Vegan Cherry and Almond Cake
My Vegan Cherry and Almond Cake tastes like a Bakewell tart crossed with a Victoria sponge cake! Best of all it's both egg and dairy free!
Servings: 12 portions
Equipment
- 3 x 6" cake tins
- 7" cake board
- Offset spatula
- Piping bags
- Star tipped nozzle
- Round tipped nozzle
Ingredients
For the sponge cake
- 225 grams dairy free spread e.g. Flora dairy free
- 300 grams caster sugar
- 400 grams self raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 75 g ground almonds aka almond meal
- 100 g glace cherries roughly chopped
- 450 ml soy milk or similar plant milk
- 1 tsp almond essence
For the decoration
- 8 tbsp cherry compote
- 250 grams dairy free spread e.g. Flora dairy free
- 500 grams icing sugar
- 25 ml soy milk or similar plant milk
- 0.5 tsp vanilla paste
- red and green gel food colouring
Instructions
To bake the cake
- Pre-heat your oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
- Line three 6 inch cake tins with grease proof paper and place to one side.
- Add the dairy free spread, caster sugar, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and almond extract into a large bowl.
- Beat well using an electric whisk, adding the dairy-free milk slowly.
- As soon as a smooth batter has formed, stop whisking, stir through the cherries and divide between the three cake tins.
- Place into the centre of your oven and cook for 45 minutes or until the edges of the cakes start coming away from the sides of the tins. (See notes)
- Leave the cakes to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before transferring out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
To decorate
- Beat together the dairy free spread and the icing sugar until smooth.
- It needs to be smooth and soft enough to pipe. (Add a little milk if its not quite soft enough.)
- Spread a little buttercream on a cake board or cake plate and place down the first layer of sponge cake.
- Fill an icing bag with a quarter of the icing and carefully pipe a ring of buttercream around the top of the sponge cake layer.
- Fill the middle of the buttercream ring with half of the cherry compote.
- Place the next sponge layer on top and press down gently.
- Pip another ring of buttercream on top of the second sponge layer and fill with the cherry compote.
- Top with the final layer of sponge cake and press down gently.
- Use any buttercream left in the piping bag to fill any gaps between the layers.
- Using a spatula, start covering the sides of the cake with buttercream trapping in as many crumbs as possible.
- Split the remaining buttercream into two bowls. One bowl should contain 2/3rds of the buttercream and the other just 1/3.
- Colour the larger portion of buttercream pale green and use to cover the cake.
- Start by spooning it on to the top of the cake working in circular motions to smooth the icing out to the edges until it hands over slightly.
- Add the remaining green icing to the sides of the cake (you may find it easier to use a piping bag to ensure even coverage before smoothing with a spatula).
- Once the edges are smooth, add a star tipped nozzle to a piping bag and fill with the smaller portion of buttercream. Use this to pipe around the top of the cake to create a decorative edge. (You can also add detailing around the base of the cake or polka dots around the middle.)
- Return any leftover icing to two bowls, colour one half a dark shade of green and the other bright red.
- Divide this icing into separate piping bags fitted with round tip nozzles (alternatively just cut a very small opening in the end of the piping bag).
- Carefully pipe two rows of small cherries using the red and green icing leaving roughly 1.5 inches between each. Any leftover icing can be used to pipe a messages on the top of the cake.