Vegan Chocolate Cake With Whipped Ganache

• Vegan
• Gluten free

• Produce

  • 1 Avocado, small ripe

• Canned Goods

  • 1/2 cup Coconut milk, full-fat

• Condiments

  • 1 cup Maple syrup, pure

• Baking & Spices

  • 1 tsp Baking powder
  • 2 tsp Baking soda
  • 1/2 cup Cocoa powder, dark
  • 2 cups Gf flour
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 10 12 oz bag Semi-sweet chocolate chips, quality
  • 2 tsp Vanilla extract

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 1/2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup Coconut oil, melted or olive oil

• Drinks

  • 3/4 cup Coffee, strong

• Tools & Equipment

  • 1 Parchment paper

Found on wifemamafoodie.com

Description

Ingredients

• 2 flax eggs: 2 tablespoons ground flax and 6 tablespoons water (or two large eggs if not vegan)
• 2 cups gf flour, I use King Arthur Gluten Free Multipurpose Flour (OR if not gluten free use 1.5 cups + 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour + 2 tablespoons cornstarch)
• ½ cup dark cocoa powder (I use Hersheys Special Dark Cocoa)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup Coconut Oil, melted or Olive Oil
• 1 small ripe avocado, mashed well (no chunks)
• 1 cup Pure Maple Syrup
• ¾ cup strong coffee (just to enhance chocolate flavor, but you can also use water or almond milk)
• ½ tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• parchment paper, extra coconut oil and flour for cake pans
• ½ - ⅔ cup full-fat coconut milk (use less for thicker frosting)
• 10-12 oz bag of quality semi-sweet chocolate chips* (For dairy-free, I like Enjoy Life brand)
• *Milk or white chocolate will work as well.

Directions

• **To get the 3--tiered cake like in the photo, I used one and a half of this cake and ganache recipe. This recipe alone makes two 8-inch round cakes and enough frosting to frost two cakes OR 1½ dozen cupcakes.
• Lightly grease two 8-inch round cake pans with coconut oil or palm shortening. Line the bottom with parchment paper and use a knife to cut out a circle to fit the bottom of the pan. Parchment paper helps the cake not to stick to the bottom of the pan. Grease top of parchment paper and then lightly dust the pan with flour. Set aside until needed.
• Make flax eggs by combining ground flax and water in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes to thicken. Can also substitute 2 regular large eggs if not vegan or egg sensitive.
• Preheat oven to 325F. In a large mixing bow, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir together and then add in flax eggs/regular eggs, coconut oil, mashed avocado, maple syrup, coffee, vinegar, and vanilla. (Make sure your avocado mash is free of any clumps. You can puree the avocado in a food processor or push through a sieve with a rubber scrapper if it is clumpy.) Mix together until thoroughly combined. Use a rubber scrapper to stir the bottom of bowl, making sure to mix in any excess flour.
• Evenly distribute batter into the two cake pans. Place on the middle rack of your oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, just until the center of the cake is set and no longer jiggly. Do not overbake. Remove from the oven and let pans thoroughly cool on cooling racks.
• While the cakes are baking, you can begin making the ganache. This frosting takes a little over an hour overall, so keep that in mind if youre pressed for time. Heat the coconut milk and chocolate over a double boiler until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. If your coconut milk has the thick cream and liquid separated, I like to use the hardened coconut cream to create a thick and fluffy frosting. You can still use regular coconut milk from the can, but I would start with the lesser amount of ½ cup and add more while mixing, if necessary. If using a 10 oz. bag of chocolate chips begin with the lesser amount of ½ cup coconut milk as well. You can use the full ⅔ milk if you want frosting that is a little more loose and easy to spread. Cover and place mixture into the fridge or freezer for 1 hour or until chilled and firm.
• After the chocolate mixture is cold, scoop into a mixing bowl and beat on high speed for several minutes until light and fluffy.
• The cakes must be thoroughly cooled before frosting or the frosting will melt off. When you remove the cake from the pan, use a knife of offset spatular around the edge of the cake if it is sticking to the pan. Carefully flip onto a plate or rack, removing the parchment paper round that may come out of the pan with the cake.
• Place your first layer on a cake plate or serving platter. I like to place additional pieces of parchment paper just under the edge around the bottom layer to keep the frosting from getting on the serving plate (Like in the photo above.) Place a dollop of frosting on the bottom layer and use an offset spatula or rubber scrapper to spread the frosting evenly across the layer. Place the other layer on top and repeat, frosting the sides of cake with remaining whipped ganache. Carefully remove parchment pieces from around the cake and serve. I like to serve slices with fresh berries, which helps balance the richness of the chocolate. Depending on the size of the slices cut, this cake serves 8-10 people.