Christina This year for hubby’s birthday I wanted to prepare something special that we had never made before. Just a week back it had been Valentine’s Day and we had prepared our super delicious Chocolate Covered Strawberries. Then it came to me: I needed to make a version of vegan chocolate covered strawberries but on a birthday cake version! That’s how my Vegan Chocolate & Strawberry Cake was born!
This cake is definitely one of our new favourite cakes ever! The layers of chocolate cake are pure heaven! So so moist and tender, I can’t even tell you with words how good it is! Dense chocolate, intensified by using strong hot coffee in it, YOU WILL LOVE IT! Then the gorgeous pink layers are moist, light, fluffy and delicious, with a yummy hint of vanilla. The strawberry frosting fits the cake layers perfectly, made with fresh strawberries and raw sugar, and then the chocolate ganache tops it all like a dream! And that’s not all, as I also placed Deliciously Homemade Vegan Doughnuts on the sides and some more fresh strawberries on top of the cake.
I also made a birthday sign! It’s super easy to make, so cute, and very delicious to eat as well (instructions below) 🙂
You’re seriously gonna love this cake, I assure you that. Hubby and his parents loved it, and so did I! You can cut, and store slices in the freezer for months, and they will taste just as good when thawed. That’s what I have done so my mum gets to eat it when she visits in May 🙂
If you liked this recipe for Vegan Chocolate & Strawberry Cake, check out the amazing cake that hubby made for my birthday back in December. Its name is Vegan Winter Child Birthday Cake -Vegan Gingerbread & Lingonberry Cake. It’s insanely delicious and so so pretty, I’m in love!!! 🙂 You will surely love it too!
And… in case you missed it, we are so excited to announce that we have published our very first cookbook ALL PLANTS: The Food You Love, The Vegan Way, which includes over 150 satisfying recipes to feed all the members of your household (including your dogs!). It’s available internationally as a hardcover on Book Depository (with free delivery worldwide), Walmart, and in many other bookstores! Yay! Click here to learn more. You can also purchase it as a downloadable e-book (pdf) in our Store, and our Etsy Shop.
Vegan Chocolate & Strawberry Cake – Hubby’s Birthday Cake 2019
Enjoy friends! If you make this recipe, please snap a photo and tag @veganvvocals and #veganvvocals on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Equipment
Ingredients
STRAWBERRY LAYER
- 2 cups plant milk, Sproud pea milk / soy milk / oat milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 420 g all-purpose flour
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 3/4 cup raw sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 120 g coconut oil, melted
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Vegan pink food colouring
Vegetable oil and breadcrumbs to grease the cake pans
CHOCOLATE LAYER
- 3/4 cup plant milk, Sproud pea milk / soy milk / oat milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup raw sugar
- 3/4 cup cacao powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 3/4 cup hot strong coffee
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 2 tbsp applesauce, additional
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
STRAWBERRY COMPOTE
- 300 g strawberries
- 1 tbsp raw sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- Vegan pink food colouring
STRAWBERRY FROSTING / BUTTERCREAM
- 500 g unsalted vegan butter block, at room temperature
- 1300 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp plant milk, Sproud pea milk / soy milk
- 14 tbsp strawberry compote, ingredients above
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
- 300 g vegan chocolate
- 1 cup coconut cream, canned
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
FRESH STRAWBERRIES
CHOCOLATE HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIGN
- 100 g vegan dark chocolate
- Vegan writing icing, colour of your choice
VEGAN DOUGHNUTS
Instructions
STRAWBERRY LAYER
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/356ºF.
- In a bowl, combine the plant milk with the vinegar, and whisk until fully combined. Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle. This creates a vegan "buttermilk".
- In a large bowl, combine flour, coconut sugar, raw sugar, baking soda, and baking powder.
- After 10 minutes have passed, stir in the melted coconut oil into the vegan "buttermilk", and the vanilla extract, and whisk until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix through.
- Add in a few drops of pink food colouring and mix well. Add until you reach your desired shade of pink.
- Lightly grease the cake pan and coat it with some breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs are important to get the cake layer to not stick to the pan and break when removing.
- Make sure to tap the pan on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
- Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for around 30 minutes. Check with a toothpick or similar to see if it's ready. If not, keep checking every 5-10 minutes until it is! The toothpick should come out without any stickiness and maybe with a cake crumb or two stuck on it.
