Note: recipe for Tristan’s wedding cake, not sure what changed for Nathan’s.
Here’s the cake recipe:
http://leitesculinaria.com/79192/recipes-vegan-chocolate-cake.html
I have two notes about this. First, you don’t need superfine sugar, regular granulated worked fine for me. Second, I found the yield to be off. It says to use one 9″ pan but that was way too much batter so I used 2 8″ pans. You can scale it up or down for whatever size you need.
The filling recipe is attached, it should give you one really thick layer of filling for an 8″. The original recipe was for a pie, so just ignore the crust and make the filling. Here are some instructions for how to fill a cake with a liquid filling that sets up in the fridge.
Option 1: prepare a springform pan by lining it with cake acetate (a flexible plastic band that you can get at cake supply stores, preferably 5″ wide). If you can’t get it, line the pan with plastic wrap or parchment, but you’ll be limited by the height of the pan. You’ll build the cake from the bottom up. Use just the outer ring, and start with a cardboard round on the bottom, then a layer of cake, and adjust the ring so that it’s snug against the cake. Pour the filling in, even it out, and put the second cake layer on top. Chill for several hours before icing the cake.
Option 2: If you don’t have a springform pan that’s the right size you can use a regular cake pan, but you’ll have to make it a bit smaller with a layer of cardboard around the inside. Make it tall enough so that it can accommodate the cake layers and filling. Line with acetate, plastic wrap, or parchment. You’ll build the cake upside down, from the top down. Start with a cake layer that has parchment attached to it, and put it parchment side down in the pan. This will be the top of the finished cake. Fill in the same manner as option 1.
And finally here’s the frosting recipe. I found that Earth Balance sticks do not work here because they have a weird fishy taste. I ended up using Earth Balance Soy Free in a tub. It may seem too soft right after you make it, but it will become firmer as it sits.
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
- 2 1/4 cups (4 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 pounds best-quality semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Combine cocoa and the boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the cocoa mixture.
No-Bake Chocolate Pudding Tart
You can make this in a 9″ pie pan if you want to cut in into slices, or in an 8″ square pan if you want to cut it into squares. If you’re doing a square pan, line the bottom and sides with foil or parchment.
Crust
1c. or 100g cookie crumbs mixed with 1/4c. or 55g earth balance (Anna’s chocolate mint thins are good here)
*If you’re doing a pie pan, you might want to double this
Filling
- 1 c. water
- 1 T. agar flakes
- 2 T. cocoa powder
- 2 c. (350g) choc. chips or chopped dark chocolate (I use 72%)
- 12 oz (340g) silken tofu
- 3/4 c. (150g) sugar
- 1 t. vanilla
- 1/4 t. salt
To make the crust, mix crumbs with melted earth balance, press firmly into bottom of square pan, or bottom and sides of pie pan, then chill until firm. Bake 10 to 15 minutes at 350°. Let cool.
Combine water, agar, and cocoa, bring to a boil and lower to a simmer for 10 -15 minutes, or until agar is completely dissolved. Off the heat, add chocolate, let sit a few minutes, then whisk to combine.
In a food processor, combine tofu, sugar, vanilla, and salt, and process until combined. Add chocolate mixture through the feed tube and process until smooth. Pour into crust and chill until completely cold, about 1 hour.