Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake

Step 1

Start with your Cashew Coconut Whipped Cream: In a blender and add melted coconut oil, agave syrup, soaked cashews (strained), lime juice, vanilla, and salt. Blend until smooth. Transfer to a glass mixing bowl and place in fridge to chill. (We will add the chilled coconut milk at the end).

Step 2

For the cake: Preheat oven to 350F/176C and lightly spray two round cake pans with nonstick spray. (I used two 10-inch/25 cm non-stick cake pans). Dust with cocoa powder, shake out the excess, and set aside.

Step 3

Mix almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a large mixing bowl, and let set for a few minutes to activate. Add melted coconut oil, coffee, vanilla extract, and applesauce. Beat with hand mixer (or by hand) until foamy.

Step 4

Sift cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt over the wet ingredients while mixing with a hand-held or stand mixer. Pour in sugar while continuing to mix. (If you don’t have a sifter, simply mix dry ingredients in another bowl and add to the wet mixture while beating). Beat until no large lumps remain. It should be creamy and pourable.

Step 5

Divide batter evenly between two cake tins. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool completely before removing from cake tins and applying whipped cream.

Step 6

To complete the whipped cream: Open chilled canned coconut milk and scoop out the solids, avoiding the coconut water at the bottom. (Reserve the coconut water for smoothies). With a hand-mixer or stand mixer on high, whip mixture together until light and fluffy. (Try to avoid over mixing, it should only take 1-2 minutes to fluff up).

Step 7

Remove cake from tins. And add a generous scoop of coconut cashew cream to one cake tier. Smooth and lather to coat the top entirely. Decorate with sliced berries and gently place your second cake on top to create two tiers (I used my biggest spatula and my hands to help life the cake tier onto the other). Decorate the top tier with remaining whipped cream and berries.