Who said that you can’t enjoy a yummy cake when you live a gluten-free and vegan lifestyle? Try this decadent recipe and you’ll let any doubts disappear in a wave of happy indulgence!
I’ve made a similar cake before, but I thought it could use an update. Because I’ve learned a few more things while experimenting in the kitchen, I had to have another look at this recipe.
Again I have not used any refined sugar. It is also free of gluten, dairy and egg. But, oh boy, it is delicious. The ultimate, decadent cake for a special occasion!
I have used coffee for the creamy filling, but you can also replace it with cocoa. Or maybe even with vanilla. Just make sure you adapt the fluid so it is thick enough and not too runny.
Make sure you soak the dates in the fluid prior to preparation. This way they will be easier to blend.
For a 21cm spring form you’ll need:
For the dough:
1 cup (130g) sweet sorghum flour
1/2 cup (70g) buckwheat flour
1/2 cup (50g) FAIR-TRADE cocoa powder
2 tablespoon fiber husk
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch salt
1 cup (140g) dates + 1 cup water
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoon olive oil
For the filling:
1 cup (140g) cashews (soaked in filtered water for at least 6 hours, then drained)
3/4 cup (105g) dates
1 heaped tablespoon FAIR-TRADE coffee beans
3 tablespoon (30g) corn starch
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 cups extra strong FAIR-TRADE coffee
1-2 heaped tablespoon coconut oil
For the chocolate frosting:
1 cup dates + 1 cup water
1 cup (100g) FAIR-TRADE cocoa powder
2 tablespoon coconut oil
Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line the bottom of the spring from with a sheet of parchment paper. For the dough, mix the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix well. It might pay to sift the cocoa, baking powder and baking soda.
2. Blend the dates with the water to a fine cream. The longer you soaked them, the better they will blend. I use my Personal Blender for this job.
3. Pour the date cream into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Add olive oil and additional water as well. The dough might appear a little too watery at first, but the sorghum soaks it up quite well. Mix well but not too long. Pour the cake into the spring-form and spread evenly.
4. Place in the oven, covered with a loosely placed sheet of aluminum foil. Bake for approx. 20 minutes, then take the cover off and bake for another 10 minutes (depending on oven type, make needle test!). Let rest for a moment before taking out of the oven. Then take out of the spring-form and let cool down properly on a cooling rack. Keep the parchment paper for the next steps.
5. For the filling, blend all ingredients except the starch to a fine cream. Pour most of this cream into a small pot and gently bring to boil, stirring constantly. Add the corn-starch to the remaining cream and mix well. When the cream is boiling, take off the heat and pour in the remaining starch-cream-mixture. Bring to boil again, stirring constantly. Let cook for a couple of minutes and then take off the stove.
6. Stir in the coconut oil. Now the next steps are best done when the cake has cooled down almost completely.
7. Fill a sink with some water, place the pot in it and keep stirring every 30 seconds to one minute or so until the coffee cream is only lurk warm. If you don’t stir regularly, the cream will become lumpy.
8. Then take the cake and cut it into two halves. I use a bread knife, works well 🙂 Put the parchment paper back into the spring-form and close it. Place the lower part of the cake into the spring-form.
9. Then pour/scoop the coffee cream onto the cake, spreading it carefully to the borders. After that take the upper part of the cake and gently place it on top, then press it gently into the cream.
10. Place in fridge while preparing the chocolate frosting. For the chocolate frosting blend all ingredients to a fine cream. Take the cake out of the fridge, remove the spring form but leave it on the parchment paper. I like to start with spreading the frosting around the sides. After that I finish the top.
11. Then I sprinkle with whatever takes me fancy, in this case it was chopped up pistachios and desiccated coconut, topped with a few roses. There are no limits for creativity!
Let set a little in the fridge before transferring onto a cake plate. Enjoy! 🙂
Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.
