Description
I don’t make cakes very often – I’m more of a bread and muffin person, because they are easier to divide into portions and freeze. However, sometimes I come out of my comfort zone and make the effort to create festive bakes. This vegan chocolaty chocolate cake is definitely something you could bring as a gift to a birthday party or surprise your guests with.
Ingredients
WET
- 8 extra large Turkish figs (about 25g, 0.88oz each), chopped
- 200ml coconut milk + 100ml water
- 2 big ripe bananas
- 200ml applesauce (about 6 tbsps.)
- 1 heaped tbsp. peanut butter
- Pinch of sea salt
DRY
- 240g (8.5oz) raw buckwheat flour
- 4 tbsps. raw cacao powder
- 2 tsps. baking powder
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 80g (2.8oz) dark (at least 70%) chocolate, chopped (mix in at the end)
DATE-CHOCOLATE FROSTING
- 1 cup dates, chopped
- ¾ cup (188g, 6.6oz) water
- 2 tbsps. coconut milk
- 4 tbsps. raw cacao powder
Instructions
CAKE
- In a small bowl, cover the chopped figs with water-coconut milk mixture and let soak for at least 15 minutes.
- Heat oven to 175 C (350 F).
- In a big bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, vanilla and cacao powder. If you are using vanilla extract, add it to wet mixture.
- Place the figs with the soak liquid, bananas, peanut butter, applesauce and coconut milk into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add the wet mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients, and mix with spoon until all the dry ingredients have disappeared.
- Now mix chopped dark chocolate into the batter.
- Spoon the batter into a round or square or whatever shaped baking tin (bottom lined with parchment paper and sides greased with a bit of coconut oil).
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let cool in the tin for at least 15 to 20 minutes before removing.
DATE-CHOCOLATE FROSTING
- Cut dates into smaller pieces and let soak in ¾ cup of water for at least 30 minutes.
- Blend dates, the soak water, coconut milk, salt and cacao into smooth cream. You’ll need to scoop with spoon in between.
DECORATING THE CAKE
- When the cake is cooled, spoon the frosting onto its surface and carefully start spreading it. Let it flow a bit over the edges.
- Should you want to spread the sides with knife, cool the frosting in fridge where it thickens.
- Sprinkle some shredded coconut and chopped chocolate on top. You may also add some fresh berries, e.g. blueberries and wild strawberries.
- Method: Baking