TASTY VEGAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Vegan Chocolate Cakes
550 g selfraising flour (I did not have enough self raising flour in hand, so I used 400 g self raising flour and added 150 g regular cake flour plus 1 teaspoon of baking powder)
125 g cocoa powder
450 g raw brown sugar (I did not have enough raw brown sugar, so I used 300 g raw brown sugar and added 150 g white Berry Sugar)
600 ml Earth’s Own So Fresh Almond Milk (any other dairy free milk should also work)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
265 ml virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons white vinegar
Vegan Chocolate Frosting:
300 g Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
500 g icing sugar
275 g Semi-Sweet Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks or Vegan dairy-free Carob chips (read the label as some may contain dairy)

Cakes:

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Line 3 x 8″ cake tins with parchment paper. (I used 2 x 10” tins).

In a large bowl, add your flour, sugar and cocoa powder.

Whisk these dry ingredients together until evenly mixed and no visible lumps insight.

Pour in the milk, vanilla, oil as well as the vinegar.

Gently mix with a spatula until smooth, but do not to over mix.

Divide the cake batter evenly between the cake tins, and bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until a cake skewer comes out clean.

Take out of the oven and let it cool in the tins for a minimum of 20 minutes.

Place a wire rack on top of each cake tin. Turn it upside down and the cake will gently drop onto the wire rack.

Now leave it to cool down fully. Handle gently as they can break easily (I can attest to that) as they are very soft when still warm.

Let the cake settle down, if possible leave in the refrigerator for half an hour or so, if you have to decorate the same day. I left mine overnight to decorate the next day, so it had enough time to settle and be completely cold.

Icing:

Melt the chocolate in the microwave dish on short intervals.

I generally start off with 1 minute, then beat the chocolate with a metal spoon and if needed then return it to the microwave for 30 seconds at a time and beat thoroughly after each session until fully melted.

Set it aside to cool down slightly.

In the interim whip, the vegan spread with a metal whisk until smooth and slightly fluffy.

Add ½ of the icing sugar and all the vanilla and beat until smooth. Once done, add the rest of the icing sugar and blend properly to obtain a perfectly smooth mixture.

Now combine it with the melted chocolate and continue to beat till well incorporated and smooth.

Decorate:
As I only have two layers, I used just over a 1/3 of the frosting on the first layer.
Then I added the top layer and spread with more icing.
Keep enough aside icing aside for some piping or rosettes or whatever you prefer.
Decorate with fresh fruit and nuts or whatever you prefer.
You can store this in a sealed container for up to 3-4 days if you’re lucky to have any left.

Photo and recipe: Esme Slabs