Coconut Cake

This is cause for celebration Honeybunches! I've seriously nailed the ideal texture, crumb and taste of a gluten-free vegan cake that can be swung any which way you like flavour-wise. For this one I've gone for a seriously delicious coconut flavour that isn't too overpowering, nor artificial-tasting. It's a banger of a recipe if you're needing a tall and handsome celebration cake for whatever occasion is on ya' horizon. Scroll down for a picture of the cake’s interior if you don't believe me when I say the texture is perfect. Hope this recipe is useful to you HB's x

Ingredients

Wet

• 1 tin of aquafaba, drained from a 400g tin of chickpeas or beans
• 3/4 cup unsweetened plant milk
• 1 cup coconut sugar (or castor sugar)
• 1/2 cup grapeseed oil (or any light flavoured vegetable oil)
• 1/4 cup coconut yoghurt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 tsp coconut extract
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  Dry
• 1/2 cup chickpea (besan) flour
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 3/4 cup plain flour (GF or not)
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
  Icing
• 3/4 cup chilled vegan butter
• 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese (e.g. tofutti)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp coconut extract
• pinch salt
• 5 cups icing sugar, sifted if needed
  Decoration
• shredded coconut, toasted

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180C on a slow setting preferably over fan forced.
2. Take a large bowl and add all your wet ingredients (yes, the coconut sugar is meant to be mixed with the wet ingredients). Whisk until smooth.
3. Sift in all the dry ingredients and whisk again from the centre outwards to gently combine everything. Once smooth, check for lumps, pressing any out with the back of a spoon.
4. Grease and line 2 x 20cm/8inch cake tins and divide the batter between them. Smooth over and bake the pre-heated oven for approx. 45 minutes, or until springy to touch and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Set aside to cool.
5. Meanwhile, make your icing by adding all the icing ingredients in a bowl (starting with 2 cups of the icing sugar) and mixing to combine with electric beaters, adding more icing sugar in cup-sized increments. Chill until needed.
6. When the cakes are cool, ice them up with the frosting and decorate with toasted shredded coconut. Amen to that!