Decadent Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe with Hazelnut (German Recipe)
A symphony of flavors: The luscious chocolate mocha cream envelopes the rich hazelnut body which is hiding a raspberry surprise. A masterpiece!
Equipment
- 1 small mixing bowl 1.5 QT or 3 QT
- 1 whisk optional
- 2 non-stick springform pans (9" or 8") you could do it with one, if needed, read above (techniques)
- 1 measuring cup if you don't have a kitchen scale
- 1 colander
- 1 coffee mill if not using instant coffee or coffee concentrate
- 1 oven
- 1 flour sifter optional
- 1 silicone spatula or spoon
Ingredients
- 2 cans chickpea (15.5 oz each), divided use brine only = aquafaba
For The Hazelnut Body
- 200 g aquafaba (chickpea brine) = ¾ cups + 1.5 TBSP
- 1 tsp kala namak (black salt) optional
- 350 g sugar 1 ¼ cups
- 2 TBSP flour *use GF flour mix for GF option
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 398 g hazelnut meal (1 bag of Bob's Red Mill) 2 ½ cups
For The Chocolate Mocha Cream
- 2.5 TBSP aquafaba (chickpea brine)
- 75 g powdered sugar 5 TBSP
- 1.5 tsp instant coffee / extra finely ground coffee or liquid coffee concentrate
- 1 tsp hot water omit if using coffee concentrate
- 60 g unsalted European style vegan butter, cut in cubes ¼ cup, extra for buttering baking pan
- 41 g Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar from Trader Joe's 5 pieces from the bar
For The Filling
- 12 oz Raspberry Preserve 340 g (⅔ of the glass from Trader Joe's)
For The Garnish
- A few fresh strawberries optional
- A few fresh blueberries optional
- A few fresh raspberries optional
Instructions
The Hazelnut Body - Prepare
- Drain the 2 cans of chickpeas and collect the brine = aquafaba.Set aside chickpeas- you will not need them for this recipe (roast them in the oven for a snack or add to salad or sauce)
- Measure out 200 g of aquafaba (chickpea brine) which comes out to ¾ cups PLUS 1.5 tablespoons.
- In a stand alone mixer start beating the aquafaba at highest speed.Optional:After 1-2 min add the kala namak.Slowly add the sugar and continue beating the aquafaba.Beat for about 20-30 minutes.Let the mixer run in the background while you continue working: Grease the springforms with butter. Start preparing the chocolate mocha cream.If you have a handheld mixer you can get away with mixing for about 15-20 minutes, if you get too tired of it.
- Sift the flour into the aquafaba foam and gently mix it in by hand using a baking spatula.If you have a flour sifter then add the flour directly as is. Don't buy a sifter just for this recipe.
- Add the baking powder. Mix gently with a large spoon or the silicone spatula.
- Very gently fold in the hazelnut flour using the silicone spatula.Don't overmix.
The Hazelnut Body - Bake
- Preheat the Oven to 350℉ (180℃)
- Generously grease 2 springform pans with vegan butter.
- Divide the aquafaba-hazelnut foam mass into two roughly equal parts by pouring them into 2 springforms. If you have only 1 springform: pour one half of the foam into the springform, bake, let it cool down, place on plate, wash the springform, butter it up and fill in the second half of the foam. Then bake as well.
- Bake them (either simultaneously or one after the other) in the oven.Bake for 25 minutes at 350℉ (180℃).It WILL NOT look golden brown.Times will vary between ovens. Make sure to regularly check on it, this can burn easily.
- Proceed with making the chocolate-mocha cream while the cake body bakes.As soon as the baking is complete, take the forms out of the oven and let them cool down before removing.
Chocolate-Mocha Cream
- Since the amount of aquafaba here is very small (just 2.5 TBSP) it would be best to use a hand-held mixer and a small (1.5 QT) or moderate (3QT) mixing bowl rather than the stand alone mixer. If you only have a standalone mixer you might need to add a little extra aquafaba so your mixer can reach it. I found that my stand alone mixer could handle as little as 4-5 TBSP.
- Start by beating the aquafaba with a hand-held mixer in a small or moderately sized mixing bowl. After 2-3 minutes add the powdered sugar.Mix for about 5 minutes until the mass is getting foamy and has some stiffness to it.
- Melt the chocolate in a hot water bath (see techniques above, Bain-Marie)
- Mix the instant coffee with 1 tsp of boiling water until it fully dissolves. If you use liquid coffee concentrate use 1.5 tsps.If you use super finely ground coffee then add 1.5 TBSP of boiling water to it and make a paste out of it.
- Leave the hot water bath setup in place and mix the coffee mixture / paste into the melted chocolate.
- Add butter cubes into the coffee-chocolate paste and gently stir until fully melted and combined. This should be smooth. Take it out of the water bath.
- Let this cool down a bit, about 3 minutes.
- Refresh the aquafaba-powdered-sugar-foam by beating it on high for 1 minute.Slowly add the coffee-chocolate-butter cream into the aquafaba bowl and use a hand whisk to gently whisk together. This will become a smooth cream.
Finishing The Cake
- Ensure cake layers have fully cooled down before attempting to take them out of the form.This can be tricky.You may need to use a knife or a spatula to gently separate the cake from the pan.If some of it stays behind or crumbles just scrape it off and add it to your cake body. Everything will be covered in the end.
- Remove the first cake layer and place it on a plate.If you used two different sizes of springform: Take out the larger one first and put that on the bottom.
- Distribute the raspberry preserve on top.
- Remove the second layer of cake and place it on top of the bottom layer.
- Pour the chocolate-mocha cream over the cake and distribute evenly.
- If the chocolate-mocha cream is still too warm it may be too runny.You can let it cool down a few minutes before applying garnish.
- Optional: Use fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries and blueberries work best) to garnish the cake.
- For best outcome the cake should set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to one hour.
- Ideally, the cake will be kept in the fridge over night and served the next day.
- Take it out of the fridge 15-30 min. prior to serving.
- Close your eyes and enjoy every bite of this masterpiece!Guten Appetit!
Notes
- see blog post for more information about ingredients, equipment and techniques
- the cake taste best on the second day. If you can: prepare the cake and leave in the fridge over night. Take it out 15-30 min prior to serving.
- the cake is very sweet and you are meant to eat a small piece (like with confectionary chocolates)
- if it is too sweet for you, cut down the sugar to 250 g of sugar (1 and 1/4 cups) and the powdered sugar to 40 g (2.5 TBSP). You may also use less of the raspberry preserve: 250g (about 9 oz) or half of the raspberry preserve glass from Trader Joe's
- Check out FAQ's for more questions
- If you have other questions or comments, feel free to reach out
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!