FROSTED VEGAN CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE
Chocolate Layer Cake
This is the most popular cake of all the ones I make for both children’s and grown-ups’ birthdays! It’s full of chocolate flavor, moist and very light. Don’t tell your guests it’s vegan and sugar-free, wait for their reaction, then confess! Nobody can ever tell this cake is super-healthy.
Ingredients:
Basic Chocolate Cake (see the recipe on CraftFoxes) vegan chocolate shavings,to decorate
For the chocolate cream 1.5 litres/6 cups chocolate soy or oat milk 195 g/3⁄4 cup agave syrup 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 21⁄2 teaspoons agar powder or 7 teaspoons agar flakes 3 tablespoons cornflour/cornstarch 100 g/scant 3⁄4 cup finely chopped vegan dark/ bittersweet chocolate (70 percent cocoa)
28-cm / 11-inch or 23-cm / 9-inch springform cake pan baselined with parchment paper and oiled Serves 12–15
Excerpted with permission from The Vegan Baker: More than 50 delicious recipes for vegan-friendly cakes, cookies, bars and other baked treats.
Step 1
The Basic Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe can be found on CraftFoxes (linked in the recipe introduction), decide which size you want to make before you start: a 28-cm/11-in. cake for 8–12 slices or a 23-cm/9-in. cake for 12–15 slices, then follow the corresponding instructions. When you’ve baked the cake and prepared it as described on page 18, put the bottom layer back in the cake pan and set the top layer aside while you make the filling.
Step 2
For the chocolate cream, put the milk and syrup in a large saucepan and add the cocoa powder and agar. Whisk and bring to the boil over medium heat. As soon as it comes to the boil, lower the heat before it bubbles over and makes a mess! Now boil gently for 4–5 minutes if you are using agar powder, or 10–12 minutes if you are using flakes or until the flakes have completely melted.
Step 3
Mix the cornflour/cornstarch into 3 tablespoons cold water. Add the chocolate to the hot cream, whisking vigorously until completely melted, then lower the heat to its lowest and slowly add the cornflour/cornstarch mixture, still whisking vigorously. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat. Allow to cool and thicken slightly –about 20 minutes. Whisk just to mix, then divide in half.
Step 4
Ladle one portion of the warm cream on top of the cake layer in its sealed cake pan. Allow to set for 10 minutes or until a thin film forms on the top, then carefully cover with the second cake layer. Wait for a couple of minutes, then slowly ladle the second portion of cream on top. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Step 5
When you are ready to serve, slide a spatula between the cake and the pan to loosen it. Release the pan. The cake should be nice and firm, with a shiny cream all around it. Decorate with chocolate shavings and cut into slices with a sharp knife dipped in hot water. The cake keeps in the fridge in an airtight container for 5 days.
Step 6
Excerpted with permission from The Vegan Baker: More than 50 delicious recipes for vegan-friendly cakes, cookies, bars and other baked treats.
