Vegan Black Forest

Yield: 2 8” cake layers

Tools: bowl, whisk, heatproof bowl, parchment, 8 inch cake pans, kitchen aid stand mixer or hand mixer, hotplate and pan or microwave, brush, piping bags, palette spatula, bench scraper, star tip

Cake Ingredients: Dry: Wet: 1 cup wheat flour 1 1/2 cups non dairy milk divided 1 cup all purpose flour 1/3 cup dark chocolate 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup oil 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp instant coffee 3 tbsp maple syrup 1/2 tsp salt

Cake Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 170ºc. In a bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients for the cake.

In another bowl, heat 1 cup of non dairy milk and chocolate until just about hot (heat in the microwave or stove top). Whisk until chocolate is melted. Add in the rest of the wet ingredients, instant coffee, and 1/2 cup non dairy milk and mix in until smooth..

Add the dry to the wet and mix to make a smooth batter.

Transfer batter to two greased or parchment lined 8 inch cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F 32 to 34 minutes. or until toothpick from the center comes out clean.

Let the cool, then remove from the pan and cool completely.

Ganache Frosting Ingredients: 2 cups chopped semisweet chocolate (10 ounces)

1 2/3 cups full-fat coconut milk (from one 13.5-ounce can)

Ganache Frosting Method:

Place semisweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

On stovetop or in microwave, bring coconut milk just to a boil; pour over chocolate.

Let stand 2 minutes, then stir until smooth and glossy. Let cool in fridge about 45 mins, stirring every 10 mins. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

Other fillings & toppings:

Kirsch, cherry liqueur simple syrup

1 cup Cherry pie filling

Dark chocolate shavings

Cherries with stems (drained and dried)

Assembly Method:

Paint both cake layers with cherry liqueur syrup.

Center bottom layer on a cake board. Make a thick ring around the top of cake of ganache and small coin in the center of the cake. Mix cherry pie filling with a tsp of cherry liqueur syrup and cherry juice. Spread onto cake in-between ganache.

Top with 2nd cake layer, then pipe ganache all over cake. Smooth.

Pipe ganache rosettes and shell boarders. Top rosettes with cherries.

Fill middle with shaved chocolate.

Thoughts:

This cake turned out very well. If I made it again, I would make 1.5x as much ganache and would probably store buy some vegan whipped cream for a bit of presentation contrast.

Napolean Blitz Ingredients:

8 oz bread flour

8 oz ap flour

1 lb butter

.25 oz salt

8 oz cold water

Blitz Pastry Method:

Sift flour together and then cut the butter into the flour as with pie dough, leaving the clumps a bit larger

Dissolve salt in water, then add salted water to the flour/butter mixture. Mix until just absorbed

Refrigerate about 15min

Dust with flour and roll out dough into a thick rectangle. Give 3 four-folds, rotating between each fold.

Chill then use sheeter to start the rolling out process. You will need to hand roll a bit to get the dough about 1/8 -1/4 in thick. Measure out and cut your dough into 2.5x4 in rectangles.

Lay on parchment-lined tray, cover with parchment and another tray then bake 450F about an hour until golden brown Pastry Cream Ingredients:

2 qt whole milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

5 oz cornstarch

1 lb sugar

1 tsp salt

6 eggs

2 oz butter Pastry Cream Method:

Combine milk and vanilla in a saucepan and bring to a boil

Whisk together cornstarch, sugar, and salt

Gradually add the eggs to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Temper the mot milk into the egg mixture, then pour into saucepan.

Bring mixture back to a boil, whisking until thickened. Remove from heat, then strain into ¼ tray. Whisk in butter then cover with plastic directly in contact with surface. Chill in fridge. Diplomat Cream Ingredients:

16 oz heavy cream

11/2 tsp gelatin

2 oz water

1 lb pastry cream Diplomat Cream Method:

Whip cream to soft peaks. Cover and chill

Bloom gelatin in cold water, then melt in microwave

Warm pastry cream (if cold) in microwave, then mix in melted gelatin. Strain, then cool over and ice bath until about 75F.

Gently blend 1/3 whipped cream into cooled pastry cream mixture, then gently fold in the rest of the whipped cream, making sure it is fully incorporated Other toppings:

Chocolate donut icing

Vanilla donut icing

Corn syrup/simple syrup Assembly Method:

Place 1/3 blitz pastry rectangles on a rack over a tray.

