Breakfaststories

The first time I tried a vegan cake it was a disaster. I was in Budapest with my love and as we walked along the streets I saw this super cute vegan cafe. Of course we had to go in and of course I couldn’t order just one piece of cake, it had to be two (they were really pretty, okay?). Luckily he didn’t order anything – the taste was just awful. It tasted like a mixture of cardboard, water and old fruits. As you can guess, I wasn’t to keen on trying other vegan cakes after that experience for quite some time. But then, a few months back, I saw Sam messing around in her kitchen on her IG Stories as she was making a vegan cheesecake. It looked so easy (and as you know, I love easy cooking) and from what she told, it sounded delicious. I was curious if I could make one myself and so I had to give it a go. Experimenting in the kitchen is another thing that I love. I made a freestyle version for my birthday and my guests loved it.

And now, after some adjustments here and there I’m gonna share the recipe for my first ever vegan cake with you. Go make a mess!

Ingredients

Preparation time: up to 30 min (depends on your mixer), without freezing time.

Springform baking tin diameter 22cm

Base

• 80 g Dates
• 100 g Pecannuts
• 80 g Roasted Chestnuts (or dried ones for a more crunchy version)

Middle Base

• 2 tsp Raspberry powder
• 2 tsp Aronia powder
• 1 tsp Palmsugar
• 50 ml Almondmilk

Top

• 200 g Cashewnuts (if you swap it for cashewbutter it gets creamier)
• 5 Dried Bananas
• 3 tsp Maca powder
• 1-3 dl Almondmilk (less milk = creamier; more milk = icier)

Topping

• 4 tbsp Sugar
• 8 big Basil leavesor
• 2 tbsp Leftover base
• some dried cranberries
• some almond shaves
• a bit chia seeds

Instructions

One

Put the pecannuts in the blender first and blend them until they’re almost flour. Then peel the chestnuts and add them and the dates to the pecannuts. Blend until it’s a sticky and even mass. Scratch the mass out of the blender and put it in the springform. Spread it evenly, maybe use a tablespoon to even out the surface.

Two

Mix all the ingredients for the middle base together. Pour the mixture over the base. Shake the springform slightly to help spreading it. Put it in the freezer.

Now you have two options. If you let it rest in the freezer for 30 minutes or more, you’ll end up with a clear line between the second base and the top. But if you just wait as long as you’ll have to prepare the top it will kind of fade into each other (like it did in my case). So that’s up to you.

Three

If you opted for the cashew nuts, blend them first until they’re fine flour. If you opted for the cashew butter just pour it into the blender. Then add the maca powder. Chop the dried bananas finely (or don’t do that if you have a really strong blender) and add them too. Now pour in 1 dl Almondmilk and blend everything for at least a minute. Now you have the option of pouring in more Almondmilk. The cake will end up icier and lighter but therefore less creamy. So thats up to you.

Take the springform out of the freezer and cover the middle base with the top mixture. Put it back in the freezer for at least another 4 hours.

Four

Take the cake out of the freezer 15 minutes before serving.

Option a)

Pestle the basil leaves with the sugar in the mortar right before you serve the cake. (I love that deep green color so much!) Sprinkle the cake with the basil sugar. Serve!

Option b)

Roll out the leftover base and cut out any forms you like with cookie cutters. Get wild with the almond shavings, dried cranberries and chia seeds. Enjoy! ♡