I wanted to top the cake with chocolate holly leaves
originally, but my patience was in very short supply and I managed to ruin all
but two of them. So instead of chocolate leaves, I made gingerbread leaves
using little leaf plunge
cutters (affiliate link). I love these cheap and cheerful cutters –
they are just perfect for decorating cakes and pies.
If you take out the Christmassy spices you could make this
any time of the year, it is perfect for birthdays and celebrations. The cake
layers are a little bit fragile so treat them with TLC when adding the filling
and frosting.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 260 g | 9oz | 2 1/4 cups plain all purpose flour
- 260 g | 9oz | 1 1/3 cup sugar
- 125 g | 4.4 oz | 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 160 ml | 1 1/3 cups almond or soy milk
- 120 ml | 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp very finely chopped stem ginger optional
- 1 tbsp stem ginger syrup optional
Frosting and filling
- 375 g | 13oz | 3 cups icing sugar
- 50 g | 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 115 | 4 oz | 1/2 cup non-dairy spread
- 120 ml | 4fl oz | 1/2 cup warm almond or soy milk divided
- 200 g | 7oz dark vegan chocolate melted and cooled slightly
Chocolate drip
- 100 g | 3 1/2 oz dark vegan chocolate melted
- warm almond milk as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Spray 3x15cm (6in) cake tins with cake release and line the bottoms with baking paper.
- Sift the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices into a large bowl.
- Mix the milk, oil, vinegar and vanilla together in a measuring jug and add to the bowl. Use a balloon whisk to mix everything together until you have a smooth batter.
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full recipe : www.supergoldenbakes.com