- Let the cake cool down before removing it from the pan as it will become more sturdy and not break so easily. Once cool, place it into a sealed container to keep it fresh before adding the frosting.
CHOCOLATE LAYER
- Preheat the oven to 175ºC/347ºF.
- In a bowl, combine the plant milk with the vinegar, and whisk until fully combined. Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle. This creates a vegan “buttermilk”.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, coconut sugar, raw sugar, raw cacao powder, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt.
- After 10 minutes have passed, stir in the canola oil into the vegan "buttermilk", the hot strong coffee, the applesauce, and the vanilla extract, and whisk until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix through.
- Lightly grease the cake pan and coat it with some breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs are important to get the cake layer to not stick to the pan and break when removing.
- Make sure to tap the pan on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
- Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for around 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick or similar to see if it's ready. If not, keep checking every 5-10 minutes until it is! The toothpick should come out without any stickiness and maybe with a cake crumb or two stuck on it.
- Let the cake cool down before removing it from the pan as it will become more sturdy and not break so easily. Once cool, place it into a sealed container to keep it fresh before adding the frosting.
STRAWBERRY COMPOTE
- In a saucepan, combine the strawberries, raw sugar and water, and heat over medium-heat, until the strawberries have softened, stirring constantly to prevent any burning.
- Mash the strawberries with a fork to break them up, and keep cooking until thickened (around 10 minutes).
- Turn off the heat and allow them to cool fully before using. You can blend the mixture now for a smoother appearance.
STRAWBERRY FROSTING / BUTTERCREAM
- In a large bowl, combine unsalted vegan butter block (at room temperature) and icing sugar, and beat using an electric mixer with beaters on medium speed; turn to high speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Stir in the plant milk and strawberry compote into the butter sugar mix, and beat again until the mixture is smooth and creamy again. You can add some more pink food colouring to make it even more pink and beat again. Place the bowl in the fridge or freezer for 1 hour. The colder it is, the more consistent and thick it will become, so easier to work with.
- Spoon the frosting into a piping bag.
- Normally the cakes will rise a little while baking in the oven, and create a bulge on one side. This has to, for obvious reasons, be removed to create a stable stack of cake layers. The easiest way is to use a special cake leveller. Just let the layers cool down completely before starting the cut, as they will break a lot easier otherwise.
CAKE BUILDING PROCESS
- Place the first layer on a cake serving plate with a parchment paper in between, and pipe a generous layer of frosting on top, spreading it out evenly.
- Place the second layer on top of the frosting, and pipe another generous layer of frosting on top, spreading it out evenly.
- Place the third cake layer on top of the frosting and place one more generous layer of frosting on top of the entire cake, covering it all.
- Now, place the cake in the fridge/freezer for 1 hour. Place the frosting in the fridge too.
- After 1 hour, take the cake and the rest of the frosting out of the fridge/freezer, and place one more generous layer of frosting on top of the entire cake, covering it all again. A spatula worked for me. Just take a good amount of frosting with the spatula and start spreading it out on the side of the cake, working yourself around the cake, and up to the top.
- Place the cake in the refrigerator again, and do the same with the frosting.
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
- Using a double boiler, melt the vegan chocolate. Once melted, stir in coconut cream and vanilla extract, and mix through.
- Using a small spoon or a special plastic bottle, place dollops of chocolate ganache around the top edges of the cooled cake, allowing some to drip down. Fill in the top of the cake with more ganache and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Or do like we did, and let chocolate ganache drip down completely and combine with the strawberry frosting, spreading it out all together with the spatula. Let it refrigerate again for a while.
- Top with decorative dollops of frosting and whole strawberries on top. Place cake back in the fridge immediately for a few hours.
CHOCOLATE HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIGN
- Using a double boiler, melt vegan chocolate.
- On a parchment paper, proceed to create your desired chocolate sign. Place in the fridge/freezer to cool so it becomes solid.
- Once solid, use writing icing to write the birthday message of your choice.
VEGAN DOUGHNUTS
- Make sure you have the vegan doughnuts already prepared before starting to make this cake. I made them the day before and stored them in a sealed container in the refrigerator, so they are ready to use!
- Place the doughnuts around the bottom part of the cake. For them to stick to the frosting, use a little bit of glaze or chocolate ganache to stick them onto the cake. Place back in the refrigerator immediately for 2 hours, and then the cake's ready to be served.
- Enjoy this delicious cake!
Notes
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