Vegan Chocolate Cake

By Nawal's Cakes

Follow them on Instagram at @nawals_cakes. This beautiful cake was created as a request for a birthday cake featuring our dark cacao nibs and freshly roasted cacao powder!

Ingredients:

Cake Batter:

• 2 cups non-dairy milk 
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups natural cane sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil or coconut oil 
  
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, sifted
• 1 1/2 cups pastry flour
• 3/4 cup Chocosol cacao powder
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• 2 cups roasted albino cacao beans (Jaguar Beans), lightly crushed OR roasted cacao nibs
  

Chocolate frosting:

• 2/3 Vegan butter, softened
• 2 cups icing sugar
• 1 1/3 cup cocoa powder 
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 to 4 tablespoons non-dairy milk or cream, as needed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease four 6-inch cake pans and line the base with parchment paper.
2. Mix the milk and vinegar in a bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes. It should thicken slightly.
3. Add the sugar, oil, and vanilla to the milk. Whisk to combine.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, pastry flour, cocoa powder, cacao powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Beat the milk mixture and the flour mixture with a hand mixer until smooth.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the four pans and bake for 20-25 minutes.
7. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
8. Let the pans cool for about 20 minutes before taking the cakes out.
9. Prepare the frosting. Mix the soft butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and milk with a hand mixer until smooth.
10. Once the cakes are completely cool, you can start frosting them. Spread some of the frosting between each layer, sprinkling a little bit of the crushed albino cacao beans or roasted cacao nibs in between.
11. Frost the whole cake, top and sides. Place in the fridge for an hour so the icing can set.
12. Decorate the cake with the rest of the crushed albino cacao beans or nibs!
    

Happy Baking!