This festive cake will be the hit of your holiday dessert table! I decided to give the naked cake another go, figuring that the dark chocolate cake peeking through the white would make the cake look like a stylized birch stump. Vegans and non-vegans will love it!
Serves 10
Cake Ingredients
- 8 oz. (about 1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour
- 14 oz. (2 cups) granulated organic sugar
- 2 1/4 oz. (3/4 cup) cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 Tbsp. espresso powder
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. fine sea salt
- 8 oz. full fat coconut milk, well shaken
- 4 oz. melted and cooled vegan butter (stick or tub)
- 2 Tbsp. flax meal, (whiz it up in a blender or food processor to make it as fine as you can) mixed with 5 Tbsp. water
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 3-4 drops orange oil or the zest of an orange and/or 1/2 tsp. orange extract
- 8 oz. (1 cup) boiling water
- Frosting *see below
Cake Directions
Line 3, 6″ (or 2, 8″ or 9″) pans with parchment, spray sides with pan spray and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, margarine, flax meal/water mixture, vanilla and orange oil.
Pour the wet into the dry and mix well for about 3 minutes using either a whisk or a large wooden spoon. The batter should be fairly thick and smooth.
Pour in the boiling water and stir carefully to combine; it will take a minute for the water to want to mix with the thick batter, so go slowly and don’t splash yourself. Scrape the bowl and stir a bit more.
Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake on the center rack for about 30 minutes for the 6″ cakes and maybe
35-40 for 8″ or 9″ cakes or until the cakes read 200 F on an instant read thermometer and have just started to shrink from the sides of the pans.
Cool on racks for 15 minutes before turning out to cool completely.
Frost and decorate as desired.
Frosting Ingredients
- 8 oz. vegan butter
- 16 oz. (1 pound or 4 cups) vegan powdered sugar
- 3-4 drops orange oil, (or zest of 1/2 orange and/or
1/4-1/2 tsp. orange extract) - 2-3 shakes chocolate bitters, (optional but really lovely)
Frosting Directions
Mix 8 oz. vegan butter and one pound powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add orange oil and bitters.
Nutrition facts per serving
Calories 741; protein 4 g; fat 34 g; carbs 111 g.
