These tasty little wartime eggless chocolate buns are so easy to prepare and straight from the British World War 2 kitchen front!
Not as sweet as some chocolate cupcakes and more of a moist muffin texture they are the perfect base for adding your favourite frosting/icing.
Or keep it simple and add a wee dollop of vegan chocolate spread and top with a delicious vegan chocolate button or sweetie/candy.
Perfect for parties, picnics, lunchboxes or for an afternoon tea or after school treat.
For an Easter treat pop on a little vegan chocolate egg. So cute!
Wartime Eggless Chocolate Buns Recipe
This recipe for wartime eggless chocolate buns is featured with the Victory Cookbook (2006) by Marguerite Patten OBE.
Marguerite Patten (1915-2015) was a British World War Two (1939-1945)celebrity chef and she frequented the Radio with kitchen front shows helping family's deal with food rationing and shortages.
These little eggless chocolate buns would have been a very popular sweet treat welcomed by budgeting and frugal families who were trying to cope with a lack or limited supply of eggs, fat and sugar.
The chocolate bun recipe is less sweet than say more modern chocolate cupcakes or fairy cakes and is more like a little muffin. However, my family found them to be sweet enough especially with the addition of a frosting and sweet/candy.
I have upped the vanilla required for the original recipe, as it just called for a few drops of vanilla, but I have added 2 teaspoons and that was the ideal amount.
The sponge is moist and springy with hints of vanilla and they are very satisfying and delicious with a nice cup of tea or coffee. Or a chilled glass of oat milk.
This chocolate bun recipe is perfect for baking on a budget and saving more expensive ingredients, but honestly you won't feel like your missing out!
If you give these cute little eggless chocolate buns a go do pop back and let us know how you got on.
We love receiving feedback and comments.
Thanks so much.
Jacq x
How To Prepare Wartime Eggless Chocolate Buns
Pop in the room temperature vegan margarine.
It may froth up. Mix through the vanilla.
Pour the liquid into the flour mixture.
Divide the chocolate batter between 12 muffin or cupcake cases.
Exact times depend on your oven. My electric oven took 15 minutes.
Pop the buns out of the muffin tray and leave to cool on a wire rack. Once cool decorate.
Recipe Notes And FAQS
Chocolate buns can be stored within a cake tin or food safe covered container for up to 4 days.
Wrapping in a layer of kitchen foil can help preserve the freshness for longer.
Absolutely.
Freeze well wrapped in food and freezer safe covering for up to 4 months.
Unwrap and defrost to room temperature.
Iced chocolate buns can also be frozen but take care not to squash the icing too much while wrapping!
- vegan chocolate spread
- Biscoff lotus spread
- vegan chocolate ganache: melt equal amounts of dark vegan chocolate and vegan cream (such as Alpro single soya cream or Oatly oat cream) over a gentle heat, stirring until all melted, glossy and a smooth pourable consistency. Cover each chocolate bun with a layer, the ganache will set firm but will still be soft to bite.
- any vegan chocolate frosting/icing
- after covering with frosting/ganache/icing/spread pop on a little vegan sweet or chocolate button
More Wartime Recipes:
Wartime Christmas Pudding (can enjoy this frugal tasty steamed pudding all year round as it is so tasty! can also be quickly prepared in the microwave)
Wartime Champ (mashed potatoes with cabbage and turnip delicious easy side dish to your favourite meals)
Wartime Eggless Chocolate Buns
Equipment
- Muffin baking tray or cupcake tray
- Cupcake/fairy cake paper cases optional, if the cupcake tray is non-stick the paper cases may not be necessary as each hole can be greased with a little margarine
- Mixing bowls
- wire rack optional
- sieve
Ingredients
- 225 grams self-raising flour sieved, or plain/all purpose flour plus 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 25 grams cocoa powder sieved
- 75 grams caster sugar or granulated
- 75 grams vegan margarine or vegan butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon golden syrup or corn syrup or similar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla essence extract
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda baking soda
- 225 millilitres hot water
Optional:
- vegan chocolate spread link is to Vego Fairtrade organic chocolate spread just to show what is available. Likely cheaper in the supermarket compared to Amazon!
- vegan chocolate little eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 160 Fan/180 Celsius/350 Fahrenheit /Gas 4.
- Prepare the cupcake baking tray by adding a paper case to each hole or grease with a little vegan margarine.
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl. Tip in the sugar and mix.
- Pop in the vegan margarine to the flour mixture.
- Pour the hot water into a measuring jug or small bowl and mix the bicarbonate of soda through the water. It may froth up but this is fine. Pour in the vanilla.
- Pour the hot water mix into the dry ingredients and margarine.
- Stir everything well to combine. The vegan margarine will melt due to the hot water.
- Divide the chocolate batter out between the 12 cupcake cases.
- Bake on the middle shelf for 13-20 minutes. My cakes were ready after 15 minutes baked in an electric oven. A fan oven may take a few minutes quicker to bake.
- Buns are ready when risen, firm and a skewer popped in comes out clean.
- Leave in the baking tray for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack or similar.
Notes
- Nutritional information is for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
- Store the chocolate buns within a cake tin or food container for up to 4-5 days. Wrapping in a layer of kitchen foil can help preserve the freshness.
- Or freeze for up to 4 months.
- Decorate the chocolate buns with a blob of vegan chocolate spread and top with a vegan chocolate bun or chocolate egg. Or an individual little sweet/candy such as a jelly tot or similar.
- Or top with your favourite vegan frosting.
- For a vegan chocolate ganache topping simply melt the same amount of chocolate and vegan cream gently in a pan, stirring until melted, glossy and a pouring consistency. Top each bun and the ganache will set in a few hours. Try 50g chocolate and 50g vegan cream or to cover an entire cake use 100g chocolate and 100g cream. Alpro single plant cream works well.
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