Chocolate cake is always a good idea, right? Especially when partnered with a chocolate buttercream. Today I have something super simple, yet effective – a vegan chocolate cake.
This is one of the basics of baking, like honestly. A basic vanilla and chocolate cake recipe will take you so far, this is why I’m sharing this vegan recipe. It’s quick, easy and doesn’t use any hard to find or super expensive ingredients.
Something this simple shouldn’t taste as good as it does – but it does and there is nothing you can do about it. So instead of spending hours in the kitchen, make a cake, get it decorated and enjoy the rest of your day!
This recipe is so easy, if you wanted to make it with kids or are inexperienced – use this recipe and be amazed!
Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?
Ingredients:
Cake (2×6 inch):
360ml alternative milk.
25ml white vinegar.
90ml vegetable oil.
1 tsp vanilla extract.
250g granulated sugar.
1 tsp baking powder.
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda.
280g self raising flour.
50g cocoa powder.
Vegan Buttercream:
350g vegan butter alternative.
450-500g icing sugar.
50g cocoa powder.
1-2 tsp vanilla extract.
Decoration:
chocolate buttons (vegan of course).
Cacao nibs.
Method:
Before you get started on the recipe, you’d be best to do some prep. I like to start with weighing up all of my ingredients, lining my 2×6 inch cake tins with parchment paper, gathering any equipment I may need and preheating my oven to 180˚c/350˚f.
To start on the recipe, make the vegan buttermilk alternative. Simply take the alternative milk and add in the vinegar, mix and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes – after this, you can add in the oil and vanilla extract.
While you wait, you’ll want to place all of the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mi them together until combined. While the mixer is on a medium speed, go ahead and steadily pour in the vegan buttermilk mixture until its all in there and turn the speed up to a medium-high.
Once you have a clear batter, you’re good to go. Don’t wait around with his batter, its best used straight away. Take your cake tins and divide the batter between them – you can do this more accurately with scales or just eyeball it – its up to you! As soon as the batter is in the cake tins, transfer into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre.
While the cakes are baking in the oven, you can go ahead and make the vegan buttercream. Simply make it the same way as standard American buttercream. Place the butter into a mixing bowl and beat on its own until lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – once achieved, you can go and add in the icing sugar and cocoa powder and mix on a low speed to start, working your way up to a medium-high and mix until its lighter and fluffier.
Add in the vanilla extract, if you’re using. Whisk until its fully incorporated.
Once you have your cakes baked and cooled and there buttercream made – you can go ahead and decorate.
Grab your cake stand/board/plate an smear. a small amount of buttercream, then place your first layer of cake on top – press down to secure in place. Top this with a generous layer of buttercream, spreading and levelling out to get the bets and most consistency layer possible, then sandwich your second layer of cake on top.
Place the remaining buttercream into a piping bag and pipe rings of buttercream all around the cake – it doesn’t have to be perfect as you’ll smooth it out, don’t forget to pipe buttercream on top of the cake too.
Smooth and level the top off, then take a cake scraper and smooth out the sides as much or as little as you’d like. Once you’re happy with how smooth your cake is, pipe rosettes or blobs on top of the cake and finish with vegan chocolate button and cocoa nibs.
That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.
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