Woohoo! The month of January is finally over!! I'm sure there are some people out there that love January but for me its always so dull and with the excitement of Christmas over everyone just can't wait for it to end to get paid!
Veganuary has become hugely popular over the past few years and with the rise in supermarkets creating meat free substitutes and meals it's great to see so much choice available if you want it :)
I'm not a vegan and haven't ever been but I have always wanted to try vegan baking recipes. I'm always intrigued to develop my skills further and expand my knowledge on how food science actually works. This is a recipe I've been wanting to try for ages (as you guys know I'm a massive chocolate lover!) but was always slightly sceptical that a vegan chocolate cake could be as good as a 'normal' one.
I was really pleased with how this cake turned out considering it was the first time I've ever baked without eggs. To my surprise the cake rose really well and although I would say the texture of this vegan cake is a lot more heavier than my usual recipe, the overall result with the icing works really well!
Many people don't realise Biscoff biscuits and spread are actually vegan and I thought these would be the perfect way to make this vegan chocolate cake even tastier! For those who have never tried Biscoff it's a sort of caramel flavoured biscuit which you normally get in 'posh hotels' with a coffee.
After the first time success of vegan baking I'm looking forward to trying other new recipes and experimenting beyond just using traditional baking ingredients. Please let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to see on my blog and I'll definitely give it a go!
If you try this recipe at home tag your photos on social media with #toptierbakery as I'd love to see them!
Ingredients
125g Cocoa Powder (make sure you check it doesn't contain traces of milk)
55og Self Raising Flour
450g Light Brown Sugar
600ml Almond Milk
260ml Vegetable Oil
2tsp Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
Biscoff Spread
300g Sunflower Spread
600g Icing Sugar
275g Dark Chocolate (make sure it contains no milk)
Biscoff Biscuits to decorate
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan and grease and line 3 8" cake tins.
Step 2. In a large bowl combine your dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder).
Step 3. Add in the wet ingredients ( Almond milk, oil, vanilla, white wine vinegar) and mix using a spatula or a stand mixer.
Step 4. Divide the mixture between the three tins and bake for around 35-40 minutes.
Step 5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Now make your icing by melting the dark chocolate in the microwave on short bursts until fully melted.
Step 6. Add the sunflower spread to a large bowl and add your icing sugar a little at a time mixing well between each addition of icing sugar.
Step 7. Add in the melted dark chocolate and mix until completely combined. Fill and sandwich each of the cakes with the chocolate icing and a spoonful or so of the biscoff spread.
Step 8. Cover the sides of your cake with a little chocolate icing and use a scraper to smooth the icing around the sides.
Step 9. Now it's time for the fun part - the decoration. I used biscoff biscuits which I broke in half and added to the top of the cake. I crumbled some over the top to give a crunchy topping too but feel feel to decorate the cake however you wish!
