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!