Vegan.I decided to make a Koala cake to raise awareness and generate funds to help rescue the wildlife victims of the Australian bushfires.Donate to my Go Fund Me HERE!Chocolate “oreo” sponge, with an oreo buttercream and fondant details.100% vegan and absolutely delicious!The bushfires are pushing some species to the point of extinction as millions of animals have already been killed and it doesn’t look like there is an end in sight.I have set up a Go Fund Me page in order to raise funds for the work WIRES – an Australian non-profit charitable organization (NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service Inc) is doing in helping to rescue the animals from the bush fires. You can check out their work here on their website here.Please check out my Go Fund Me page at HERE as I have shared some facts about the impact that these fires are having on Australia’s wildlife and its eco-systems. Any amount donated will be very welcome and much needed. If you could also share my Go Fund Me page on your social media that would be very helpful. Let’s see if we can reach the target I have set. Thank you so much!Preparation- 1 hourBaking time- 28-30 minutesServes- Approximately 10-12Level- Medium…Ingredients for the cake-480ml of dairy-free milk -2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar-420g of self-raising flour-2 tablespoons of cocoa powder-470g of golden caster sugar-1 teaspoon of baking powder-1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda-120g of coconut oil (melted)Ingredients for the buttercream -210g of dairy-free butter-500g of icing sugar-1/2 pack of Oreo cookies -Dairy-free milk (if needed)Extras-1 chocolate cupcake-Black food gel-Green food gel-Brown fondant-Black fondant-Oreo cookies…To make the cakesStep 1- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees c and line three 6 inch cake tins with grease-proof paper.Step 2- In a bowl, combine the dairy-free milk with the apple cider vinegar and whisk until fully combined.Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle. This creates a vegan ‘buttermilk’.Step 3- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well to combine.Step 4- Add the melted coconut oil into the ‘buttermilk’ and whisk to combine. Step 5- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.Step 6- Pour equal amounts of batter into the lined cake tins.Make sure to tap the tins on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.Step 7- Pop the cakes into the center of the preheated oven and bake for around 28-30 minutes. You will know they are baked when you put a knife or skewer in and it comes out clean and they are springy to the touch.Step 8- Place the cakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool fully.Once cool, pop them into a sealed container to keep them fresh before frosting.To make the buttercreamStep 1- In a bowl/stand mixer, cream the butter on high then add in the icing sugar.Whip together until combined, light and fluffy.Add a splash of dairy-free milk if too thick.Step 2- Place the oreo cookies into a food processor and whizz up until crumb-like.Step 3- Take 3 tablespoons of the white buttercream and place it into a piping bag fitted with a top star tip nozzle and set aside.This will be for the details on the Koala ears and belly.Step 4- Fold in the oreo cookies to the rest of the buttercream.Step 5- Stack and fill the cakes with the oreo buttercream.Step 6- I added a chocolate cupcake to the top of the cake and covered it in buttercream. This creates the 3d head for the Koala.If you don’t want to make chocolate cupcakes, you can make an extra batch of buttercream and pile it on top of the cake to resemble the Koala head.Step 7- Crumb coat the whole cake with the oreo buttercream and pop into the fridge to set. This will take around 1 hour.Step 8- Add a thick layer of buttercream all over the cake and using a smooth or textured cake scraper or large spatula, smooth out the buttercream.Step 9- Place the oreo buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a patisserie nozzle and pipe a texture effect on the Koala head (as seen in the photos).Also add two arms and two legs to the cake with the oreo buttercream (as seen in the photos)Step 10- Use the white buttercream to add the ear and belly details (as seen in the photos).Step 11- Roll out one large and two small balls of black fondant and attached to the cake for the eyes and nose.Step 12- Roll out 6 small black logs of fondant for the claws.Step 13- Roll out a long log of brown fondant and green leaves for the eucalyptus plant and attach to the front of the cake with buttercream.Serve fresh or store in a sealed container in the fridge, the buttercream will firm up at room temperature. Best eaten within a few days!PIN MEMake sure you follow me on my social mediaMy Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/thelittleblogofvegan/Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/littleblogofvegan/Twitter- https://twitter.com/BlogofVeganI would love to see your take on my recipes. Tag me on social media using the hashtag #Blogofvegan #thelittleblogofvegan All of my social media links are in the side bar…come and say hi!Share and follow me for more yummy posts to come!
