117 944 1000 (Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm).

Recipes 

Carrot Cake
Serves 8-12
1 hour: 20 minutes preparation and about 40 minutes to cook.

This is lovely – all moist and yummy.

Oil or low-cal spray for the cake tin plus greaseproof paper
100g/3½ oz vegan margarine
200g/7oz light brown sugar OR caster sugar
3 cups grated carrots – about 4½ medium carrots, grated on very small holes
1 ½ cups raisins – crunched up in the food processor or blender for a few minutes
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp allspice
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp salt
375g/13oz cups fine wholemeal self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
200ml/7fl oz soya milk

Equipment
Scales
Measuring spoons
Sieve
Large mixing bowl and wooden spoon/whisk
Greaseproof paper or baking parchment
Pencil and scissors
1 x 20cm/8 inch round spring form, loose-bottomed cake tin (you can use a non-spring form tin, but it should have a removable bottom!)
Pastry brush (if not using low-cal spray to grease tin)
Measuring jug
Toothpick or thin wooden kebab skewer to test cake

1. Oil or spray a 20cm/8 inch loose-bottomed or spring-form cake tin. 
2. Cover the base of the tin with greaseproof paper.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4 - no hotter, as the cake needs to cook quite slowly so the middle cooks but it doesn’t get burned on the top. If you have a fan-assisted oven, reduce this temperature by about 5-10 degrees.
4. In a saucepan, melt the margarine and then add the sugar. Stir until it has all melted.
5. Add the grated carrot, raisins and spices. Let the mixture cook gently for a couple of minutes, but keep stirring with a wooden spoon.
6. Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl.
7. Add the mixture from the pan, plus soya milk. Beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon until everything is mixed in well.
8. Pour cake batter into the tin and place on top shelf of oven.
9. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Test after 35 minutes by sticking a toothpick into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done! Otherwise, put the cake back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes or so, testing again.
10. Meanwhile, make the icing.
11. Blend the tofu until very smooth – use a blender (stick or goblet) or a food processor.
12. Add the other ingredients and blend again.
13. Chill the icing in the fridge in a covered bowl before spreading on cake.
14. When the cake is ready, cool it on a rack before removing from tin.
15. When the cake is completely cold, smooth on the icing, using a palette knife or rubber spatula. You can leave it as it is or make patterns with a fork.

Luscious Lemon Slices
Makes about 12 squares

Lemony gorgeousness … and the sugar glaze looks very professional but is really easy to do!

100g/3½ oz vegan margarine, eg Pure or Vitalite
150g/5oz self-raising flour
1 level tsp baking powder
150g/5oz caster sugar
175g/6oz silken tofu (eg Mori-Nu brand, sold in Sainsbury’s, other large supermarkets and health stores)
60ml/4 tbsp soya milk
1 lemon, finely grated (or use a lemon zester if you have one)
1 tbsp lemon juice

For the icing:
Juice of 1 lemon
100g/3½ oz granulated sugar

Equipment
EITHER an 18cm/7 inches x 23cm/9inches by2.5cm/1 inch tin OR 20cm/ 8 inch square tin.
Oil and pastry brush to grease tin OR low-calorie spray
Greaseproof paper or baking parchment
Pencil and scissors
Scales
Measuring spoons
Sieve
Food processor and rubber spatula OR mixing bowl and wooden spoon
Lemon squeezer
Small mixing bowl for sugar and lemon juice glaze

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4.
2. Grease and line the bottom of the cake tin with greaseproof paper.
3. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and mix for 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides and mix for a further 5 seconds. If you don’t have a food processor, you can whizz the mixture with a stick blender, or very vigorously with a wooden spoon.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until pale golden and springy.
5. Stir together the lemon juice and the sugar for the icing.
6. Spoon this mixture over the cake whilst it is still hot – spread evenly.
7. Leave until cold, cut into slices and then enjoy!

Vanilla Sponge
Serves 8-12 generous slices
50-60 minutes total preparation and cooking time

Makes one beast of a double cake! We’ve added three options too...

