Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if not using any other oil)
Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the vinegar, date syrup, vanilla, salt, ginger and ground almonds
Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice
Divide mixture between two greased baking tins lined with baking paper (I used two 7inch/18cm baking tins)
Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until risen slightly and an inserted skewer comes out clean
Once out the oven, transfer cakes from baking tins onto a wired rack to leave them to cool completely before applying the frosting
For the frosting:
You’ll need to keep your tin of coconut milk in the fridge overnight for the rich creamy bit to separate from the watery bit at the bottom. Make sure it is full fat coconut milk, otherwise this separation won’t happen and you won’t be able to make this cream!
Open the tin upside down – the coconut cream will be at the bottom and you can just pour off the watery liquid (save this for adding to soups or smoothies)
Place the thick, creamy part into a bowl
Add the lemon juice, maple syrup and vanilla extract
Use an electric whisk (or a manual one and a lot of elbow grease) to whip up the coconut cream until light and fluffy
To frost and decorate the cake:
Place one half of the cake onto a plate or cake stand, and spread half of the frosting onto it
Place the other half of the cake on top of that and use rest of the frosting to spread on top
You can also decorate with gingerbread cookies and icing sugar if you wish
Best when fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days
Notes
*Freshly grated ginger can be quite strong, so if making this for children or for people who don't like ginger, you might want to use a little less. If you can't use freshly grated ginger, you can substitute around 1 tablespoon ground ginger instead - the flavour is better with freshly grated ginger though!**You can alternatively use almond flour**You can alternatively use 200g (7oz) coconut yogurt