Double Chocolate Vegan Birthday Cake Recipes

VEGAN CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease two 8-inch pans. Set aside. Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, optional chips, and sweetener in a bowl. If using almond butter, gently warm it until soft and easily stir-able. In a new bowl, whisk the oil or nut butter, applesauce or yogurt, water, and vanilla. Pour wet into dry and stir until just combined (don't over-mix). Pour into the pans.Bake on the center rack for 25 minutes or until batter has risen and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out mostly clean. (I like to take them out when still a little undercooked, let cool, then set in the fridge overnight. This prevents overcooking, and the cakes firm up nicely as they sit.) If you can wait, I highly recommend not tasting until the next day... this cake is so much richer and sweeter after sitting for a day! When ready to frost, go around the sides with a knife, then invert each cake onto a large plate. Frost separately, then place one cake on top of the other if a double-layer cake is desired. At this point you can also frost the sides if you wish. I linked a few of my favorite frosting recipes earlier in this post.View Nutrition Facts

LOVELETTER CAKESHOP'S VEGAN DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven at 350ºF. Grease and flour two 6-inch round cake pans.
• Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a medium bowl.
• Place the sugar in a separate bowl.
• Add the water, oil, and vanilla in a mixing bowl, and set the mixer on low speed. Slowly add the dry ingredients (except the sugar), and mix until fully incorporated. Add the sugar slowly and mix just until batter is smooth (do not over-mix).
• Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Place the chocolate chips in a bowl, and set the bowl over hot water. Melt the chocolate completely.
• Combine the milk beverage and vanilla in a pan over medium-low heat, and cook until simmering. Remove from the stove.
• Pour the melted chocolate into the milk beverage mixture and stir until just combined (over-stirring may cause your ganache to separate).
• Let sit in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or the until ganache is at your desired consistency for spreading on the cake.

VEGAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Grease the base and sides of 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with dairy-free spread, then line the bases with baking parchment.
• Put the dairy-free milk in a jug and add the vinegar - it will split but don't worry. Put all of the other cake ingredients into a large bowl, pour over the milk mixture and beat well until smooth. Divide the mixture between the prepared tins and bake for 25-30 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out cleanly. Leave to cool in the tins for 10mins then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
• To make the buttercream, put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and melt in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. Leave the melted chocolate to cool for 5 minutes. Beat the dairy-free spread and icing sugar together with a wooden spoon then sift in the cocoa powder with a pinch of salt. Pour in the melted chocolate and dairy-free milk and keep mixing until smooth.
• Sandwich the two cooled sponges together with half of the buttercream then pile the rest on top and down the sides. Decorate with the fresh fruit.

VEGAN BIRTHDAY CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil three 20cm round cake tins and line the bases and sides with baking parchment (if you don't have three tins, cook the batter in batches). Whisk the milk and vinegar together in a jug - the milk should curdle slightly. Set aside.
• Whisk the sugar, oil and vanilla extract together in a bowl, then whisk in the yogurt, making sure to break down any sugar lumps. Pour in the soured milk and mix well.
• Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and ½ tsp salt into a separate bowl and stir well to combine. Gradually whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until you have a smooth batter, but be careful not to over-mix.
• Divide the batter evenly between the tins and bake for 25-30 mins, until well risen and springy, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out almost clean. A few sticky crumbs are fine, but the mixture should not be wet.
• Leave the cakes to cool in their tins for 20 mins, then carefully turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. They will be delicate so be gentle (a cake lifter is helpful). The sponges will keep, covered, at room temperature for up to two days.
• For the vegan buttercream, melt the chocolate in the microwave or a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Leave to cool. Beat the spread and vanilla on high speed in a stand mixer for a few minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the icing sugar gradually, beating on slow to start with, then turning up the speed to max until the mixture is light and creamy. Pour in the cooled chocolate and combine thoroughly. Chill the buttercream for at least 30 mins before using.
• To assemble the cake, first use a sharp knife to trim the tops off the sponges to make them level. Put one of the sponges on a serving plate, cake stand or 20cm round cake drum (using a cake drum makes it easier to ice the cake neatly and to move it onto a stand or plate later). Spread over a layer of the buttercream, using a palette knife to get an even, neat finish. Top with the second sponge and spread over another layer of buttercream.
• Top with the last sponge upside-down, so the bottom of the cake becomes the top (this will help to keep the icing neat and relatively crumb-free). Spread the sides of the cake with buttercream. Hold the top sponge steady with a palm if you need to stabilise the cake. Once you have the sides covered as neatly as you can, cover the top with a thin layer of buttercream. Use your palette knife to neaten the top and sides. If you have a side scraper, use it to sweep around the sides and top to sharpen the coating. (This is a crumb coat, trapping any crumbs to give you a neat, firm base.) Put the cake in the fridge to firm up and chill for 1-2 hrs.
• To finish, cover the sides and top of the cake in the same manner, using most of the remaining buttercream. Press the sprinkles up against the bottom of the cake, about a quarter to a third of the way up. You can dress the top of the cake with a circle of sprinkles, or for a fancier finish, pipe little swirls around the top edge of the cake using any remaining buttercream scraped into a piping bag fitted with a large open star nozzle, then finish with more sprinkles.
• Keep the cake in the fridge to stay firm, then remove 1 hr before serving. Will keep, covered, in the fridge, for up to three days.