Vegan Naked Chocolate Cake

If you ever struggled with frosting a cake, this vegan naked chocolate cake is perfect for you. It is made with moist vegan chocolate cake layers and whipped vegan chocolate buttercream. And best of all? HOW AMAZING THIS CAKE LOOKS! This beautiful look is one of the easiest ways to decorate a cake.  I just adore how this cake looks in all the photos. It also tastes amazing.

This cake is completely and utterly delicious VEGAN. Don't worry , it also tastes amazing for non-vegan.

What is a naked cake? ....is simply a cake that doesn't have frosting in its sides! They have become popular wedding cake trend, with their elegant and stunning look.

Ingredients:

For Vegan Chocolate Cake:

• 550g self raising flour
• 125g cocoa powder
• 450g light brown sugar
• 600ml plant-based milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 265ml sunflower oil
• 1½ tbsp white wine vinegar

For Vegan Chocolate Frosting:

• 300g dairy free spread
• 2tsp vanilla extract
• 500g icing sugar
• 275g dark chocolate

Method:

For the cake: Preheat oven to 180ºC/160ºC for fan assist oven. Line and grease 3x 8 inch (20cm) cake tins with baking paper on the bottoms.

In a large bowl, add the self raising flour, sugar and cocoa powder. Whisk them together so that they are evenly distributed.

Pour in the milk, vanilla extract, oil and white wine vinegar. Mix the mixture until smooth-try not to over-mix however. I just use a spatula.

Split evenly between the three tins, and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Once baked, leave it to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, and then remove onto a wire rack to cool completely. Be careful when handling the sponges as they will be very soft and could break easily.

Once the cake has cool completely, refrigerate the cakes for 1-2 hours before decorating to make them easier to handle.

For the frosting: Carefully melt the dark chocolate until smooth. 

Beat the dairy free butter on its own briefly to smooth it. Add in the icing sugar and vanilla extract and continue beating until smooth. Add in the melted chocolate and beat again until all combine. 

To decorate: Place the first sponge to a plate or a cake board and pipe 1/3 of the frosting onto the first cake. Repeat this process with the second cake, and then with the third cake.

Decorate with fresh fruits and vegan friendly sprinkles!

Queen Platinum Jubilee Victoria Sponge Cake

My take on a classic Victoria Sponge cake to celebrate the Queen Platinum Jubilee celebration in Jun. I adapted the cake from Mary Berry.

This Victoria sponge cake is the perfect way to round off any celebration!. Named for Queen Victoria, this traditional and quintessentially British dessert makes for the perfect party cake and goes great with a cuppa!. It is both incredibly simple AND something special-you can see why its popularity has endured for so long.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 225g castor sugar
• 225g self raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 225g butter, softened

For the filling:

• 5 tbsp strawberry or raspberry jam
• 150ml double cream, whipped

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC for fan assist oven. Grease and line 2 x 8 inch sandwich tins with a non-stick baking paper.

Beat together all the cake ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together until well combined with an electric hand mixer but be careful not to over mix.

Divide the mixture evenly between the tins. Use a spatula to remove all of the mixture from the bowl and gently smooth the surface of the cakes.

Bake the cakes on the middle shelf of the oven for  25 minutes. Check them after 20 minutes. The cake are done when they are golden-brown and coming away from the edge of the tins and spring back when lightly pressed.

Leave to cool for 5 minutes then turn out onto a rack and peel off the paper. Cool completely before filling.

To assemble the cake, place one cake upside down onto a plate and spread it with jam. Then spread over the whipped cream. Top the cake with the second cake, top-side up. Dust with icing sugar and decorate with some fresh strawberries, if you prefer.

 

Vegan Chocolate Oreo Cake

This Vegan Chocolate Oreo cake is the epitome of decadence: a delicious vegan cake filled with crushed cookies n cream, and coated in an easy yet amazing dairy free Oreo buttercream frosting! This will be your favourite Oreo cake, vegan or not!

This cake is a moist, tender, and rich layer cake decorated with Oreo buttercream frosting and chocolate ganache drip. One of the best cake you will ever bake. Dairy-free, egg-free.

Ingredients:

Chocolate cake:

• 350g plain flour
• 90g cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1½ tsp baking bicarbonate soda
• 1 tsp ground coffee
• ¼ tsp salt
• 300g sunflower
• 400g granulated sugar
• 250g vegan yogurt
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 300ml boiling water

Oreo Buttercream Frosting:

• 500g vegan butter, softened
• 500g icing sugar
• 4-6 tbsp plant-based milk; soya, almond. room temperature
• 70g finely crushed Oreos

Chocolate Ganache Drip:

• 60g dark chocolate
• 80g vegan cooking cream or coconut milk

For decoration:

• 12 Oreos cookies

Method:

Preheat oven to 180ºC/160ºC for fan assist oven.  Grease 3x 8" cake tins with oil or vegan butter and line the bottom with baking paper. Set aside.

For the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, corn flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground coffee and salt. Set aside.

To a large bowl, add the sunflower oil, granulated sugar, vegan yogurt and apple cider vinegar and whisk to combine. Sift in half the dry ingredients and mix until almost incorporated. Sift in the remaining flour and mix until incorporated. Then add boiling water and gently mix until combined.

