Chocolate Orange Marble Cake

A birthday calls for a special cake, and for this one I've stuck to a classic. Apparently it's not customary to bake your own birthday cake, so this was baked for me (with a little bit of help!). This was definitely a cake baked with love, and so it was apt that it should have a dollop of chocolate cake batter on the top shaped like a heart. This cake really lived up to the importance of the occasion and is truly delicious. One to definitely bake again!

Recipe - Makes 1lb loaf

• 100ml dairy-free milk
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 100g margarine, softened
• 100g caster sugar
• 150g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp hot water
• Zest 1 orange
• 1 tbsp dairy-free milk
• 30g dark chocolate, melted 

Preheat the oven to 160C. Grease and line a 1lb loaf tin. To make the cake batter, start by adding the vinegar to the milk and stir. Set aside. Cream the margarine and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the flour and bicarbonate of soda and fold in, followed by the milk and vinegar mix. 

Divide the batter between two bowls. Mix the cocoa powder and water together to form a paste and fold into the cake batter in one bowl, then fold in the orange zest and milk into the other. Fill the tin with the cake batter by dropping random spoonfuls of batter into the tin, then zigzag a knife through a few times to mix briefly. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 

Remove and leave in the tin for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Drizzle with chocolate and leave to set before slicing.