Vegan cakes recipes

I don’t like publishing cake recipes unless I’ve actually tested them myself and this is one I used to make to sell in my cafe and which was very popular. I’m sorry there are no photos since I haven’t made it recently but it is pretty straightforward so I’ll leave it up to your imagination. It’s a satisfyingly light cake with a tasty peanut butter filling and topping. I guess if you don’t like peanut butter you could just as easily try any other nut butter such as almond or hazelnut.

Banana cake with peanut butter frosting

For the cake:

280 gms plain flour
115 mls light olive oil
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
165 mls maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt
3 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
110 mls non-dairy milk (almond, soy, cashew, etc)
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

For the frosting:

175 gms peanut butter
40 gms vegan cream cheese
1 1/2 tbsp vegan butter
1 tsp real vanilla extract
210 gms icing sugar

Method:

1. Line the bottom of two 20cm (8 inch) cake tins with baking paper. Oil and flour the sides.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C Fan bake or 350°F)
3. Add balsamic vinegar to non-dairy milk. Set aside to curdle (about 5 minutes)
4. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
5. Beat together the oil and sugar with a handheld mixer for about two minutes.
6. Add the milk/vinegar mixture and mix together until just combined.
7. Add the mashed bananas and beat together making sure there are no lumps remaining.
8. Add the flour in 2 batches, gently beating in after each addition until the mixture is smooth. Do not over-beat the mixture.
9. Divide the mixture equally between the two cake tins and bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of each cake comes out clean.
10. Place on a rack to cool, about 10 minutes. Remove from the tins, peel off the baking paper, and leave on a rack to cool thoroughly before frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1. While the cakes are cooling bring the peanut butter and vegan butter to room temperature. But not the cream cheese. This must be cold.
2. Whisk the peanut butter, vegan butter and cream cheese together until smooth and soft.
3. Add the vanilla extract.
4. Add the icing sugar 2 heaped tablespoons at a time, beating to make sure it is thoroughly combined. addition.
5. Place the frosting in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before using.

Assemble the cake:

1. Place one cake on a cake stand or flat dish. Put about 1/3rd of the frosting in the center of the cake and with a spatula spread it evenly across the surface.
2. Carefully place the second cake on top of the first one. Put the remaining icing in the center of the cake and evenly frost the top and sides.
3. Garnish with some chopped, roasted peanuts and/or dried banana slices (optional)

Enjoy!

If you try this recipe, please share your views and comments.

 

Apple and Honey Cake with Salted Honey Caramel.

‘Life is a cake and love is the icing on top of it. Without love, it becomes difficult to swallow life.’

Mehek Bassi

Ah, couldn’t agree more.

The weather is slowly moving into spring; it’s lighter in the mornings and the evenings actually feel like evenings rather than night. Our Crowdfunding started off really well but seems to have slowed. Not sure what to do about this. Perhaps just accept this is it. Not that either of us is complaining since we are enormously grateful for what we’ve received.

Back to cake.

I’ve been thinking about apple cake. I’ve been given some apples and, to be honest, they’re not my favourite fruit but I do like a good apple cake. I also have some honey. Apple and honey seem to go together. There’s something restorative and possibly medieval-ish about the combination. However, most recipes I look at seem the standard apple with cinnamon or variations on that theme. I’m thinking about ramping it up a little so I’ve been working on a recipe for Apple and Honey cake with salted honey caramel. Well, I can only try. This is my plan for Friday: to make it and be prepared (for a change) with phone camera handy so I can map the stages. So until tomorrow…