Divide the batter evenly into the cake tins and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10-15 minutes in the tin, then transfer the cakes to a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the buttercream frosting: Add the soft vegan butter to a stand mixer with the whisk attachment on high speed until fluffy and lighter in colour for about 2-3 minutes. Then sift in about ½ of the icing sugar and mix until combined. Keep gradually adding the remaining icing sugar and mix until fully combined. While mixing, add one tablespoon at a time of plat-based milk and mix until incorporated and fluffy. Finally, add the Oreo crumbs and mix gently with a spatula until incorporated.

Assemble the cake: Slice the top of the cakes with a sharp knife, ensuring each cake is evenly flat. Place one cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate and spread a layer of frosting on the top, followed by 2 roughly crushed Oreos. Place the next cake layer on the frosting making sure it is level. Again frost the top and add crushed Oreos. Then gently place the third layer (the bottom upwards), making sure it is level. Spread a thin layer of frosting on the sides and top pf the cake and scrape away any excess using a cake scraper.  Let the cake chill in the fridge for about an hour.

Remove the cake from the fridge and finish with a thick layer of buttercream frosting around the sides and the top. Leave some frosting for decoration on top of the cake. Place the cake in the fridge to chill again while you make the ganache.

For the chocolate ganache: Place the finely chopped dark chocolate in a glass bowl and put it over a small pot with simmering water. Don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the hot water. Let the chocolate slowly heat up and melt. Mix it through a few times. Once the chocolate is melted, slowly and gradually, while stirring, mix in the vegan cooking cream with a spatula. Stir until combined into a smooth ganache.

Decorate the cake: Using a spoon or a squeezing bottle, create a drip on the edge of the cake. Once you have gone round the edge, cover the top with the remaining ganache. Place in the fridge to set. Use the remaining frosting to pipe swirls around the top of the cake, adding 12 Oreo cookies in between.

Slice and enjoy!!!

Gulai Ayam Nenas ( Curry Chicken with Pineapple)

This Malaysian chicken curry with pineapple is a popular curry among the Peranakan or the Malay. The pineapple will add a bit of sweetness and sourness to the curry.

Ingredients:

• 600g of chicken breast or chicken thigh
• 1 pineapple, skinned and cut into bite size
• 400ml coconut milk
• 2 lemongrass, bruised
• 2 pieces of asam gelugor, or 2 tbsp of tamarind juice
• salt to taste
• 3 tbsp cooking oil

To grind:

• 1 onion, diced
• 1inch of ginger
• ½ inch galangal
• 4 buah keras (candlenuts)
• 6 dried chilies, soaked to soften
• ½ tsp turmeric powder

Method:

Put all the grind ingredients except turmeric powder into a food processor, blend or mortar and pound and blend into a smooth paste, add a splash of water if needed. 

Add 3 tbsp cooking oil into a frying pan. Heat the oil and add the spice paste. Stir until fragrant, about a minute on high heat, turn down the heat and add the chicken pieces and the lemongrass. Mix until the chicken is well coated with the spices.

Add the coconut milk and asam gelugor. Once the curry is boil, add in the pineapple pieces and continue simmering until the chicken is cook. Add salt to taste and also a sprinkle of sugar. 

Mix well and serve with rice.

Sourdough Focaccia

Say Hello to sourdough foccaccia!

Focaccia (pronounced fo-kah-cha) is a classic Italian "flatbread". Focaccia can be both sweet and savory, thin or thick, baked plain or adorned with variety of toppings. There are many styles to choose from.

You see, focaccia is a rustic and simple affair: it is slab of naturally leavened dough topped with simple ingredients, any vegetable in season, olive oil and salt. The beauty of this bread is that you can make it with little effort. First mix the dough in the morning then let it raise during the day, and finally bake it just before dinner. 

Learn how to make bubbly, fluffy sourdough focaccia bread that us incredibly versatile for eating on its own, with soup, or as sandwich bread. It has a golden crust, and delicious chewy crumb with subtle tang. 

Ingredients:

• 100g Sourdough starter, active and bubbly
• 400g water, can increase or decrease by 30g if desired
• 500g bread flour
• 10g salt

For the topping:

• 30g olive oil
• 10g sea salt

Method:

Weigh out your sourdough starter and water into a large bowl.

Mix the water and starter together briefly. Then add the flour and salt and mix whole lot together until it forms a sticky dough. You don't want any dry flour left at all.

Cover your bowl with cling film or a damp tea towel and let it sit for around 1 hour. It is OK if it's a little bit longer, it is not going to matter too much.

After the dough has been through autolyse, you need to bring it together into a ball. Work your way around the bowl, grabbing the dough from the inside, stretching it up and over itself, into the centre. You should feel the dough strengthen as you do this. It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth or tight, just work around the bowl stretching and folding (around 10-15 times).

Now you want to leave your dough to ferment. Cover it with tea towel or shower cap and leave it alone to double in size.

Once the focaccia has doubled in size, you need to shape the dough. Shaping focaccia is super simple. 

Use a dough scraper gently ease the dough out into your prepared pan. 

Rub your hand with a little olive oil and gently pulled the dough out to fill the tray. Again it doesn't have to be perfect as it will naturally fill the tray as it proofs.

Let your dough rise again. Leave it until it's spread out and filled the tray. It will be puffy and pillowy. You will see some large and small bubbles popping up.

Once the dough has filled the tray and is looking puffy and full of volume, you need to dimple the dough and add the toppings.

Pour olive oil over the top of the dough and then push your finger tips into the dough to create dimples. You might see some bubbles as you do this.

Now sprinkle with sea salt and rosemary if you desire.

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.