VEGAN My Birthday Cake: Biscoff chocolate cake with honeycomb & white choc buttercream & lil hearts
I really love baking for my loved ones but I just couldn't resist making my own birthday cake too lol. My sister said she couldn't believe I was making my own birthday cake, but then she thought about it and after a few seconds she corrected herself and said she in fact could very much believe it. The jury is still out on if being a control freak is a blessing or a curse *throws up peace sign*
This cake was just sooo yummy and I think it is the cutest looking thing ever. It's sort of like a Victoria Sponge but one that has overdosed on chocolate and sugar - instead of jam we have crunchy Biscoff spread and instead of cream we have chocolate 'buttercream' stuffed with vegan white chocolate chunks and honeycomb. The white buttercream around the edge is silky smooth vanilla. And can we just take a moment to look at those little hearts please ...so cute I'm obsessed (if I do say so myself lol) - happy bday to me x
I also made some lil gluten free vegan chocolate cupcake versions for my GF babes - bonus recipe up now!
Ingredients:
280ml dairy-free milk - I used oat milk, soy milk would be good too
150g dairy-free spread
1 shot espresso or 20ml boiling water with 1tsp coffee granules
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar / white wine vinegar
300g self-raising flour
200g caster sugar
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp vanilla essence / paste
'Buttercream':
2 baking blocks (straight out the fridge - again, I used the Tesco own ones, but Flora Plant blocks would work well too)
600g icing sugar
2tbsp cocoa powder
2 packets vegan chocolate honeycomb
4 packets vegan white chocolate chips
1tsp vanilla paste
1/2 jar crunchy Biscoff spread (separate from the icing)
Method:
Preheat your oven to 190 degrees. Grease your baking tins and pop them to the side.
Measure out your dairy free milk into a jug and add the apple cider vinegar / white wine vinegar. Pop it to the side.
In a large bowl add all the remaining ingredients. Pour over the milk and coffee and whisk together until it's smooth and glossy.
Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes or until the cake springs back to the touch.
Leave to cool in their tins for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, gently remove the cakes from the tin and leave them to cool completely.
'Buttercream':
Cut your cold baking block into cubes and add to a large bowl. Beat the cubes for about 15-20 seconds until they are slightly softer.
Sieve in your icing sugar and add the vanilla. Whisk together.
At this point we are going to split the icing so we can make 1/3 of it chocolatey. Remove 2/3 of the plain icing and pop it into a bowl. Pop it straight in the fridge.
To the remaining 1/3 of icing in your bowl, add the cocoa powder and mix it through. Add the honeycomb pieces and white chocolate chips and fold them through. Pop your chocolatey icing in the fridge.
Assembling:
Cut your sponges in half lengthways.
Spread a decent amount of Biscoff spread on top of one of the cakes.
Spread your chocolate icing generously over the top of the Biscoff and sandwich your cakes together. Repeat until your cakes are all stacked on top of each other.
Crumb layer: Using the plain coloured icing, apply a really thin layer round the whole edge of your cake (see pic below). Scrape it round until most of the loose crumbs have come off and it looks smooth and any gaps have been filled.
Pop both the cake and the plain icing back in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
Apply a decent amount of plain icing to the top of the cake and spread it over. Don't worry if it goes over the edges. Then apply your icing round the cake. Using a scraper, twizzle and scrape the icing until it looks smooth.
Roll out your red icing (you may need to flour the surface and use a chopping board as it may stain)
Using a lil heart cutter, cut out some mini hearts and dot them round the cake. Pop your cake back in the fridge until you are ready to serve. Enjoy!
Love, Soph x
I hope you love this recipe. Please let me know if you make it and tag me/send me any pictures of your creations! (@slaudus_eats) Feedback is always appreciated!