4-Layer Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Cake
A 4-layer vegan chocolate strawberry cake: vegan vanilla cake base, chocolate ganache, strawberry jelly, and coconut cream! So heavenly!
Equipment
- Tall cake ring or springform pan
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake Base
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup sugar (heaping)
- 2 packets vanilla sugar (see notes)
- 1/2 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup oil (vegetable, canola, olive, etc.)
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (almond, soy, coconut, etc.)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (or egg replacer; see notes)
- 2 tbsp water
Chocolate Ganache
- 150 g dark chocolate
- 1 cup coconut milk (see notes)
Strawberry Jelly
- 1 cup frozen strawberries (heaping)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar (and to taste)
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk (almond, soy, coconut, etc.)
- 2 tbsp agar-agar (or 10 g sachet; see notes)
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (almond, soy, coconut, etc.)
Coconut Cream
- 1 can coconut cream (chilled in the fridge for 24 hours; 400 mL)
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
- 1 packet vanilla sugar (see notes)
- 1 tbsp agar-agar (or 5 g sachet; see notes)
- 3 tbsp coconut milk liquid leftover (from the can)
Instructions
Vanilla Cake Base
- Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Grease and flour (or line) a 8" (20 cm) cake pan, and set aside.
- In a glass, mix the cornstarch and 2 tbsp water and set aside.
- In a bowl, mix your dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, vanilla sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt), and set aside.
- In another bowl, mix the oil, non-dairy milk and cornstarch mixture together until combined.
- Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry ingredient mixture, and mix everything until incorporated.
- Place the batter in the cake pan.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
- Allow to cool completely (about 1-2 hours).
Chocolate Ganache
- Line the sides of a springform pan or cake ring with acetate sheet or parchment paper (like me).
- Place the cooled vanilla cake in the bottom of the pan/cake ring, making sure that the bottom is sealed to prevent leaking.
- In a small pot, heat the coconut milk until simmering but not bubbling.
- Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heat-proof bowl.
- Gently pour in the heated milk over the chocolate, and let it sit for 3 minutes (to allow the chocolate to melt).
- After 3 minutes, mix well with a whisk until smooth.
- Pour the chocolate ganache over the vanilla cake base, and allow to chill in the fridge until the ganache is set completely (about 4-8 hours).
Strawberry Jelly
- Blend the strawberries and water to make a puree.
- In a pot, add the blended strawberries, sugar, 1/4 cup non-dairy milk and agar-agar, and mix well.
- Heat the pot over the stove until warm and simmering. Remove from heat.
- Add the 1/2 cup non-dairy milk to quickly cool the mixture. Allow the mixture to cool until only warm.
- Pour the strawberry jelly mixture over the vanilla cake + ganache cake, and allow to set completely in the fridge (about 2-4 hours).
Coconut Cream
- After chilling in the fridge for 24 hours, open the coconut cream and spoon the cream that rose to the top into a chilled bowl.
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla sugar, and whip together with a whisk or electric mixer. Set aside in the fridge.
- In a bowl, add 3 tbsp of the liquid leftover from the coconut milk can and mix the agar-agar together well.
- Microwave/heat the mixture until warmed to "activate" the agar-agar.
- Afterwards, cool the agar-agar mixture slightly until only warm, and mix into the coconut cream to incorporate.
- Place the coconut cream on top of the vanilla cake + ganache + strawberry jelly cake, and allow to set completely in the fridge (about 3-4 hours).
- Once the cake is completely set, remove from cake pan/ring form and transfer to a serving plate and enjoy!
Notes
For the coconut cream, use coconut milk that has no additives in it. This will ensure that the coconut cream will separate & solidify. The coconut cream I used was 90% coconut.
Substitutions:
- Here in Europe, vanilla sugar is more commonly found than vanilla extract. You can substitute instead 1 tsp vanilla extract for 1 packet of vanilla sugar.
- Instead of the cornstarch + water slurry as an egg replacer, you can use a commercial egg replacer instead.
- You can use fresh strawberries instead if available, and adjust the sugar accordingly.
- Agar-agar is a vegan alternative to gelatine. Follow the instructions according to the manufacturer.