Chocolate Cake (Vegan)

I have been wanting to try vegan cakes for a long time now! So here is the recipe I tried yesterday for the Vegan Chocolate Cake covered with Chocolate Ganache.

Unfortunately, as I wasn't able to go the market, I couldn't get any vegan cream or butter so the Ganache you see is Dairy based. The chocolate I used is semi-sweet but you can go for dark too.

Ingredients :

for cake

• 1 cup (125 grams) All Purpose Flour

• 1/2 cup (66 grams) Cake Flour [I didn't have cake flour, so I did this. In the half measuring cup add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and then filled the rest of the space in the cup with all purpose flour]

• 1 cup (200 grams) Sugar

• 4 tablespoon Cocoa Powder

• 1/2 teaspoon Salt

• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda

• 1 teaspoon Apple Cidar Vinegar

• 1 teaspoon Vanilla essence

• 6 tablespoon (88.5 ml) Oil (I used sunflower oil)

• 1 cup strongly brewed Coffee (I used 1 tablespoon of instant coffee for 1 cup of hot water. If you want more of coffee flavor, add more coffee. I didn't wanted it to overpower but just enhance the flavors.)

for frosting

• 125 ml Thick cream'

• 200 grams dark or semi sweet Chocolate

• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

• 1 tablespoon of butter (I had 2 tablespoon of my swiss meringue buttercream remaining with me. So instead of butter I used that)

tools used

• 6" inch cake pan

• butter/ parchment paper

• 1 spatula

Method:

• Preheat the oven on 175°C for 10-15 minutes. Ready your cake pan by greasing it with oil all over and then placing

• a parchment paper in the bottom of the pan.

• Sieve the two flours, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and sugar in a big mixing bowl.

• Make a well in the middle of the bowl and add the oil, vanilla essence, vinegar and coffee(not hot).

• Using a whisk mix them all by hand. We can use hand or stand mixer to do it. There should not be any lumps in the batter.

• Pour the batter in the cake pan and tap it to remove the bubbles. Bake the cake on 175°C for 30-40 minutes. My cake took 40 minutes to bake, so it would be good to check the cake after 30 minutes. Let the cake cool before decorating.

• Heat the thick cream or heavy cream whatever is available in your place either on stove or in microwave till it comes to boil.

• Meantime cut the chocolate bar into small pieces. This helps to melt the chocolates faster. Place them along with the butter in a bowl.

• Pour the hot cream over it and close it for few minutes with a lid.

• After 5 minutes, remove the lid and using a spatula mix them all together. Leave the bowl to cool on room temperature. It may take 1/2 hour. If you want after keeping it in room temperature, cover it and keep it inside the fridge for 15 minutes. It all depends in the weather/temperature you are living. As I said I used my remaining 2 tablespoon swiss meringue buttercream (SMB), so I didn't add the butter instead I just mixed the cream and chocolate together.

• Once cooled, using a hand or stand mixer with whisk attachment whisk the ganache and vanilla essence till it is light and fluffy. Like me if you are using SMB, then first whisk it separately for a minute and then add the vanilla essence and chocolate & cream mixture to it and whisk till light and fluffy..

• Make simple syrup (2 tbsp water + 2 tbsp sugar) by heating water and sugar mixture till sugar dissolves in water.

• Cut the bump on the cake and the cut the cake in two equal parts. Make sure the cake is cooled as to avoid crumbs.

• Brush the cake parts with simple syrup thoroughly. Apply a healthy layer of ganache before keeping the next layer on top of it. I used a piping bag and make a well on the side of the cake and then filled it. This way we get an even layer of frosting inside and if you are adding any filling, this border will let it keep away from falling.

• Put a healthy dollop of ganache in the center and start spreading on the sides. Cover the cake with the ganache layer.

• Again chill the cake for half an hour before icing it fully with ganache. I used a decorating star nozzle tip 18 to pipe at the bottom and top sides of the cake. Decorate it further with sprinkles or chocolate shavings or even with cherries or strawberries. (if you are adding the fruits then cut them into pieces and in between the two layers too.

Please excuse my decorating skills! Just on my learning stage!