An easy sponge cake recipe is my go to for a quick pud for Sunday dinners. This chocolate sponge recipe is one of those recipes I just love to make, as it is so reminiscent of school dinner days and home cooked, hearty food. Asked to shake it up a little for a dairy and gluten free option, I felt I needed to try adding a touch of something extra, to ensure there wasn’t that gluten free kind of aftertaste I often find. Using individual pudding/flan dishes made the presentation a little more special, and of course you can always add a dollop of dairy free ice cream for that extra pizazz. So, here is my home cooked version of a cherry and chocolate sponge with a rich dark chocolate sauce.

Cherry & Chocolate Sponge

MAKES 10-12 SMALL SPONGES// TIME: 1 HOUR // EASY

Ingredients

For the sponge:

• 225g Vitalite Margarine
• 225g Golden Caster Sugar
• 220g Self Raising Gluten Free Flour
• 2tsp Baking Powder
• 50g Cocoa Powder
• 4 Free-range Eggs
• 1 Tin of Cherry Pie Filling (I used Princes)

For the dark chocolate sauce:

• 150g 80% Uganda Dark Chocolate (I used our Ugandan 80% due to its high cocoa content and strong flavour profile, however I’ve also made this with our 60% Classic Dark Chocolate Bar and it was just as delicious, but not as dark)
• 75g Vitalite Non Dairy Spread
• 375ml Alpro Soya Cream (or other non-dairy alternative)
• 3tbsp Golden Caster Sugar
• 3tbsp Brandy or Rum (this is optional)

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease and line the bases of 12 x 8-10cm tins with baking paper. I simply used muffin cases flattened out in the base of the tins and it worked really effectively.
• Put the vitalite and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add the beaten  eggs, flour, and baking powder and beat for a further 2 minutes, or until nicely blended.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the required number of tins, creating a slight dent in the middle of each. Add a spoon of the cherry pie filling into each dent (my 10cm tins made 12 individual pudds).
• Bake for 15-20 minutes (the tops of the cakes should spring back when pressed lightly). Leave the cakes for a couple of minutes then turn the cakes out onto your serving plates.
• Break up the bars of chocolate and pop into a microwave suitable bowl. Heat in short bursts, stirring  in between bursts until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
• Heat the butter, cream, sugar, and brandy (if using) in a saucepan until combined. Then take off the heat, and stir the melted chocolate into the pan, stirring until smooth (which can take a couple of minutes).
• Peel of the paper cases from your cakes, and serve with your chocolate sauce.

Get your Ingredients…

80% Uganda Dark Chocolate

80% Uganda is a strong, dark and earthy origin chocolate; with smoked cocoa flavours, and a subtle acidity, it’s best enjoyed little by little to really savour it’s distinctive profile.