Coffee Almond Cake with creamy frosting- vegan


The creamy frosting will stay firmer if you keep the cake in the fridge- but hang on; this may dry out the cake... forget it; just eat all the cake in one go ;)
If ever there was a cake with which to impress upon non-vegan friends that eggs and dairy are just not necessary, this could well be it. This cake has it all- it's sweet, light and fluffy but deliciously creamy and rich as well. 
It's always good to use the least processed ingredients possible, so although it's easy to make frosting with vegan margarine, it's not the healthiest or the tastiest option. That's where coconut milk comes in handy, because you can separate out the solids and whisk them into a delicious and light cream. Provided you keep it in the fridge, it will stay that way too. For this cake, I also added unrefined icing sugar.

400g self-raising flour
4 tsps baking powder
200g soft light brown sugar
100ml strong Barleycup "coffee" (powder/ granules mixed with water)
150ml melted coconut oil
300ml unsweetened soya milk
For the filling and frosting:
the solid "cream" from 2 cans of coconut milk
8 level tabs unrefined icing sugar
1 tab Barleycup powder
slivered almonds to decorate (walnuts also work really well). To sliver them, just put them in a plastic bag and bash them with the end of a rolling pin- great fun!
  • Make the cake by beating all the wet ingredients into the dry mixture for two minutes.
  • Spoon the batter evenly into 2 prepared cake tins/moulds (2x 8" tins is probably about right- I used heart shapes so they didn't have a diameter measurement.
  • Bake for 20-25 min in an oven preheated to 180C- if a thin skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean, they are done.
  • Leave your cakes to cool completely. Meanwhile, make the frosting: beat the coconut cream until smooth and fluffy, adding the other ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Put in the fridge for about half an hour.
  • When the cakes are cooled, whisk the frosting until stiff, and sandwich the cakes together with it, plus a generous layer of nuts. Top with the rest of the frosting and decorate the top with the rest of the nuts.

It looks conventional enough to take to a potluck with non-vegan friends, but is completely free from animal products.


Comments

  1. Omg, such an incredible cake with wonderful frosting,hard to resist.

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  2. I neeeeed this cake in my life!

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  3. This cake looks & sounds utterly delicious! I've never used coconut oil in a big cake like this, but I'm really looking forward to giving it a try.
    Out of interest, which brand of coconut milk do you use for the coconut whipped cream? Do you buy it from a high street store on online?

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    Replies
    1. Hi, Glad you like the look of the cake :) I actually get the coconut milk from Aldi, as it's so much cheaper. It does contain a natural thickener, and a preservative though. Aldi just changed suppliers, and the new coconut milk has similar ingredients but tastes a bit more coconutty.

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  4. Oh wow this looks good!! I Coffee cake was always a favourite. Usually with walnuts :D
    Love that you used coconut cream for the frosting.

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  5. Perfect cake for Mother's Day coming up! I also want to pipe that frosting into strawberries on the side...so yumful! Many thanks!

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