Almond Victoria Cake

Deliciously Ella The Plant-Based Cookbook

Posted by Hodder & Stoughton

About

We’ve made this cake to celebrate team birthdays at our office more times
than I can remember and everyone loves it. It used to be called a MaE
cake in the deli, so if you’re looking for that recipe this is it! I know lots
of people get worried about baking cakes, and think they’re not natural
‘bakers’ but the brilliant thing about vegan cake mixes is that they are
so simple to make: the ingredients all just get stirred together and there’s
no need for complicated beating or whisking.

There is quite a lot of maple syrup in this cake but that’s because it’s really
for a special occasion, rather than an everyday bake. If you do want to
make a version with less syrup, you can change the quantity of buckwheat
flour to 250g, the maple syrup to 300ml and the almond milk to 240ml
– it’s still delicious, but less sweet and indulgent.

SERVES 12

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You Will Need (17 things)

  • for the cake

  • 300 g Ground Almonds
  • 240 g Buckwheat Flour (or plain flour)
  • 1 tbsp Bicarbonate Of Soda
  • 1 pinch Of Sea Salt flakes
  • 440 ml Maple Syrup
  • 100 ml Almond Milk
  • The water from 1 x 400g tin of Chickpeas (not the chickpeas themselves)

  • for the icing

  • 400 g Pure coconut Yoghurt
  • 50 ml Maple Syrup
  • The scraped seeds of 1 Vanilla Pod or 1 teaspoon vanilla powder

  • for the middle

  • 100 g Strawberry Jam

  • to decorate (optional)

  • Handful of fresh Strawberries , chopped
  • Handful of edible Flowers

Steps (5 steps, 60 minutes)

  1. 1

    Preheat the oven to 200.C (fan 180.C). Line two 23cm cake tins with
    baking parchment.

  2. 2

    In a large bowl, mix the ground almonds, buckwheat flour, bicarb
    and salt, stirring well to remove any lumps. Add the maple syrup,
    almond milk and chickpea water and mix again until it comes
    together to form a smooth batter.

  3. 3

    Pour equal amounts of the batter into the lined tins and bake for
    20 minutes, until well risen and a knife inserted in the centre comes
    out clean – if it doesn’t, place the tins back in the oven for 5 more
    minutes. Once ready, remove and leave the cakes to cool in their tins until room temperature, around 30 minutes.

  4. 4

    While the cakes cool, make the icing. Whisk the coconut yoghurt
    using an electric whisk – either a stand mixer or a hand whisk – until it becomes really thick, around 5–10 minutes. It’s really important to
    whisk the yoghurt on its own first, before adding the maple syrup.
    Once it feels very thick and holds its shape, add the syrup and vanilla and continue whisking for a further minute. If you don’t have an electric whisk you can use a balloon whisk – just make sure you whisk long enough to get a good amount of air and thickness into the mix.

  5. 5

    Once the cakes are cool, spread the jam over one and sandwich it
    with the other. Spoon the icing over the top of the cake and smooth
    it over evenly. We like adding berries and edible flowers as decoration.