Stephanie Stanhope's chocolate cake

This luxurious chocolate cake is enriched with ingredients like almond milk, cocoa powder and apple puree to deliver all the satisfaction of its non-vegan counterparts. This was inspired by a recipe by Nora Taylor.

Chocolate cake Credit: Kitti Gould

• serves

  12

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• 250 ml (1 cup) unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 300 g (2 cups) plain flour
• 80 g (¾ cup) cocoa powder
• 385 g (1¾ cups) caster sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1½ tsp bicarbonate soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 125 ml (½ cup) canola oil
• 225 g (⅔ cup) unsweetened apple puree
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 250 ml (1 cup) boiling water

Chocolate buttercream

• 55 g (½ cup) cocoa powder
• 185 g (¾ cup) vegan butter, softened
• 240 g (2 cups) icing sugar, sifted
• 60 ml (¼ cup) unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Cooling time: 1 hour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C (160 ˚C fan-forced). Lightly grease two 20 cm round cake tins and line the base with baking paper.
2. Place the almond milk in a jug, stir in the vinegar and set aside to curdle.
3. Place the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on low speed to combine.
4. Add the oil, apple puree, vanilla and almond milk mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed until well combined. Reduce the speed to low and gradually pour in the boiling water until combined. The batter appears very runny at this point; that is how it should be.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the cake tins. Bake for 35–40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Stand in the tins to cool for 10 minutes, then carefully invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Meanwhile, for the buttercream, place the cocoa powder into a large bowl. Whisk well to remove any lumps. Add the softened vegan butter and cream it with a hand mixer until well combined. Add half the icing sugar and most of the almond milk and mix until combined. Add the rest of the icing sugar and vanilla extract. Starting on low, mix a little before turning to high speed. Mix until fluffy and combined. If the buttercream seems too dry, add more milk, 1 -2 tablespoons at a time. If the frosting seems too wet and doesn't hold its shape, add more icing sugar until it thickens up.
7. Using a cranked spatula, spread the buttercream all over the cooled cakes, cut into slices and serve.

 

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Takes The Cake

Watch The Full Episode Here

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Watch The Full Episode Here

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