Mix chocolate donut icing with corn syrup and heat until desired consistency. Do the same with4x as much vanilla. Pour into parchment paper pastry bags, cutting a very small tip in the chocolate, and larger for vanilla.

Working one at a time, pipe a vanilla rectangle onto the blitz pastry, then stripe with chocolate. Then quickly run a toothpick gently though to create a herringbone pattern. Allow to set

Using a piping bag with star tip, pipe diplomat cream in little rosettes on 1/3 of the naked blitz pastry. Top with remaining 1/3, then pipe rosettes.

Top with the decorated 1/3 blitz pastry rectangles, icing out.

Thoughts:

Turned out very well. Cutting the pastry down before baking is the way to go

Opera

Joconde Sponge Ingredients: 3.5 oz almond flour

3 oz powdered sugar

1 oz sifted cake flour

4.75 oz whole eggs

3.25 oz egg whites

4 oz sugar

1.25 oz melted butter

Joconde Sponge Method:

Mix together almonds, sifted powdered sugar and flour together in a bowl

Add eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light whip egg whites and sugar until they form glossy peaks

Gently fold the egg mixture into the whipped egg whites

Fold in the melted butter

Place on silpay on half sheet pan

Bake 400* until barely golden to touch French Buttercream ingredients:

8 oz sugar

2 oz water

3 oz egg yolks

10 oz softened butter

1 ½ tsp coffee extract French Buttercream Method:

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil while dissolving sugar.

Continue to boil until the syrup reaches temp of 240F While syrup is boiling beat the yolks with whip attachment until light and thick

When syrup reaches 240F pour it very slowly into beaten yolks while whipping constantly

Beat mixture until cool and yolks are thick and light

Whip in butter a little at a time.

Beat in coffee extract Chocolate ganache ingredients:

4 oz cream

5.3 oz dark chocolate Chocolate ganache method:

Melt chocolate

Heat cream until hot but not boiling.

Pour cream over chocolate and let sit for 1 min before stirring.

Cover with plastic wrap and cool in fridge.

Mix by hand until just before the desired consistency is achieved. Chocolate glaze Ingredients:

8 oz dark coating chocolate

5.3 oz dark chocolate

1.33 oz canola oil Chocolate glaze method:

Melt chocolates together

Stir in oil

Let cool slightly before use (10 min) Chocolate garnish ingredients:

5 oz dark coating chocolate Chocolate garnish Method:

Melt chocolate

Cut strips of acetate ~5in long

With a spatula, wipe one side of acetate with a thin, even coating of chocolate, then wipe with cake comb.

Carefully curl acetate in hands and stand in freezer about 1 min or until chocolate has hardened. Other fillings: 2 oz Melted dark chocolate melts

Coffee-flavored simple syrup Assembly: Cut sponge into three equal rectangles (about 6x12in)

Spread one layer with a thin layer of melted dark chocolate melts. Refrigerate to set

When set, remove from fridge and flip the chocolate side down. Brush top with coffee syrup

Spread 1/4in thick layer of French buttercream

Place send layer of sponge on top, brush with syrup, then spread 1/4in thick layer of ganache

Top with third sponge layer and brush with syrup. Spread 1/4in thick layer of buttercream. Freeze until firm.

Set cake over rack on a tray. Pour warm glaze over cake and smooth with a pallet knife

Freeze until set, then with a hot knife, neatly square off sides and cut into even portions.

Top with garnish

Thoughts:

Non-vegan ganache is much more temperamental than vegan ganache, it gave me a lot of trouble and did not turn out as well as I would have liked. I would use a different recipe for the glaze next time. Replace it with a softer ganache glaze instead.

Roulade Cake Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup white sugar

2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup non-dairy milk (such as soy or almond)

2/3 cup light oil (such as canola or vegetable)

1/4 cup lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract Cake Method:

Preheat your oven to 350F. Lightly grease roulade pan.

In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.

In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until the batter just comes together, don’t over mix. Pour and smooth batter into pan (you will have extra). Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until the top is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean Lemon Curd Ingredients:

1 14-ounce can full fat coconut milk or cream

1 Tbsp (~4 g) lemon zest

1/2 cup lemon juice 2 Tbsp (14 g) corn starch

1Tbsp maple syrup

1tbsp sugar Lemon curd method

Place coconut cream and lemon zest in a small saucepan and whisk to combine.

Add lemon juice and corn starch to a small mixing bowl and whisk to thoroughly dissolve. Then add to coconut cream mixture and stir.

Lastly, add maple syrup (starting with 1 Tbsp) and whisk again until well combined.

Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low bubble – not boil – whisking often. Once it starts bubbling and getting thick, reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking until a visible ribbon forms when spooning a bit of the curd across the top. It should be thick and kind of jiggly in texture. During this process switch to a rubber spatula for stirring to ensure the curd isn’t sticking to the bottom or sides of the pan.

Remove from heat and taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more lemon zest for acidity/brightness, or maple syrup for sweetness.

Let rest for 15 minutes, then whisk once more and transfer to a container and cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap touches the surface.

Refrigerate for 5-6 hours, or overnight, or until completely chilled and set. Assembly:

Stripe cake with raspberry jam then freeze for 5 min.

Spread lemon curd gently over the cake and jam.

Carefully and tightly roll the cake onto itself, then tightly wrap with plastic and freeze 10 min.

Cut 1 ½-2 inch slices and top with a dusting of powdered sugar and fresh raspberry.

Thoughts:

This didn’t turn out how I wanted at all. The flavors were good but the cake cracked and the final product design isn’t quite as polished as I would prefer. I think there is a good reason that I am unable to find a good vegan roulade recipe, and a big part of that is that you really need a fluffy that I can’t quite achieve in vegan form. Chocolate probably would have been more successful, but I feel like I’ve made so many chocolate cakes. The lemon curd was a win, but the rest needs some work.

Vegan Chickpea Tart Yield:1 14” rectangular tart

Ingredients:

Crust: Filling Dry: Filling wet:

4.4 oz wheat flour ¾ cup chickpea flour ¾ cup almond milk

4.4 oz ap flour ¼ tsp baking powder 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

½ tsp fine sea salt 1.5 tsp thyme 1 oz shallots

1 tsp thyme 1tsp coriander 4 oz mushrooms

1 tsp coriander 1 tsp sea salt 4 oz asparagus/green thing

½ tsp black pepper ½ tsp pepper 1 clove garlic

¼ cup olive oil 1 tsp turmeric 1 tbsp olive oil

½ cup cold water (2 tbsp nutritional yeast) Method:

Crust

Combine dry ingredients and mix well.

Add the oil and water and mix with a fork until just combined.

Transfer to a floured work surface and knead lightly until the dough comes together into a ball.

Sprinkle a little flour on the ball of dough and on the rolling pin, and roll the dough out into an oval large enough to fit tart pan. Avoid overworking the dough Transfer the dough carefully into a lightly greased pan and press lightly into all the grooves. Trim the excess dough with a knife. Place the pan in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Preheat the oven to 350°F, dock pastry, and blind-bake for 15 minutes, until lightly golden.

Filling

Finley dice shallots and garlic, slice mushrooms, and cut asparagus into 1” pieces (keep 2 whole for decoration).

Saute shallots until translucent, add garlic and saute until fragrant. Set aside, then saute mushrooms until tender. Set aside. Saute asparagus until tender.

Combine almond milk and vinegar in a cup and stir it to curdle.

In a bowl, sift together dry ingredients with a fork.

Mix curdled milk into dry ingredients until just combined, and then fold in vegetables.

Pour into tart shell (do not overfill)

Bake for about 30 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean

Thoughts:

It turned out very well, but didn’t like being frozen and refreshed, so it cracked quite a bit.

Tiramisu Yield:

Ladyfinger Sponge Ingredients:

75g Bread flour

60g cornstarch

6 egg yolks 1 tsp vanilla extract

6 egg whites

117.5 g sugar

Powdered sugar as needed

Ladyfinger Sponge Method:

Sift flour and cornstarch together and set aside.

Whip egg yolks and vanilla together until thick and creamy

Simultaneously whip the egg whites and sugar to nearly stiff peaks

Gently mix egg yolks into the egg whites. Fold together until streaked but not fully combined.

Fold in flour.

Use a piping bag with round tip to pipe circles of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan.

Dust surfaces with powdered sugar. Wait then powder them again.

Bake at 410F until bounce back when lightly pressed. About 9-11 mins. Filling Ingredients:

8oz Heavy cream

2.5oz Egg yolk

3oz sugar

3oz sweet marsala

8oz mascarpone(softened)

11/2tsp powdered gelatin hydrated in1oz water Filling Method:

Assemble ring molds or pans with acetate strip as desired.

Whip the cream to soft peaks. Cover and place in fridge Combine egg yolks, sugar and marsala in bowl and whip together until smooth. Place bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until mixture is thick and foamy and has reached 165*.

