Vegan.As vegans, we love Avocado’s, right? Well, I certainly do and I had an urge to make a special Avocado cake! This cake would be great for parties for an Avo lover or for Valentine’s day! A vegan chocolate sponge cake with chocolate ganache buttercream and fondant details.It’s easy to make and looks very impressive. It’ll sure impress anyone you make it for! 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-Cocoa powder-Light + dark green food gel-Dairy-free milk (if needed)Extras-Vegan Nutella-Black fondant-Brown fondant-Royal icing…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- Separate the buttercream equally into 3 bowls.Add light green food gel to the first bowl, a dark green into the second bowl and add brown food gel into the third.Step 3- Into the brown buttercream, add a tablespoon of vegan Nutella (optional).Step 4- Stack and fill the cakes with the brown buttercream.I also added a teaspoon of vegan ‘Nutella’ spread in between each layer of cake (optional).Step 5- Crumb coat the whole cake with the light green buttercream and pop into the fridge to set. This will take around 1 hour.Step 6- Once the cake is set and using a bread knife, carve it into the oval/ Avocado shape.Watch this video on how to carve a cake.Step 7- Add a thick layer of the light green buttercream all over the cake and using a cake scraper or large spatula, smooth out the buttercream.Step 8- Add a layer of brown buttercream to the sides and back of the cake to resemble to avocado skin, leaving the light green showing at the front (as seen in the photos).For added texture, I mixed some dark green and brown buttercream together to create a deep avocado skin color.Step 9- Place a small amount of the dark green buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle and pipe two arms.Step 10- Roll out two small balls of black fondant for the eyes, and a small log for the mouth.Roll out a large heart out of brown fondant.Attach everything with buttercream.Step 11- You can make the cake personal and pipe royal icing onto the heart before sticking it to the cake (optional).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 #thelittleblogofveganAll of my social media links are in the side bar…come and say hi!Share and follow me for more yummy posts to come!
