vegan cake

METHOD for Vegan Whipped Cream

1. Put coconut thickened cream can in the freezer for 1 hour and 10mins.
2. Blend everything else together, except for rice vinegar, until smooth and put in the fridge.
3. Then put in the freezer with 25 mins left on your timer for the coconut cream.
4. Using a standard mixer with a whisk attachment, open coconut can, if you can tap the top with your finger and it’s firm it’s ready otherwise put it back into the freezer. It’s really important it’s almost frozen and very cold.
5. Scoop 255g of coconut cream into your mixing bowl and whip until thick and creamy with no lumps.
6. Slowly (but not too slowly) pour in soy liquid – make sure the middle of the liquid is completely cold before adding it to the coconut cream. If your soy liquid is still warm from the melted coconut oil do not add it. It will make it curdle. It needs to be very cold. Thickness of the cream at this stage may vary depending on how cold your ingredients are. Do not over beat the cream as it can curdle it. Next add the rice vinegar. Even if your cream is very thick at this stage still add rice vinegar and beat together for a few seconds. Place in the fridge to firm overnight if you want a thicker cream.

METHOD for Vegan Pastry Cream

1. In a small saucepan, melt 40g butter and stir through 22g cornflour to make a paste.
2. Add soy milk, icing sugar, vanilla, pinch of salt and the tiniest amount of yellow food colouring.
3. Stir with a whisk over medium heat until it thickens. Always stir otherwise it will burn on the bottom.
4. Remove from heat and stir through the remaining 10g of butter.
5. Strain into a bowl to remove any lumps.
6. Cover with baking paper or cling wrap – push into the top of the pastry cream to stop skin forming.
7. Allow to set overnight in the fridge. If you want a thicker pastry cream add 5-10 grams more cornflour. If you want a runnier cream add more soy milk.

METHOD for Raspberry Jam

1. Tip the raspberries into a large saucepan, add sugar and lemon juice. Cook gently over a low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until all the sugar is dissolved.
2. Bring to the boil and boil vigorously for about three to four minutes. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn and doesn't overcook. The bubbling will start to slow down.
3. To check it’s ready, place a spoon in the freezer for a few minutes. Remove and add a small amount of jam. Run your finger through the middle (careful it’s hot!) and if the jam doesn’t flood to fill the hole it’s ready. Remove from heat and set aside. I leave mine in the fridge overnight so it sets.

METHOD for Sponge Cake

1. Preheat the oven 160°C/320°F and line 3 x 8IN / 20CM cake tins with baking paper, grease with oil and dust with flour. You can also use a non-stick springform pans too.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until creamy.
3. Sieve flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small mixing bowl. Whisk well to aerate the flour.
4. In a small jug mix milk and vinegar together. It will slightly thicken the milk. Add water and vanilla and stir.
5. Add one-third of the flour mix very slowly to the creamed butter and mix on lowest speed, then add one-third of the liquid. Repeat until all ingredients are just combined. It will be a very thick batter.
6. Pause mixer and scrape down sides and mix for a few seconds.
7. Divide between tins, spread batter out evenly with an off-set spatular then tap the tins on the bench to release air bubbles.  For perfect layers, weigh the cake tins with batter in them to make sure they are even. Bake 30 – 32 mins. The outside of the cake should shrink away from the cake tins. Check with a skewer through the centre, if it comes out almost clean it’s ready.
 Let cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then flip on a cake rack to cool down completely before assembling. The layers will be flat and about an inch high.

METHOD for Cake Assembly, Marzipan, Marzipan Rose

1. I highly recommend watching how I assemble the cake on the video as it’s harder to explain with just text.
2. Get your 1st cake layer and trim around the edge of cake 1cm. Level flat the top of the cake if it's dome shaped.
3. Get your 2nd cake layer and trim around the edge of cake 1.5cm and trim the edges on top so it’s curved and has not sharp corners. Level flat the top of the cake if it's dome shaped.
4. Get your 3rd cake layer and trim around the edge of cake 2cm, and trim the edges on top so it’s curved and has not sharp corners and carve the top to be dome shaped.
5. Place 1st layer on your cake board and secure it with some whipped cream between the cake and the board.
6. Coat the layer with a thin layer of whipped cream. Coat the outside as well to seal in the crumbs and hold moisture.
7. Fill a piping bag with whipped cream and use a 12mm round piping tip. Pipe a dam around the edge of the layer about 1cm high. Fill the layer in with jam but don’t allow the jam to spill over the top. You want to fill it so the whipped cream is still higher than the jam filling.
8. Place the 2nd layer on top and coat with a thin layer of whipped cream, including the outside of the cake. If your cake is sliding secure with skewers or tooth picks. Pipe another dam around the outside and fill in with pastry cream. If there are any hard corners on this layer you can trim them with scissors. Make sure your 2nd layer isn't bigger in circumference than your 1st layer.
9. Place the 3rd layer on top.  If there are any hard corners on this layer you can trim them with scissors. Make sure your 3rd layer isn't bigger in circumference than your 2nd layer. You want it to be as dome-like as possible. Cover completely in whipped cream and smooth it out so it’s even and smooth. By this stage your cake should be completely covered in a thin layer of whipped cream. Put into the freezer for 10 – 15 mins to help set the cake before we create the dome on top.
10. Pipe a dome on top of the cake and smooth it out into a perfect dome shape using a plastic cake scraping tool. Please see my video for how I do this.
11. Place back into the freezer whilst you roll out the marzipan.
12. Flour a clean surface with icing sugar. Add a drop of green food colouring to the marzipan (save a small amount for the pink marzipan rose before you add food colouring) and work it through until it’s completely green. Roll into a ball and using a rolling pin floured with icing sugar so it doesn’t stick, roll out marzipan until it’s wide enough to fit over your entire cake. I roll it out to around 3 to 4 mm thick. 
13. Gently place the marzipan over your cake and smooth out in a downward motion until it’s completely covered by the cake to create a green dome. I gently pull the marzipan out and then smooth it down using my hands. Please see my video for how I do this.
14. Run a sharp knife around the bottom to cut off the excess marzipan. Smooth out the marzipan using a soft plastic cake scraping tool that you would use for fondant to fix any creases or bumps. Place cake in the fridge whilst you make the marzipan rose.
15. Using a small amount of pink food colouring, dye remaining marzipan pink and roll into a cylinder shape.
16. Roll out your marzipan enough to cut out 4 hearts. Cut each heart into two tear drops. Please see my video for how I create the marzipan rose. It’s easier to see than explain with words. You can also cut out some green leaves with any left over green marzipan.
17. Place your princess cake onto your cake stand. Wet the bottom of your marzipan rose with a tiny amount of water. Place the rose onto the center of the cake on top. Add your leaves.
18. Wrap your simple craft lace around the bottom of the cake and tie it together at the back of your cake. Now you’re ready to serve it.
19. I recommend keeping this cake in the fridge and eating it on the day you assemble or the very next day.