Recently, I was invited to a party where the host suffers from food allergies. Between the ingredients she can’t eat and those she would not eat, I found myself wondering what decadent dessert I could make and bring with me that she would consider trying. Of course I could have made a regular fruit salad as a fall back item to take with me, but I wanted this to be special. I decided to make my vegan chocolate cake which is so delicious that you simply cannot tell that it has absolutely no eggs in it. It is so light and fluffy because of the chemical interaction between baking soda and vinegar, and you simply don’t miss the items that have been left out. I used a delicious pomegranate drinking vinegar that I received from a company called Pok Pok Som, which are not only great in baked items but also very trendy to use in your cocktails these days! I have made this delicious cake before and topped it with an equally delicious German chocolate filling, but this time I wanted to keep it elegant in flavor and presentation — but simple.
One of the fun perks of my job is that I receive so many wonderful samples of products from different companies around the world – some I like and some I love. One of my favorites is the raw honey from a company called Honey Ridge Farms. I love their product so much that I try to use it in as many recipes as I can. Honey is a great ingredient to add to baked goods because in technical lingo it is considered a humectant – a hygroscopic substance that attracts and retains moisture. It is ideal to use in baked goods, so I wanted to modify my existing recipe to include it. I also made a quick honey butter cream and also a honey ganache which I used between the layers. I garnished this lovely cake with another sample that I received from the Wild Hibiscus Company that included some preserved hibiscus flowers in rose syrup from Australia. I think these hibiscus flowers make such a stunning presentation on cakes — they are nature’s art work and almost look like stained glass!
If you’ve got picky eaters at home who are also dealing with food allergies, consider trying this delicious recipe. I am sure it will become a regular dessert item that you will come to depend on. Take my advice…when you make this cake make sure to double the recipe.
Chocolate Honey Cake (makes 1-10”cake)
2 cup warm coffee
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
7 tablespoons raw honey
2 tablespoon vinegar (I used Pomegranate drinking vinegar from Pok Pok Som, but white vinegar is fine too)
2¾ cups cake flour
½cup good quality cocoa powder (I used Guittard)
1 tablespoon baking soda
NOTE: Unsulphured molasses also works great in this recipe if that is all you have on hand to sub for honey
Add the first 5 ingredients together in one bowl and then sift together the remaining 3 dry ingredients into another bowl. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk together well to remove any lumps from the batter. Pour this into a greased pan and bake at 350°F for 20-30 minutes until the cake is firm to the touch and tests clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing and filling with the butter cream.
Honey Butter Cream (enough to decorate and garnish 1-10″cake)
2 egg yolks
8 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoon vanilla
3 sticks softened butter
Place the egg yolks and the honey into the bowl of a stand mixer and place this over a water bath with simmering water. Be careful that the bowl does not touch the hot water or the eggs will curdle. Whisk these ingredients together until they are warm (but not hot) to the touch, pale yellow and have thickened slightly. At this point, remove them from the heat and attach the bowl to the mixer with the wire whisk attachment and whip the mixture until cool. Once it has cooled, add the softened butter slowly until it begins to firm up. You can leave this plain or add the vanilla.
Honey Ganache
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I used Guittard)
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon coconut oil
Add the chocolate to a microwave safe bowl and heat gently until it has melted. It is important to use a good quality unsweetened chocolate, so stay away from the Baker’s brand. Add in the honey, the cream and the coconut oil and whisk everything together. You might need to heat for a few seconds in the microwave again until you have a completely smooth mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the mixture to cool at room temperature until firm but spreadable. This is important because if it is not soft and spreadable you will damage the cake layers when you try to spread it in between the cake. Only refrigerate (or freeze) this if you plan to use it on another day. Even then, you will still need to let it come to room temperature before you can use it on your cakes.
NOTE: This recipe can also be used to make chocolate truffles. Follow the recipe and allow the mixture to come to room temperature, then use a small scoop to evenly scoop out the truffles. Roll them into even sized balls and roll them in mini chocolate chips, cocoa powder, chopped nuts or toasted coconut. The recipe above only makes about 10-12 small truffles.
To put everything together…
Start by trimming the top off the cake and then invert it on a cake board…
Slice the cake into 3 layers and fill each layer with the honey chocolate ganache that has firmed up at room temperature…
Then add a crumb coating of honey buttercream and then allow the cake to chill before you add the final decorative layer…make sure the cake is even at this point all around the sides and on top!
Add the final layer of decorative buttercream and add your design…make sure to leave some buttercream to decorate the cake on top…
Add buttercream decor for each slice of cake and top with a wild hibiscus flower that has been well drained from the syrup…
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