CHOCOLATE GANACHE BIRTHDAY CAKE
(makes a 10-inch cake)
INGREDIENTS
For the cake:
1 cup oat milk
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar ½ cup of vegan butter at room temperature + 1 Tbsp to grease the cake pans
2 cups coconut sugar
1 cup apple sauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coffee extract or ¼ cup espresso coffee
3 cups gluten-free flour
1 cup cacao powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup of hot water
For the ganache:
9 oz vegan chocolate chunks 6 oz coconut cream
PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix the oat milk and the apple cider vinegar. Set aside. This will be our vegan buttermilk.
3. Use 1 Tbsp of vegan butter to grease the cake pans.
Cut 4 x 10-inch circles out of parchment paper and place at the bottom of each pan.
4. In a large bowl, whisk the vegan butter and coconut sugar until creamy for 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Add the apple sauce, vanilla extract, and coffee extract. Whisk to combine. It may look separated, but don’t worry as this will come together once you add the dry ingredients.
6. In a separate bowl, mix the gluten-free flour, cacao powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
7. Add half of the dry ingredients to your large bowl containing the creamed butter and apple sauce mix. Whisk to combine.
8. Add the vegan buttermilk
and whisk to combine.
9. Add the second half of the dry
ingredients. Whisk to combine. 10. Carefully add the hot water
and whisk to combine.
11. Pour your batter equally into
all 4 cake pans.
12. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until a cake tester/toothpick comes out clean. While the cakes are baking, you can make the chocolate ganache.
For the ganache:
1. Place the chocolate chunks
in a medium bowl.
2. Bring the coconut cream to
simmer in a small saucepan. 3. Pour half of the coconut cream onto the chocolate chunks and let stand for 1 minute without touching it.
4. With a rubber spatula, gently stir the chocolate and cream. Add the second half of the hot coconut cream and stir until smooth.
5. Let the ganache cool down for
15 minutes before using it.
6. Let the cakes cool down for 10 minutes before removing them from the pans and onto a cooling rack. Let them cool completely.
ASSEMBLY
1. Place one of the cooled cakes onto a plate or cake stand.
Add 3 large tablespoons of the ganache and spread to cover the top of the cake.
2. Place the second cake onto of the first one and repeat the ganache process. Do this one more time with the third cake layer.
3. Place the last cake layer on top of the others and pour the leftover ganache all over the top of the cake. Using the back of a spoon, gently push the ganache to the edge of the cake. This will allow the ganache to drip on the sides of the cake. 4. Decorate the cake with whatever makes you happy! Cacao nibs, freeze-dried berries, sugar-free sprinkles, and gold leaves. Enjoy!
CHEF’S NOTES: The birthday cake is a 10-inch cake that can serve up to 25 people (small slices). This means that there is only 8 grams (1 1/2 tsp) of added coconut sugar per slice. There is also no added sugar in the ganache!