Say goodbye to buttercream and au revoir to eggs because ‘The Great British Bake Off’ is about to host its first ever vegan week.
Thankfully, you don’t need to use dairy or other animal by-products to make a delicious cake. Ahead of the episode, we asked three bakers for their favourite vegan recipes so you can transform your kitchen into the GBBO tent.
We’re sure Prue would approve.
Vegan Chocolate Cardamom Cake
Recipe by Anne Falgate, baker and owner of Cupcake & Co, Norwich, Norfolk.
Prep time: 25 minutes
Baking time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
490ml soya milk
10ml cider vinegar
300g caster sugar
160ml melted coconut oil
2tsp vanilla extract
1tsp almond extract
80g cocoa powder
160g plain flour
100g ground hazelnuts
1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
8 cardamom pods (bruise them and release the black seeds, discarding the shells)
3 x 20cm cake pans
For the frosting:
750g icing sugar, sifted
150g cocoa powder
300g vegetable fat
150ml soya (or any plant based) milk
For the ganache drip:
150g dark chocolate
30ml coconut oil
For the decoration:
Vegan sprinkles
Method:
- Pre-heat oven to 190C.
- Grease baking pans and line the base with non-stick baking parchment.
- Add cider vinegar to the soya milk and set aside.
- Grind the cardamom pods using a pestle and mortar.
- In a large bowl mix together flour, ground hazelnuts, cocoa, cardamom, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
- In another bowl combine the sugar, oil and extracts.
- Add this mix, along with the soya milk, to the dry ingredients stirring gently until a lumpy. batter is formed. Don’t over beat or your cake won’t rise.
- Knock the mixing bowl on the work surface to knock out some of the air bubbles.
- Divide the mixture between the three baking pans.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until just firm.
- Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
- While the cakes cool completely, make the frosting; in a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the icing sugar, vegetable fat, cocoa and soya milk until smooth and fluffy.
- Use this frosting to fill and cover the cake, using a palette knife.
- Make the ganache by melting the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave, just 30 seconds at a time, stirring until its smooth and runny.
- Allow to cool slightly then pour the mix on top of the cake. Spread it out until it drips over the edge.
- Add sprinkles of your choice and enjoy.
Pina Colada Square
Recipe by Ms Cupcake, a vegan bakery in Brixton, London.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
450g self raising flour (use a gluten free one if you need)
225g caster sugar (or coconut sugar if you don’t want to use refined sugar)
1/3 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g + 50g of coconut (sweetened shredded coconut is great, but if you only have desiccated you can use that)
200ml flavourless oil
300ml coconut milk
235g pineapple chunks from a tin (chopped a bit smaller if they are quite large chunks)
100ml of pineapple juice (from tin)
1tsp vanilla
15 glace cherries
Method:
- First liberally grease (or line with parchment paper) a 33cm x 23cm (13 inch x 9 inch) cake tin and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. If you only have smaller trays, split the recipe across two trays or use half of all of the ingredients listed.
- Then in a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and 100g of the coconut. Stir well to combine.
- Add into the bowl the oil, coconut milk, pineapple juice, vanilla and 135g of the pineapple chunks. Mix all together until fully combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tray. Then add 100g more pineapple and 100g more coconut sprinkled across the pan.
- Lightly press in 15 glace cherries evenly spaced out across the pan.
- Bake 45 mins for 170-180 degrees. Check it’s done by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the bake to see if it comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan and then slice and serve.
- It lasts about three days in an airtight container. Great to freeze for up to three months.
Vegan Pomegranate Tea Cakes
Recipe by London-based baker and pastry consultant Lily Vanilli, adapted from her recipe in the recent #BakeForSyria cookbook.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients (makes 15 cakes):
220g plain flour
200g caster sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
240ml soy (or other non-dairy) milk
80ml olive oil
15ml white vinegar
For the icing:
1 can coconut cream
50-100g icing sugar
To decorate:
Seeds from one large pomegranate
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt evenly.
- Combine the soy (non dairy) milk, olive oil and vinegar and whisk together with the dry ingredients until you have a nice smooth batter.
- Divide the mixture into individual cake tins greased with a little more olive oil (I used mini brioche tins), filling ¾ of the way to the top.
- Bake for 15 mins, or until a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.
- Once cool, pipe or dollop a dab of icing over the top and finish with pomegranate seeds.
For the icing:
- Chill your coconut cream in the fridge overnight.
- Remove the coconut cream from the fridge, don’t tip or shake the tin as you want it to have separated in the can.
- Scoop out just the thick cream at the top.
- Place the hardened cream in a mixing bowl. Beat briefly with a mixer until just creamy. Then add 50g of the sugar and mix until smooth – about a minute. You can always add a little more sugar to get the consistency you want – just add slowly and beat after each addition.