Take off heat and add bloomed gelatin and stir to dissolve. Place contents in a mixer with whip and whip on high speed until cool.

Fold in egg yolk mixture into the mascarpone. Gently blend in1/3rd of the reserved whip cream. Then fold in the remaining whip cream Immediately pipe or spread into the desired molds or shapes. Cover and refrigerate until completely set.

Dust and garnish. Chocolate garnish ingredients:

5 oz dark coating chocolate Chocolate garnish Method:

Melt chocolate

Cut strips of acetate ~5in long

With a spatula, wipe one side of acetate with a thin, even coating of chocolate, then wipe with cake comb.

Carefully curl acetate in hands and stand in freezer about 1 min or until chocolate has hardened.

Thoughts:

Next time, I would pipe the sponge a bit thicker. The acetate strips ended up being a bit too tall, so I couldn’t smooth out the tops, so I would want to either use smaller ones or cut them more to size.

Peanut Butter Yield: 1 9” cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust

4 cups oreo chunks tsp butter, melted

Filling

4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 c. packed light brown sugar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 c. creamy peanut butter

3/4 c. heavy cream

1/2 c. sour cream

Method:

In a food processor or blender, grind oreos into a fine crumb. Transfer to a medium bowl, add butter, and use fork or fingers to blend mixture until crumbs are evenly moist. Press into bottom and about a third of the way up the sides of springform pan. Freeze 10 minutes.

In a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, beat cream cheese on medium, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until completely smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Add sugar and salt and beat, scraping down bowl as necessary, until smooth and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add vanilla and beat for 30 seconds. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition and occasionally scraping bottom and sides of bowl. Add peanut butter, heavy cream, and sour cream and beat on low until completely smooth and streak-free, about 1 minute.

Pour cheesecake batter into cooled crust and smooth top. Bake cheesecake until top is just set about 45 minutes. Let cool, then remove from pan. Peanut butter frosting Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

5 tablespoons heavy cream Peanut butter frosting method:

Cream Butter using a paddle attachment. Add vanilla and peanut butter and beat until well mixed. Add confectioners' sugar a cup at a time, alternating with heavy cream. Whip on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until frosting is light and fluffy. Peanut brittle Ingredients:

3/4C water

1/2C corn syrup

2C granulated sugar

2C dry roasted peanuts

2 Tbsp Coconut cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt Peanut brittle method:

Prepare a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, water and corn syrup. Stir frequently.

When mixture begins to boil, add a candy thermometer. Continue cooking until mixture reaches 265°F degrees, "hard ball" stage. Add peanuts and stir.

Continue stirring frequently until mixture reaches 305°F degrees, "hard crack" stage. The color of your mixture will have darkened up rapidly at this point. Immediately remove from heat, stir in coconut cream, vanilla, baking soda and salt.

Pour onto prepared baking sheet. Let sit undisturbed for 1-2 hours to cool and harden. Crack into desired sizes and store in an airtight container. Chocolate glaze Ingredients:

8 oz dark coating chocolate

5.3 oz dark chocolate

1.33 oz canola oil Chocolate glaze method:

Melt chocolates together

Stir in oil

Let cool slightly before use (10 min) Chocolate garnish ingredients:

5 oz dark coating chocolate Chocolate garnish Method:

Melt chocolate

Cut strips of acetate ~5in long

With a spatula, wipe one side of acetate with a thin, even coating of chocolate, then wipe with cake comb.

Carefully curl acetate in hands and stand in freezer about 1 min or until chocolate has hardened.

Thoughts: My final product ended up way too salty. I’m not sure if I miss-measured or if the recipe calls for too much, but it would probably be safest to nix the salt in the recipe. I used the leftover chocolate glaze from the recipe to top this cake as well, but like with the opera cake, I think in the future I would rather use a softer ganache glaze.

Mousse Yield: 14 Cake Ingredients: 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar Dry: 1 tsp instant coffee 1 cup wheat flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup all purpose flour Wet: 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1 1/2 cups non dairy milk divided

1/3 cup dark chocolate

1/4 cup oil

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp maple syrup

Cake Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 170ºc. In a bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients for the cake.

In another bowl, heat 1 cup of non dairy milk and chocolate until just about hot (heat in the microwave or stove top). Whisk until chocolate is melted. Add in the rest of the wet ingredients, instant coffee, and 1/2 cup non dairy milk and mix in until smooth..

Add the dry to the wet and mix to make a smooth batter.

