We aren’t vegan as you can tell by the creamy and beautiful buttercream or chocolate that decorate this cake, but the cake itself is vegan, and beyond being a really tasty treat, it’s also a useful recipe to have to hand when you don’t have eggs, which often happens in my life.
So, this cake is vegan, the chocolates aren’t and the buttercream isn’t. But there’s a lovely topping that you can use if you’re particularly after a vegan cake too – I’ll include that in the recipe.
As for the Bambi shapes, they are moulds from the Disney Cakes and Sweets range from Eaglemoss. We subscribed to this a couple of years back and now have 79 issues filling up my shelves, and a ton of baking goodies too. Ameli’s birthday party last year was a Princess Party, where we used some of the supplies from the Disney Cakes & Sweets magazines, and obviously this Bambi, owl, rabbit and little birds are from that too. It’s a really fantastic magazine to subscribe to, and along with fantastic quality bakeware and silicone moulds there are step by step instructions and recipes for every Disney character you could imagine. It’s something else. You can find out more about what’s available in the Disney Cakes & Sweets Magazine subscription by clicking here.
Did you know?
You could also pick up this Special Edition Bambi & Friends issue for £9.99 by clicking here.
Now, on to the cake. These characters use 3 standard slabs of chocolate. You could get away with two and just make them a bit thinner. I used two dark and one milk, melted together (I use a Thermomix, 90C, 3 mins, speed 2, but you can use a double boiler).
For this particular cake I also bought the flowers, and my 3 year old called it a ‘forest cake’. When a grown-up friend at our party said ‘Oh, they’re even resting on the grass’ I was very pleased that my marbled green fondant icing, with the bits of ‘soil’ towards the bottom actually translated as such!
Last year I made a similar cake for a spring party, and I added toadstools, flowers and other Disney Cakes & Sweets foresty themed buttons and it looked really pretty. (If you ignore the actual cake baking skills!)
- 160g (1 1/4 cups) self raising flour
- 160g (1 cup) sugar
- 40g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder (I recommend [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0013GALTA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B0013GALTA&linkCode=as2&tag=diaofafirchi-21&linkId=M64JX4Z6HCKHTDXD” target=”_blank”]this one[/url])
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 190g (1 cup) warm water
- 1 tsp [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0069KOLY6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B0069KOLY6&linkCode=as2&tag=diaofafirchi-21&linkId=IT2MPEJH5DJ5AXSK” target=”_blank”]vanilla extract[/url] (I recommend this one)
- 60g (1/3 cup) vegetable oil
- 1 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp baking soda/bicarbonate of soda
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Oil or prepare your baking tin.
- In a bowl, mix all the ingredients, adding the baking powder and vinegar last.
- Pour into an ovenproof dish, and put in the centre of a hot oven.
- Bake at 180C for about 30 mins.
- Cool completely before icing.
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Oil or prepare your baking tin.
- Add all but the last two ingredients listed to the bowl, and mix speed 4, 5 seconds.
- Add the vinegar and baking powder and mix speed 1, 5 seconds.
- Pour into an ovenproof dish, and put in the centre of a hot oven.
- Bake at 180C for about 30 mins.
- Cool completely before icing.
For my cake I made a buttercream icing, and topped with fondant. My mother used to make the best buttercream in the world. Here’s her recipe, adapted to the Thermomix, but you can use any electric beater for the job – just focus more on the appearance than the timing.
I like to use a beautiful rich yellow salted butter for this, as it cuts the sweetness a little.
- 200g salted butter
- 200g icing sugar
- 1 tsp [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0069KOLY6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B0069KOLY6&linkCode=as2&tag=diaofafirchi-21&linkId=IT2MPEJH5DJ5AXSK” target=”_blank”]vanilla essence[/url]
- 30g cocoa powder (I recommend [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0013GALTA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B0013GALTA&linkCode=as2&tag=diaofafirchi-21&linkId=M64JX4Z6HCKHTDXD” target=”_blank”]this one[/url]) (optional)
- Optional extra: milk
- Add the butterfly to the Thermomix
- Add the butter to the bowl and whisk speed 3, 2 minutes till the butter is white and fluffy looking. Remove the butterfly.
- Add the icing sugar and vanilla essence and whisk speed 3, 1 minute.
- For a chocolate buttercream, add the cocoa powder and whisk again for 20 seconds, speed 5 or whenever it’s all mixed through.
- If the mixture is too dry add a TEASPOON of milk at a time till you get it to the consistency you require.
To stick to the vegan roots of this vegan chocolate cake you can make a delicious chocolate glaze instead.
- 80g (1/2 cup) sugar
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0013GALTA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B0013GALTA&linkCode=as2&tag=diaofafirchi-21&linkId=M64JX4Z6HCKHTDXD” target=”_blank”]cocoa powder[/url]
- 2 tsp [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0069KOLY6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B0069KOLY6&linkCode=as2&tag=diaofafirchi-21&linkId=IT2MPEJH5DJ5AXSK” target=”_blank”]vanilla extract[/url]
- On the stove top, place all the ingredients in a pot on a low heat and stir all the while till it melts.
- Pour over cake and leave to cool.
- Place all the ingredients except the vanilla in the Thermomix bowl.
- Cook at 90C for 2-3 minutes checking that the sugar has all melted.
- Add the vanilla and whizz for 2 seconds on speed 4, then pour over cake.
- Leave to cool.
I hope you enjoy this delicious cake and it’s multiple variations on decorations. And remember to have a look at Disney Cakes & Sweets magazine too!
One Reply to “Vegan Chocolate Cake, Not Vegan Buttercream And Vegan Chocolate Glaze”
Comments are closed.