Strawberries & Cream Vegan Cake (Plus Birthdays & Boat Trips)

This was the cake that I made for my sister’s birthday. We had a really lovely weekend full of birthday celebrations where family came to stay and the sun shone down. We did a little boat trip in Ely which was very pretty on a sunny day, had ice cream from the fudge shop (they add fudge crumb to the bottom of the cone/pot and it is delicious) and then we had a meal and wine at the bottom of my mum’s garden during that golden hour of sunlight. We stuck candles in this cake, did the usual butchering of ‘happy birthday’ and then granted my dad the task of cutting it up without the three layers sliding apart. I also drank wine with ice cubes in and got excited about the roses blooming in my garden because I am fully embracing being in my thirties. The next day, Gary and I headed to Harpenden to celebrate my best friend’s 30th birthday and I forced the leftover half of the cake on them because thou must not waste cake. 

This cake is both vegan and gluten free and pulled together from browsing several cakes recipes on the Deliciously Ella app (which is brilliant by the way - I’d highly recommend). Happy baking!  

For the cake 

In a large bowl, mix together 600g buckwheat flour, 300g coconut sugar, 75g cacao powder, 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda and 3 teaspoons of baking powder. Melt 150g coconut oil over a low heat and then add to the bowl along with 150g date syrup and 900ml almond milk. Whisk until you have a smooth batter. Bake in 3 lined cake tins for 35 minutes at 180c. 

For the ‘cream’ 

Whisk 400g of good quality coconut yoghurt (of the thicker variety) for 10 minutes, until it is really thick and holds its shape. Add 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and whisk for another minute. Spread a layer of strawberry jam and a layer of coconut cream over two of the cakes and assemble together so you have a three tiered cake. You may need to slice the tops of the cakes to make them more level. Don’t worry about everything being too neat or the cakes not being identical; this is not bake off lads. 

For the chocolate sauce 

Heat 7 tablespoons of cacao powder, 6 tablespoons of date syrup, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and a dash of almond milk over the hob on a low heat until you have a smooth sauce. Spread over the top of the cake and decorate with strawberries.