Vegan MoFo 11 / Death by chocolate - Layer Cake

 Let's just say, this chocolate layer cake is so worth making! Everyone who tried it, raved about it! But just one word of warning: 1 piece of this will probably satisfy your chocolate cravings for some time :)

Death by chocolate - Layer Cake

make 2 or 4 layers

 adapted from Maple Spice

Chocolate Cake:
190g spelt flour
150g  sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
30g cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
80ml canola oil
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
240ml sparkling mineral water
 => make twice for 4 layers!








Preheat oven to 180°C (350F). Line a 22cm springform pan with parchment paper. Now mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mix together canola oil, apple cider vinegar and sparkling mineral water. Now pour it into the large bowl and mix until well combined, be careful not to overmix. Pour the mixture in your lined pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely. Then cut in two layers.

Chocolate Mousse Filling:
300g dark chocolate
300ml soy whipping cream, chilled
4 Tbsp. icing sugar
3 Tbsp. coffee liquor





Break your chocolate in small pieces and place in a water bath. Stir regularly until melted. Now remove from  heat and let it cool to room temperature. In a large bowl mix the chilled soy whipping cream and icing sugar and beat for 5 - 10 minutes. Okay, so it is really important to wait long enough, until the whipping cream and melted chocolate are at about the same temperature. And trust me, it is so worth it, as you will end up with this chocolatey goodness! Lastly, carefully stir in the coffee liquor.

Assembling:

 The basic process is the same for every layer: Drizzle with 1 - 2 Tbsp. coffee liquor (don't skip this step) and spread about 1/3 of the chocolate mousse on it. Repeat for the next layers.
The top layer doesn't need any chocolate mousse on top, but save some to straighten out any holes. Mine wasn't perfect, somehow one of my layers is a bit inclined.Place the cake in the fridge for 1-3 hours, so that the filling can set.

Chocolate Ganache:

200 gr dark vegan chocolate

170 ml oat cream

20 gr conut oil

3 tsp. coffee liquor

Chop the chocolate in small pieces and place in a bowl. In a small pan heat up the oat cream and coconut oil until it melts and it all just comes to the boil. Now quickly pour it over the chocolate, let stand for a few seconds and then start stirring until the mixture is smooth. Let cool to room temperature, stirring now and then. 

When you think it's ready take your cake out of the fridge and place on a wire rack, with some parchment paper underneath to catch any dripping chocolate. Now start pouring the ganache all over the top, so that it coats the sides. I only used a palette knife to straighten out the sides, but didn't use it for the top, as I like the glossy look already.
Place your cake again in the fridge, so the ganache will set.

the box for some of my baking & cooking equipment <3

Enjoy!
Florence

Pumpkin Pie Layer Cake

 

I had the idea of creating my perfect vegan birthday cake. Since it was almost beginning of fall, and I like to argue that my birthday (17 september) is already in fall, pumpkin seemed ideal! So coincidentally I stumbled upon the idea of using a crustless pumpkin pie as cupcake frosting and it struck me - why not create a vegan pumpkin pie filling? 

And so it happened, and my vegan birthday pumpkin pie layer cake was born!

Vegan Pumpkin Pie Layer Cake

This cake requires you to plan and make some things ahead (the day before).

   

• 4 Vanilla-Pumpkin-Layers
• Homemade Dulce De Leche
• Pumpkin Pie Filling
• Whipped Frosting

Vanilla-Pumpkin Layer

this makes 2 layers, so please bake this twice to get the 4 layers.

230 gr spelt flour

100 gr sugar

240 ml sparkling mineral water
40 ml canola oil
1 sachet baking powder
1 sachet vanilla sugar
1 heaping Tbsp. pumpkin puree (optional)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 160°C. Mix all ingredients for 5 minutes with a hand mixer, slowly pouring the sparkling mineral water in last. Next grease a 20cm round pan. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper, this will make it easier getting the cake out of the pan to cool. 
Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 30 - 40 minutes until the top is slightly brown and a knife inserted comes out clean. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then cut the cake in 2 layers and let them cool completely on a cooling rack. 

Dulce de Leche
Recipe from seitan is my motor .
I used about 3/4 of the batch I made.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

340 gr silken tofu

450 gr pumpkin puree

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp gingerbread spice

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup brown sugar

80 ml canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 Tbsp apple syrup (or molasses)

250 gr soy yoghurt (drained overnight)

Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine all ingredients (except soy yoghurt) in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Pour into a greased baking tray and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the edges start to get brown. Let the pie cool completely before putting it into a large mixing bowl. Add the drained soy yoghurt and mix thoroughly with a wisk until smooth. 

Whipped Frosting

250 gr soy yoghurt (drained overnight)

500 gr soy whipping cream

2 sachets vanilla sugar

2 sachets of whipping cream stabiliser

1 pinch salt

Beat together the soy whipping cream, sugar, salt and 1 sachet of whipping cream stabiliser until peaks form. Then slowly add the soy yoghurt and the remaining sachet of whipping cream stabiliser and beat for 1 minute. 

 

Notes:

•  You can use your favourite pumpkin pie recipe, but mixing it with the drained soy yoghurt gives the filling the desired creaminess.
• Next time I'm gonna add more of the soy yoghurt to the frosting to make it even yummier and creamy!

In the end I was really pleased how this cake turned out, it tasted even better on the second day! The only thing I regret is not taking pictures in better light... but well, life stepped in and hindered me.

If there are any questions regarding the recipe, please ask, I'll be glad to answer! :)

Florence