Vegan Chocolate Cake
Are you dreaming of chocolate covered in chocolate, covered in more chocolate? Then this recipe is for you.
This blog post is all about a vegan cake. Multilayered and covered in chocolate. White-sugar-free and gluten-free. Truly delicious and addictive... It makes for a perfect dessert to impress your guests.
Ingredients:
For the sponges (vegan dacquoise):
150 ml aquafaba *
60 g coconut sugar **
200 g walnuts ***
For the chocolate filling:
180 g dark chocolate
400 ml of coconut milk
3 Medjool dates
2 g agar-agar
1 tsp vanilla powder/extract
For the glaze:
100 ml of water
10 g cacao powder
1 g agar-agar
50 g dark chocolate
Preparation:
For the sponges:
Using a mixer, whip the aquafaba until stiff peaks form.
Gradually add the coconut sugar. Keep whipping until the sugar dissolves into the aquafaba.
Using a food processor process the walnuts to obtain walnut flour.
Add the walnut flour to the aquafaba and mix well (but gently).
Divide the batter into four or five equal parts.
Spread the batter parts on a parchment paper into separate but equal circular shapes. These will be the cake sponges. They should be rather thin.
Bake each sponge at 130-140 degrees C for about 30-35 minutes.
Once out of the oven, allow a sponge to cool down before removing it from the parchment paper.
For the chocolate filling:
In a pan, add the coconut milk, the mashed dates, the agar-agar powder, and the vanilla, and stir until the agar-agar dissolves into the milk.
Place the pan on the stove and bring its content to a boil.
In the meantime, break the dark chocolate into small pieces.
Once it boils, remove the milk mixture from the stove, allow it to cool down for 10 seconds, and pour it on top of the dark chocolate.
Wait for 1-2 minutes before mixing well to obtain a homogeneous filling.
Then, leave the chocolate mixture to cool down without any further whisking. The ganache will start to set thanks to the agar-agar powder. Be patient and wait until it sets completely. You can put it in the fridge to accelerate the process.
Once it sets, use a mixer to whip up the chocolate filling to obtain a smooth and silky cream.
Assemble the cake as follows. Divide the chocolate filling into four or five parts (equal to the number of sponges). Place one part of the filling on top of the first sponge, spread it well, and place the second sponge on top of the filling. Repeat these steps until you cover the last sponge with the chocolate cream. Finally, make sure to also cover well the sides of the cake with the filling.
For the glaze:
Now, all that is left to do is make the glaze that will serve as a finish to our cake. To prepare it, place all the ingredients, except for the dark chocolate, in a pan on a stove at medium heat.
Let the mixture boil for 1-2 minutes before removing it from the stove.
Pour the hot mixture over the chocolate (you need to break it into pieces beforehand) and stir well to make sure all the chocolate is melted and well-incorporated into the mixture.
Using a mixer, whisk the glaze for 1 minute to make it extra smooth.
Allow the glaze to cool down slightly before pouring it evenly over the cake. You should perform this step quickly as the glaze will set fast and it will become difficult to handle afterward.
Finally, add some crushed walnuts over the glaze for decoration.
Place the cake in the fridge for at least 4-5 hours (best overnight) to allow for the sponges to soften up. And there you have it - a very chocolatey gooey cake for all types of occasions!
Tip:
* Chilled overnight.
** I recommend you make icing coconut sugar that dissolves way better than the regular coconut sugar.
*** You would need more walnuts for the decoration.