250g/9oz vegan margarine such as Pure/Vitalite/Suma brands 
150g/5oz caster sugar
500g/18oz self-raising flour
6 tsp baking powder (yes, really!)
Pinch salt
1 x 500ml tub of plain soya yoghurt eg Alpro Yofu
2 tbsp soya milk plus a little more if necessary
2 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment
Scales
Measuring spoons
Sieve
Large mixing bowl and wooden spoon/whisk
Greaseproof paper or baking parchment
Pencil and scissors
2 x 20cm/8 inch square cake tins
Pastry brush (if not using low-cal spray to grease tins)
Measuring jug
Toothpick or thin wooden kebab stick to test cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 (NB. Reduce by 5-10 degrees if using a fan-assisted oven).
2. In a saucepan, warm the margarine/oil and sugar until both have melted. Leave to cool.
3. Grease two deep 20cm/8 inch loose bottomed cake tins and line the bases with greaseproof paper.
4. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl and add the salt.
5. Pour the margarine and sugar mixture, yoghurt, soya milk and vanilla extract to the flour mix.
6. Mix well until you get a soft dropping. The batter will look slightly curdled – this is just the cake’s raising agents doing their work!
7. Add a little more soya milk if necessary – about 1-2 tbsp.
8. Spoon cake mix equally into the tins and bake for 30-40 minutes until risen and golden.
9. If using an ordinary oven make sure you space the cake tins in oven so bottom cake is overshadowed as little as possible by top cake. After 25 minutes you may need to swap them over to ensure each cake gets cooked evenly. You shouldn’t need to swap the tins if you are using a fan-assisted oven.
10. When the cooking time is up, the centre of the cakes should feel springy. Test with a cocktail stick – it should come out cleanly if cooked inside. If not, cook for another 5-10 minutes.
11. Leave cakes to cool completely before placing on a cooling rack.
12. Carefully remove the greaseproof paper from the bottom.
13. Spread filling of your choice on the two inside halves of the cake.
14. Decorate cake according to choice – or just dust with a little icing sugar.

Filling options:

• Fruity and Creamy

            1 jar of your favourite fruit jam – eg strawberry or raspberry
            1 tub vanilla soya dessert (from large supermarkets or health stores)
            Icing sugar to dust
       Spread the jam on both halves of the cake. Spread the soya dessert in the middle,          
       making sure everything is evenly distributed.
       Sieve a little icing sugar over the cake to decorate

• Lemon: 2 tbsp lemon juice and zest of lemon added to cake mix. Make lemon icing by creaming thoroughly

                  85g/3oz vegan margarine
                  200g/7oz icing sugar
                  Zest of a lemon
                  2 tbsp lemon juice.
                  Spread the icing on the bottom half of the cake and place the other half on top

• Chocolate Chip: add 110g/4oz vegan chocolate chips to the cake mix. Make icing as above, but omit lemon zest and juice. Replace with 3 tbsp sieved cocoa powder and 2-3 tbsp soya milk.  Spread the icing on the bottom half of the cake and place the other half on top

Chocolate Berry Cake
Serves 8-10
60 minutes preparation and baking time

One of the best chocolate cakes ever! You can omit the berries if not available – the cake is still very good without them.

55g/2oz hazelnuts or flaked almonds
250g/9oz self-raising flour
85g/3oz cocoa powder
3 tsp baking powder
250g/9oz caster sugar
1½ tsp vanilla extract
120ml/4fl oz plain oil (not olive)
360ml/12fl oz soya milk
125g/4½ oz frozen raspberries or frozen mixed berries (don’t use fresh – they are too soft to bake)

1. Grease a 20cm/8 inch loose bottomed cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 (NB. Reduce this if using a fan-assisted oven).
3. In a non-stick frying pan, gently roast the nuts until golden brown.
4. Cool, then – if using whole hazelnuts - chop into small chunks.
5. Sift flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a bowl.
6. Mix in sugar, vanilla extract, oil and soya milk.
7. Beat mixture until it becomes a thick batter.
8. Stir in nuts and berries.
9. Pour into cake tin and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the cake is cooked. The inside should be slightly gooey.
10. Allow to cool then transfer to a wire rack – or serve it warm.
11. Good with dairy-free cream or vanilla soya dessert.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
(adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar)
Makes about 16 cookies

