Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake

 The Cake

Chocolate fudge cake is one of those classic recipes that is enjoyed worldwide both as a dessert, hot chocolate sauce anyone?…or as a mid afternoon slice of heavenly indulgence.

 

This super vegan version not only ticks the box for all of our plant based followers out there but for anyone who has family members or loved ones with certain allergies such as egg or dairy.

 

This moist fudgy chocolately cake can be whipped up in no time and can be decorated to suit any occasions such as special birthdays or in this instance Easter Celebrations.  

 

Using a traditional wet and dry method where you mix all the wet ingredients together before stirring in the dry ingredients the cakes are then baked for around 45 minutes which gives you more than enough time to make that indulgent chocolate ganache which really does finish the rich chocolate cake off beautifully.

 

We have used two 8 inch cake tins in this recipe however you could increase your mixture by 1.5 and bake in 3 tins for a super duper chocolate fudge cake tower of indulgence.

 

The Ganache

 

The ganache recipe is based on one of Rupert's classic recipes but with the adaptation of non dairy cream.

 

The water and sugar are brought to a boil until caramelisation starts to take place, careful watching is required here and we find a light coloured pan base helps with being able to determine the caramel colour.  You do not want the sugar to burn which can cause bitterness.

 

Once you have reached this stage it's just a case of adding your plant cream, we like to use Elmlea Double Cream, and then sieving over the dark chocolate.  

 

If you bake regularly it may be worthwhile investing in a bulk purchase of dark chocolate and we always have a supply of the Callebaut Dark Belgian Chocolate Callets in our store cupboard.  You can get dairy free chocolate at different cocoa percentages depending on whether you want a less intense flavour, smooth with fruity tones, quite often preferred when there are young children in the household.   Callebaut 54.5%link  But for that all out indulgence try the 70.4% cocoa content version.

 

Once you have made your ganache you can leave this in the fridge to start to set whilst your cakes finish baking and then cooling.

Decoration

 

It is much easier nowadays to get your hands on vegan friendly embellishments such as chocolate mini eggs or bright jem coloured hard shell chocolate drops (we like to use Doisy & Dam) … so you can really go to town with your culinary creative skills.

 

Easter Egg warning here that the gorgeous garnishes may not last very long on your cake if there are little ones in your household ready to pluck them off when your back is turned!

 

Your cake could easily stay fresh for up to 5 days when stored in an airtight cake container, that is if it doesn’t get eaten before then.

 

Happy Baking!

Chocolate Fudge Cake	Quantity:                 8 Preparation Time:  30 minutes Baking time:           45 minutes
Ingredients
Mixture Dry Mix 375g plain flour 85g cocoa powder 400g coconut sugar or soft brown sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt Wet Mix 480ml soya milk 2 tbsp lemon juice 4 tsp vanilla extract 160ml rapeseed or vegetable oil 2 tbsp cider vinegar 2 tbsp flaxseed 115g dark chocolate (dairy free), melted	Ganache Topping 250g dark chocolate (dairy free), broken into chunks 250g caster sugar 250g plant based double cream
Method Preheat the oven to 160ºC fan and lightly grease two 8 inch loose bottomed sandwich tins.  Place the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Mix the flaxseed with 6 tbsp of warm water and leave to stand until gloopy, usually 5-10 minutes. Mix the soya milk and lemon juice together, this will thicken and curdle, then add the remaining wet ingredients to the milk mixture. including the gloopy ‘flax eggs’ and stir to combine. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine, then add the flaxseed and stir before folding in the melted chocolate. Divide the batter evenly between the three cake tins and bake for approximately 30 minutes until cooked through and a skewer comes out clean, when inserted into the middle of each cake. Leave your cakes to cool completely on a cooling rack. To make the ganache topping add the sugar to a heavy based pan, add 200ml water and dissolve over a low heat until transparent. Bring to the boil, and then boil rapidly until an even terracotta colour is achieved.  Watch this carefully so the sugar does not burn. Turn the heat to low and add the plant cream, be careful as they may be some spluttering. Over a low heat, stir the mixture until smooth and pour through a sieve onto the chocolate chunks, continuing to stir until combined and smooth. Chill until firm, approximately one hour. When ready to decorate, fill the centre of the cakes with ganache before decorating the outside of the cakes as you wish. Serve with plant based ice cream or cream.