Vegan Chocolate Cake - Keke Tiakarete Karohuarehe
A rich, moist vegan chocolate cake perfect for all your celebration needs, decorated with dark chocolate petals and berries.
Servings 12 pieces
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake - Keke Tiakarete
- 2 tablespoon kākano chia (chia seeds)
- ¼ C (60 ml) wai mātao (cold water)
- ¾ C (185 ml) miraka pīni (soy milk) or any dairy-free milk.
- 2 teaspoon (10 ml) winika (vinegar)
- 90 g tiakarete parauri (dark chocolate)
- ½ C (50 g) kōkō (cocoa, dutch is best)
- ⅔ C (165 ml) wai wera (hot water, boiled from the kettle)
- ½ C (110 g) huka one (caster sugar)
- 2 C (300 g) puehu parāoa noa (plain flour)
- 1 teaspoon pēkana houra (baking soda)
- 2 teaspoon pēkana paura (baking powder)
- ½ teaspoon tote (salt, fine)
- ¾ C (150 g) huka hāura (brown sugar)
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) wanira (vanilla)
- ½ C (125 ml) noni (oil)
Raupua Tiakarete - Chocolate Petals
- 1 quantity chocolate petals
- 100 g tiakarete parauri (dark chocolate). Use whatever chocolate you like.
Dairy-free Chocolate Icing - Pani Reka Tiakarete Kore-Miraka
- 1 quantity dairy free chocolate buttercream
- 130 g tiakarete parauri (dark chocolate, 50%)
- 150 g olivani (or a good quality olive oil spread)
- ¼ C (25 g) kōkō (cocoa)
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) wanira (vanilla)
- 1 C (165 g) puehu huka (icing sugar)
Instructions
Preheat the Oven:
- Preheat the oven to 150 °C bake setting or 140 °C fan bake.
- Grease two 20 cm cake tins and line with baking paper.
Make the Chia Egg:
- Add the kākano chia (chia seeds) in to a small bowl. Pour over the wai mātao (cold water) and stir it to combine. Leave aside for the chia to absorb the wai (water).
Make the Dairy-free Buttermilk:
- Add the miraka pīni (soy milk) and winika (vinegar) in to a glass. Kaurorihia (stir it).
- Leave it aside for the miraka (milk) to turn in to miraka pata (buttermilk).
Melt the Chocolate and Cocoa together:
- Cut the tiakarete parauri (dark chocolate) in to fine pieces and add it to a small bowl along with the kōkō (cocoa).
- Pour the wai wera (hot water) on top of the tiakarete (chocolate) and stir until it is all melted. Add in the huka one (caster sugar) and stir again. Leave it aside.
Sift the Dry Ingredients:
- To a large bowl, sift in the puehu parāoa (flour), pēkana paura (baking powder), pēkana houra (baking soda), tote (salt) and huka hāura (brown sugar).
Add the Wet Ingredients:
- Make a well in the centre and add in the raununga tiakarete (chocolate mixture).
- Add the wanira (vanilla), noni (oil) and chia mixture in to the soy milk mixture. Stir it until well combined and then pour on to the chocolate mixture. Whētuihia (fold it together).
Bake the Vegan Chocolate Cake:
- Divide the mixture between the two prepared cake tins. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until the cakes spring back in the middle when pressed.
- Leave for five minutes in the tin and then flip them straight on to cooling racks. Leave the baking paper on as they cool to help lock in the moisture.
Create the Chocolate Petals:
- Make on quantity of the raupua tiakarete (Chocolate petals) according to instructions. As they set, make the pani reka tiakarete (chocolate icing).
Whip up the Buttercream:
- Make one quantity of my Dairy free chocolate buttercream.
Decorate the Vegan Chocolate Cake with the Buttercream:
- Add one of the cooled keke (cakes) to a plate or cake stand.
- Spread around half a cup of the icing on to one half of the cake.
- Add the second cake on top and then press it down gently to secure it.
- Spread the rest of the pani reka (icing) all over the keke.
- You can pipe it or just spread it on with a knife like I have.
Add the Chocolate Petals:
- Now add your set raupua tiakarete (chocolate petals) around the sides of the keke (cake) in an overlapping pattern. This needs to be done when the pani reka (buttercream) is still unset because it acts like a glue.
Add the Final Decorations:
- Finish it off with nati (toasted of any kind), parakipere (blackberries) and raupua putiputi (flower petals) or whatever you love to decorate it with.
Store the Vegan Chocolate Cake:
- Store this keke (cake) in a sealed container in a cool place. It will develop in flavour as it sits and in my opinion is even better a few days after it is baked. It will keep well for up 5 days.
- In the hotter months you can store the decorated and uncut cake in the refrigerator but bring it room temperature before eating. Once it is cut, don't keep it in the fridge as the cake will dry out.