Transfer batter to two greased or parchment lined 8 inch cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F 32 to 34 minutes. or until toothpick from the center comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool, then remove from the pan and cool completely. Ganache Frosting Ingredients:

2 cups chopped semisweet chocolate (10 ounces)

1 2/3 cups full-fat coconut milk (from one 13.5-ounce can) Ganache Frosting Method:

Place semisweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

On stovetop or in microwave, bring coconut milk just to a boil; pour over chocolate.

Let stand 2 minutes, then stir until smooth and glossy. Let cool in fridge about 45 mins, stirring every 10 mins. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days. Peanut brittle Ingredients: 3/4C water

1/2C corn syrup

2C granulated sugar

2C dry roasted peanuts

2 Tbsp Coconut cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt Peanut brittle method:

Prepare a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, water and corn syrup. Stir frequently.

When mixture begins to boil, add a candy thermometer. Continue cooking until mixture reaches 265°F degrees, "hard ball" stage. Add peanuts and stir.

Continue stirring frequently until mixture reaches 305°F degrees, "hard crack" stage. The color of your mixture will have darkened up rapidly at this point. Immediately remove from heat, stir in coconut cream, vanilla, baking soda and salt.

Pour onto prepared baking sheet. Let sit undisturbed for 1-2 hours to cool and harden. Crack into desired sizes and store in an airtight container.

Place in blender and blend to a semi-fine dust. Mousse Ingredients:

390g creamy peanut butter

4 tbsp almond milk

2 tsp vanilla

120ml aquafaba

12 oz chilled coconut cream

56g sugar

½ tsp cream of tartar Mousse Method:

Prepare the peanut butter mousse by slightly melting the peanut butter, then add the almond milk and vanilla extract, whisk smooth

Whip the aquafaba on high speed and gradually add the sugar with the cream of tartar. Whip to stiff peaks.

Whip the coconut fat to soft peaks then fold into the peanut butter base. Ganache Glaze Ingredients:

1 lb dark chocolate

2 ½ cup coconut milk

1 tsp canola oil Ganache Glaze method:

Heat coconut milk

Pour over finely chopped chocolate.

Let sit 10 min. Add oil.

Stir until combined. Allow to cool at room temp about 15 mins. Chocolate stick Ingredients:

2 oz dark chocolate Chocolate stick method:

Melt 2/3 dark chocolate chunks in 30 min bursts in microwave until the chocolate reaches a temp of just under 120F.

Mix in remaining 1/3 chocolate chunks and stir until mixture is about 80-85F.

Use a spatula to spread a thin layer onto acetate strips or parchment and then use a cake comb to create sticks. Allow to cool hard, then remove and cut to desired size. Assembly:

Slice cake to about 1/4 in thin, then using a cookie cutter, cut out small circles of cake about 1-2 in in diameter

Make acetate molds around cake circles.

Add about ½ tsp powdered peanut brittle to each mold, then smooth flat.

Pipe about ½ in thick ring of ganache in each mold. Freeze at least an hour.

Fill round silicone molds 2/3 the way with peanut butter mousse.

Remove acetate from frozen cakes, then insert into mousse, ganache side down. Press down until flush with top of silicone mold.

Pipe mousse, making sure to fill any cracks, then level tops with bench scraper. Freeze molds.

Remove frozen mousse from molds and place a rack over a tray.

Pour cooled ganache glaze over mousse cakes, making sure to coat evenly (about 1/3 cup per cake).

Dust 1/3 with powdered brittle (pulsed in blender).

Chill completely before removing from rack to plate.

Top with candied peanut (chipped out of peanut brittle) and chocolate stick.

Thoughts:

I think these turned out pretty well, I thought they were just missing a crunchy element that I had hoped the brittle would satisfy. I might add a chocolate covered crunch-rice disk or something similar in the future. Red Velvet 9.8 oz cake flour 1 tsp baking soda

Yield: 2 8 “ round 1 tsp salt Cake Ingredients: 2 tbsp cocoa powder

10.7 oz sugar 1 cup buttermilk

7.7 oz vegetable oil 1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 tsp vinegar

2 tbsp red food coloring Cake Method:

350 F. Line cake pans with paper

Cream sugar and oil on low.

Add eggs 1 at a time. Beat well.

Add vinegar and food coloring

Sift dry ingredients.

Add dry ingredients and buttermilk, letting ingredients incorporate before adding more.

Add vanilla and beat well.

