Super rich and chocolatey, you’re not going to be able to resist helping yourself to a slice!
The moist chocolate sponge is beautifully complimented by the tart raspberry jam filling. I’ve included my favourite raspberry jam recipe for you to try at home but of course, shop bought is absolutely fine!
Being both vegan and gluten free, this recipe suits a wide range of dietary requirements so noone has to miss out! It’s so good you won’t be able to tell the difference from a ‘normal’ one!
This recipe makes a three layer 6″ cake that will serve up to 10 people. It will take approximately 3 hours to make including baking, cooling and decorating times. The raspberry jam can be made months in advance as it will keep very well if stored in a sterilised jar (see tips below).
Ingredients:
For the sponges:
- 350 ml soy milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 250 ml sunflower oil
- 400 g light brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 200 g soy yoghurt
- 360 g gluten free self raising flour
- 130 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder (make sure it’s gluten free)
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the raspberry jam:
- 500 g raspberries
- 500 g preserving sugar
- half a lemon, juiced
Note: If you don’t want to make your own, you will need ~6 tbsp of raspberry jam.
For the chocolate buttercream:
- 200g vegan chocolate (I used NOMO milk chocolate)
- 300 g vegan butter block
- 600 g icing sugar
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the pink buttercream:
- 250 g vegan butter block
- 500 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pink food colouring
Raspberries and sprinkles to decorate!
Useful Equipment: three 6″ cake tins, greaseproof paper, mixing bowls, whisk, spatula, weighing scales, hand/stand mixer, measuring spoons, small measuring jug, wire rack, small plate, medium saucepan, potato masher, sieve, heatproof bowl, piping nozzle, piping tips (I used piping tip 1E), palette knife, cake scraper, cake turntable, sterilised jam jars
To make the Raspberry Jam: Place a small plate in the freezer – you’ll need this later to check when your jam is done. Place half the berries with the lemon juice in a medium sized saucepan on a low heat. Simmer for 5 mins until the berries are soft. Mash the fruit and push through a sieve – this will remove the seeds. Put the mashed fruit back into the pan with the remaining berries and add the preserving sugar. Boil rapidly for 5 mins and then drop a small amount of jam onto the cooled plate. If, once cooled, the jam wrinkles then it is done. If not, boil for another 2 mins and then check again. Repeat until you see the wrinkles. Pop the jam into sterilised jar and seal.
Method:
For the sponges:
- Preheat the oven to 160 °C fan/320 °F and grease three 6″ cake tins lining the base with greaseproof paper.
- In a jug, measure out the soy milk and add the apple cider vinegar. Mix well and set aside. It will begin to curdle slightly.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the sunflower oil, light brown sugar and vanilla.
- Add the yoghurt and mix to combine.
- Pour in the milk mixture and mix again.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarb. Fold to combine.
- Divide the mixture equally between the tins and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the tins for 10 mins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the buttercream:
- To make the chocolate buttercream, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and microwave in 30 second bursts until melted, stirring each time. Set aside to cool. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until pale and smooth. Gradually add the icing sugar followed by the cocoa powder. Keep mixing until a smooth consistency is reached. Add the melted chocolate and the vanilla and mix well.
- To make the pink buttercream, in a mixing bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Gradually add the icing sugar and mix until a creamy consistency is reached. Add the vanilla and mix well. Add the pink colouring, 1 drop at a time, until your desired shade is reached.
To assemble:
- Place the first cake layer on your serving plate (and onto a turntable if you have one! It makes decoration a lot easier!). Spread ~3 tbsp of raspberry jam on top of the cake and cover with a layer of the chocolate buttercream. Repeat this step for your second layer and finish with your third.
- Now that your cake is assembled, spread a thin layer of chocolate buttercream around your cake using a palette knife to create a crumb coat and refrigerate for at least 30 mins.
- Once set, complete your cake with another coat of buttercream – using the palette knife and/or cake scraper to create a smooth finish. I used the pink buttercream on the bottom of the cake and chocolate on top and blended them together.
- Finally, get creative and add any decorations you wish! I went for piped buttercream topped with fresh raspberries and studded the cake with sugar pearls.
This cake will keep up to 5 days in an airtight container. It is suitable for freezing for up to 3 months. It is best to slice it up and wrap each slice individually. Make sure to full defrost and bring to room temperature before serving.
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