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Sweet Almond Cake (Bunny Cake) – Vegan

Recipe from: TheLittleBlogofVegan

 

Image credit, from: TheLittleBlogofVegan

 

Ingredients

For the Cake:

  • 2 cups of dairy-free milk (if you don’t have any on hand, you can always mix 5-6 TBSP of Coconut Cloud Original or Vanilla creamer into 2 cups of hot water and stir vigorously to combine. Let cool and voila! you have dairy free liquid milk!)
  • 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
  • 3 1/3 cups of self-rising flour
  • 2 1/3 cups of granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup of chopped almonds
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • ½ cup of sunflower oil (or oil of your choosing)
  • 2 teaspoons of almond extract

 

For the buttercream frosting:

  • 2 1/3 cupsof dairy-free butter
  • 4 cupsof confectioners sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of almond extract
  • Dairy-free milk (if needed)
  • Pink food gel
  • Black food gel

*Optional: extra chopped, sliced, or slivered almonds for additional decoration

 

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line three 8 inch loose base / push up cake tins (or springform pans) with parchment paper. You can also spray and flour them instead if you don’t have parchment.
  2. In a bowl, combine the dairy-free milk with the apple cider vinegar and whisk until fully combined. Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle. This creates a vegan ‘buttermilk’.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, chopped almonds, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well to combine.
  4. Add the oil into the ‘buttermilk’ along with the almond extract and whisk to combine.
  5. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
  6. Pour equal amounts of batter into the lined cake tins. Make sure to tap the tins on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
  7. Place the cakes into the the preheated oven and bake for around 25-30 minutes. You will know they are done when you put a knife or skewer in to the center of the cake and it comes out clean. Do not overbake!
  8. Place the cakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool almost completely before removing them from the tins. Leave the cakes to cool fully on the cooling rack.  Once cool, pop them into a sealed container to keep them fresh before frosting.

To make the buttercream frosting:

  1. In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free butter, whip until creamy. I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment, a hand mixer will work great too.
  2. Sift in the confectioners sugar and add in the almond extract. Whip on high speed for around 5-8 minutes to incorporate it. Add a splash of dairy-free milk if needed. If the frosting is too thick, add some more chunks of butter. if it’s too soft, add more icing sugar. You want it smooth, creamy and airy.
  3. Remove a few tablespoons of buttercream and place into a separate bowl. Color the large portion of the buttercream with a drop of pink food gel. Whip to combine, you want a pastel pink color.
  4. Transfer some of the plain white buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip nozzle, set aside. Color a small amount of buttercream (approximately 1-2 teaspoons worth) with black food gel, transfer into a disposable piping bag or Ziploc bag and snip off a tiny tip, set aside. You can also add some pink buttercream into another piping bag, snip off the tip. This will be for the bunnies’ ears and nose details so you only need a tiny amount.
  5. Place one of the cakes on a serving plate or cake stand. Dollop or pipe some of the pink buttercream on top and spread out until even using an off-set spatula or pallet knife.
  6. Sprinkle flaked almonds over the top of the buttercream, then place the second cake layer on top. Press it down gently so it sticks, repeat for the third cake. Coat the whole cake with a thin layer of pink buttercream. This creates a crumb coat.
  7. Place the cake into the fridge to set for 15-20 minutes. You want the frosting to be firm, this will make the final coat and applying the decorations easier.
  8. Remove the cake from the fridge and apply a second/final coat, this time making it thicker, then using a cake scraper to make the edges of cake smooth.
  9. Transfer any leftover pink buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a star tip nozzle and pipe a swirl around the top edge of the cake.
  10. Use the white buttercream to pipe small bunny shapes all around the sides of the cake.
  11. Pipe on two black dots for the eyes. Use more of the pink buttercream for the nose and ears. 
  12. Sprinkle flaked almonds to the top of the cake, and press chopped almonds to the sides of the cake for added flavor and texture.
  13. Slice and enjoy!

 

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