Pour in the pans and bake 30 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting Ingredients:

9 oz white chocolate

12 oz cream cheese room temp

6 oz butter

1.5 oz lemon juice

Frosting Method:

Melt white chocolate over double boiler containing hot water. Do not overheat. Stir until chocolate is melted In stand mixer bowl with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until smooth and creamy (make sure cream cheese is room temp)

Gradually beat in white chocolate until incorporated.

Beat in butter and lemon juice. (May have to whip for a while)

Assembly Method:

Torte 2 cake layers, making 4 total layers. Inspect the layers and crumble the worst one for side masking.

Set crumbles on a sheet pan with parchment paper. Bake in oven for about 5 minutes to dry them out.

Brush cake layers with a little simple syrup.

Top bottom layer with cream cheese frosting, place third layer and crumb coat cake with thin layer of frosting. Set in fridge for at least 5 minutes.

Frost cake then side mask with cooled cake crumbs. Top with frosting rosettes and a pile of extra cake crumbs in the middle.

Thoughts:

I would probably make 1.5x the frosting next time, and I’m not a huge fan of the crumb pile in the middle. I think I would rather some other type of garnish like dark chocolate shapes.

Vegan Jaffa Torte

Yield: 2 8” round cake layers Cake Ingredients: Dry Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup white sugar

2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup non-dairy milk (such as soy or almond)

2/3 cup light oil (such as canola or vegetable)

1/4 cup lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Cake Method:

Preheat your oven to 350F. Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans.

In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.

In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until the batter just comes together, don’t over mix. Evenly divide batter among cake pans. Bake for 22 - 28 minutes until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean

Ganache Frosting Ingredients:

2 cups chopped semisweet chocolate (10 ounces)

1 2/3 cups full-fat coconut milk (from one 13.5-ounce can) Ganache Frosting Method:

Place semisweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

On stovetop or in microwave, bring coconut milk just to a boil; pour over chocolate.

Let stand 2 minutes, then stir until smooth and glossy. Let cool in fridge about 45 mins, stirring every 10 mins. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

Candied Orange Slice Ingredients:

1 navel oranges

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup granulated sugar 4 ounces dark chocolate Candied Orange Slice Method:

Thoroughly wash the orange to get rid of any waxy residue. Slice off and discard the ends, and slice the rest of the fruit into 1/4' slices. Cut half of the rounds in half.

In a wide pot, heat and stir water and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Avoid stirring after this point to prevent crystallization. Bring to a gentle boil and add the orange slices. After 15 minutes, lower the heat to medium-low. Flip over the slices and continue cooking on low for another 15-20 minutes, until the peel becomes translucent and the syrup has thickened. Place a wire rack on top of a lined baking sheet, and transfer the candied slices on top to cool. Reserve orange syrup for cake assembly later.

Melt chocolate and dip slices halfway. Place slices on a parchment-lined tray and chill.

Ganache Glaze Topping Ingredients:

5 oz dark chocolate

½ cup full-fat coconut milk

1 Tbsp oil

½ tsp fresh orange zest Ganache Glaze Topping Method:

Fill a small saucepan with about 1-2 inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Place a medium bowl over the top of the pan to create a double boiler, which will gently melt your chocolate. Add chocolate chips, coconut milk, coconut oil, and orange zest to the bowl and stir until almost no lumps remain and mixture is glossy. Remove bowl from the pan and continue to stir until very smooth. (The residual heat will melt the remaining lumps). Orange Jelly Ingredients:

1 cup orange juice

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp orange zest, grated

2 tsp agar agar powder Orange Jelly Method:

Add all ingredients to a saucepan and boil over medium heat. Let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Pour into small lined tray or into 2 round molds, slightly smaller than cake rounds. Place in fridge to chill. Approximately 5 minutes.

Assembly Method:

Torte 2 cake layers, making 4 total layers.

Place orange jelly round in the center of your bottom layer. Outline in chocolate ganache frosting.

Top with second layer, then cover with chocolate ganache frosting.

Top with third layer and place orange jelly round in center and outline with chocolate ganache frosting.

Top with fourth layer. Crumb coat entire cake with thin layer of ganache frosting. Try to get it as smooth and straight as possible. Chill at least 5 mins.

Pour ganache glaze over the top of the cake and gently smooth out over the top, allowing ganache to spill over the sides.

Decorate with candy orange slices using remaining frosting as glue.

Store at room temperature.

Thoughts:

I really like this cake. The garnish needs a little bit of work, and I would like the frosting and drip glaze to be smoother and more clean-looking.