VA VA VOOM
Alternative ingredients make vegan treats worth the effort.
WHETHER YOU ARE a fulltime vegan or you choose to cut out animal products whenever possible, there's no need to miss out on your favorite cakes. Baking without eggs, butter, and milk is not only possible, but also easy and just as delicious as what you are used to baking. There are now so many alternative ingredients available from supermarkets and healthfood stores and with Angela Romeo’s inspired recipes in her new book Va Va Voom Vegan Cakes you'll have all the know-how and inspiration you need to start baking.
COCONUT & PASSION FRUIT CAKE
I love eating tropical fruits in the colder months, just the hit of fragrant passion fruit takes me straight to warmer climates. The added bonus here is that the pulp naturally gives the glace icing on this cake a gorgeous lemony colour.
Ingredients
400g/3 cups all-purpose flour 280g/scant 1 1/2 cups caster sugar 80g/generous 1 cup desiccated coconut 5 tsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of baking soda 480g/2 1/4 cups soy yoghurt 180ml/3/4 cup sunflower oil
2 tbsp golden syrup
2 passion fruit, pulp and seeds
COATING:
825g Simple Vegan Vanilla Buttercream, made with 275g vegan butter and 550g/scant 4 cups icing sugar Vegan purple food colouring (optional, see colour tip)
DECORATION:
40g/1 cup flaked coconut 100g/3/4 cup icing sugar, sifted 25g/1 oz. passion fruit pulp and seeds (approx. 1 passion fruit), plus 3 passion fruit, halved
3 pineapple leaves (optional)
2 x deep 20cm cake pans, greased and lined
1 wooden skewer
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C / Gas 4.
Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the caster/superfine sugar, coconut, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda/baking soda, and mix with a spoon to combine. Make a well in the middle.
Put the yoghurt into a bowl, add the sunflower oil and golden/light corn syrup. Mix with a spoon until fully combined. Pour into the well of dry ingredients. Fold through with a spatula or wooden spoon until combined and smooth. Fold through the passion fruit pulp and seeds until fully combined.
Transfer to the greased and lined pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until an inserted cocktail stick/ toothpick comes out clean. Leave to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Trim the tops of the cakes to make level, if necessary. Sandwich the cakes together using 200g of the buttercream — the bottom side of the top cake should be facing up. Place the cake on a cake board. Crumb coat the cake using 300g of the buttercream. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Stir the vegan colouring into the remaining buttercream to achieve a midlilac shade (see colour tip). Use to coat the cake in a second layer of buttercream. Smooth and remove the excess. Press the flaked coconut onto the sides of the bottom third of the cake. Chill for 15 minutes.
Put the icing sugar in a bowl with the passion fruit pulp and seeds, and mix until smooth. Place spoonfuls on the top of the cake, allowing a little to trickle down the sides.
Thread two passion fruit halves onto the skewer and push into the cake. Decorate with the remaining passion fruit halves and pineapple leaves. — Serves 20 COLOUR TIP: Playing around with purple. This is a mix of super food powders: mix 1/8 teaspoon pink pitaya powder and 1/8 teaspoon blue spirulina powder into the remaining 325g buttercream for the top coat to achieve this lilac shade. Vegan gel and paste colourings are also available.