Vegan!3 layers of delicious and moist chocolate cake, with a spiced buttercream coating, chocolate ganache swirls, meringue toadstools, and cookie hedgehogs!This woodland cake is the perfect autumnal treat!Preparation- 10 minutesBaking 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 butter-cream -210g of dairy-free butter-500g of icing sugar-1 teaspoon of vanilla extract-1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg-1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon-1 teaspoon of allspice-Dairy-free milk (if needed)Extras-Dark chocolate-Chocolate ganache-Meringue…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.Step 2- Add in all of the spices and whip together until combined, light and fluffy.Add a splash of dairy-free milk if too thick.Step 3- Stack and fill the cakes, then crumb coat the whole cake with the buttercream and pop into the fridge to set. This will take around 1 hour.Step 4- Add a final layer of buttercream to the cake, smoothing it out with a spatula or cake scraper.I added texture by running a small spatula around the cake.To decorate, I added chocolate ganache into a piping bag fitted with a medium french patisserie tip nozzle and piped some swirls around the top of the cake, added on a dusting of cocoa powder, some homemade meringue toadstools, and chocolate gratings.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!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!