½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2/3 cup canola oil (rapeseed oil)
¼ cup unsweetened soya milk
1 tablespoon corn flour
2 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
¾ cup chocolate chips

1. Pre heat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 (NB. Reduce this if using a fan-assisted oven). Lightly grease two large baking sheets.
2. Combine sugars, soya milk and corn flour in a mixing bowl. Use a strong fork and mix really well, for about 2 minutes, until the mixture resembles smooth caramel. There is a chemical reaction when sugar and oil collide, so it’s important that you don’t get lazy about that step. Mix in the vanilla.
3. Add 1 cup of the flour, the bicarbonate of soda and the salt. Mix until well incorporated. Mix in the rest of the flour. Fold in the chocolate chips. The dough will be a little stiff, so use your hands to really work the chips in.
4. For 3-inch cookies, roll the dough into balls about the size of Ping Pong balls. Flatten them out in your hands to about 2½ inches. As they cook, they will spread just a bit. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes – no more than 9 – until they are just a little browned around the edges. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks.

Muffins
(taken from Mmm…Yummy Cakes)

This tasty recipe calls for fine wholemeal flour – but if you want to make them with white flour, reduce liquid from 375ml to 325ml.

Banana Muffins
3 bananas, mashed
350g/12oz self-raising flour
1 tbsp baking powder
120g/4oz caster sugar
375ml/3fl oz water (but see note above)
135ml/4½fl oz sunflower oil or other plain oil
1 tbsp demerara sugar

1.   Preheat oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas Mark 5 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with deep muffin cases.
2.   Sieve flour, baking powder and caster sugar into a bowl and stir.
3.   Mix oil and water together.
4.   Add liquid to dry ingredients a bit at a time and stir thoroughly, making sure the liquid is fully mixed before adding more. Beat until smooth.
5.   Fold in the mashed banana.
6.   Spoon batter into muffin cases, sprinkle top of muffin with a little demerara sugar and put in oven immediately.
7.   Bake for 30 minutes, until well-risen and springy to touch. Cool on a wire rack.

Options
Blueberry and Lemon
Substitute banana for 225g/8oz fresh blueberries and zest of 2 lemons.

Chocolate Chip
Substitute banana for 100g/3½ oz cocoa powder and 200g/7oz vegan chocolate drops

Chocolate Fairy Cakes
(Adapted from basic chocolate cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)
Makes 12

1 cup soya milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
¾ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup canola oil (rapeseed oil)
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
⅓ cup cocoa powder
¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

1. Pre heat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and line a cake tin with paper cases.
2. Whisk together the soya milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil and vanilla extract to the soya milk mixture and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until there are no large lumps.
3. Pour into the paper cases, filling ¾ of the way. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer onto a cooking tack and allow to cool completely.
4. Ice and decorate using our chocolate butter icing recipe below!

Chocolate butter icing topping

50g/ 2oz vegan margarine
1 tsp cocoa powder
100g/4oz icing sugar

1. Place margarine in a mixing bowl and sift cocoa powder and icing sugar over the top.
2. Mix well with a wooden spoon until smooth. Decorate each fairy cake with the icing using a pallet knife to smooth the butter off.

Chocolate Rice Krispie Cakes
Makes about 12

100g dark chocolate
100g Rice Crispies or equivalent

1. Break the chocolate into pieces and melt in a glass bowl, place in a simmering pan of hot water on a low heat on your oven. Stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate is smooth.
2. Spoon melted chocolate into a large mixing bowl. Add in the rice crispies and stir thoroughly, so all the grains are coated.
3. Lay out 12 cake cases and put one tablespoon of the mixture into each. Set aside and allow to cool and set before serving. Put the cakes in the fridge to speed this process up.