Mini Birthday Cake (Vegan)
Whether the celebration is big or small, a birthday requires birthday cake. This miniature layer cake serves between 2 and 4 people depending on how hungry they are and is both egg and dairy free!
Servings: 4 people
Equipment
- 19 cm x 26 cm rectangular cake tin
- grease proof paper
- 9 cm round cookie / pastry cutter
- piping bag
- Piping nozzle
Ingredients
For the cake
- 150 grams non-dairy butter e.g. Flora or Naturli
- 200 grams caster sugar
- 300 grams self raising flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate soda
- 300 millilitres non-dairy milk e.g. soy milk or oat milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
For the filling
- 2 tbsp fruit jam e.g. strawberry or raspberry
For the decoration
- 150 grams non-dairy butter e.g. Flora or Naturli
- 300 grams icing sugar
- 0.5 tsp vanilla paste
- sprinkles
- 150 grams dark chocolate
Instructions
To make the cake
- Before you make the cake, pre-heat your oven to 180C / 356F / gas 4 and line a rectangular cake tin with grease proof paper.
- Beat the non-dairy butter and caster sugar together in a large mixing bowl until it is pale and creamy.
- Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl.
- In a separate jug, mix together the milk, vinegar and vanilla extract. (Do not worry if the acid reacts with the milk and it looks like it has split or curdled).
- Once well combined, pour the wet ingredients into the mixing bowl and beat all of the ingredients together until smooth. (You will want to work quickly as the liquid will react with the bicarbonate soda making bubbles).
- Pour the cake batter into the cake tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes or until the cake is golden brown, a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes come out clean and the cake is springy to the touch.
- Remove the cake from the oven once cooked and leave it in the tin until cool enough to handle. Turn the cake out on to wire rack and peel off the grease proof paper.
- Leave the cake to cool completely before assembling and decorating.
To decorate
- Using a cookie cutter roughly 9 cm in diameter, cut out three circular cake layers.
- Make the buttercream by beating together half of the butter, all of the icing sugar and the vanilla paste until smooth. Add the extra butter until the icing is a smooth, spreadable consistency but holds its shape.
- Spread a little buttercream on to a small cake board followed by the first cake layer.
- Pipe a ring of buttercream around the top edge of the cake layer, this will stop any jam spilling out the edges.
- Add the jam inside this ring of icing and then place the second layer on top.
- Repeat this until the final layer of sponge is stacked.
- Using a spatula, cover the rest of the cake in a layer of buttercream (reserving a little to pipe on top).
- Carefully press sprinkles into the sides of the cake until completely covered.
- Heat the dark chocolate gently in either a bain-marie or with 10 second intervals in the microwave.
- Leave the chocolate to cool slightly then, while still runny, spoon on top of the cake. Gently spread the melted chocolate to the edge of the cake and let drips fall down the side.
- Once the chocolate has set, pipe swirls of the remaining buttercream and top with more sprinkles.