How to create showstopping vegan bakes

Rustle up tasty treats with Vegan Cakes and Other Bakes by Jérôme Eckmeier and Daniela Lais

With more and more people taking a mindful approach to the food they consume, it’s definitely worth having a few showstopping vegan recipes in your arsenal.

Vegan Cakes and Other Bakes by Jérôme Eckmeier and Daniela Lais not only has 80 recipes for sweet and savoury treats, its handy guide to shopping vegan products and breakdown of substitute ingredients is useful and informative.

Why not whet your appetite with these vegan bakes below?

Black Forest gâteau

Enjoy the vegan version of this classic Black Forest gâteau recipe, renowned for its delicate shortcrust, flavour-packed cherries, dark sponge, and delicious cream.

Use a 24cm (9½in) springform tin to make 12 pieces.

Time: 45 minutes prep, plus 65 minutes baking, plus at least 12 hours chilling.

METHOD

1. For the filling, whip the soya cream with an electric whisk on its highest setting for 2 minutes. Beat in the cream stiffener, 100ml (3½ fl oz) of the kirsch, and the vanilla. Set in the fridge to chill. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). For the shortcrust, combine the flour, hazelnuts, and sugar. Use your fingers to work in the margarine then mix in the vanilla extract. Transfer to a springform tin lined with baking paper. Smooth out the pastry and prick all over with a fork. Bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes. Leave to cool completely.

Ingredients

For the filling and decoration

• 900ml (1½ pints) soya cream, suitable for whipping, well chilled
• 10 tbsp cream stiffener
• 140ml (4¾ fl oz) kirsch
• 1 tbsp ground vanilla
• 720g jar of cherries
• 30g (1oz) cornflour
• 2 tbsp fine cane sugar
• 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
• 12 Amarena cherries
• vegan dark chocolate flakes

For the shortcrust

• 70g (2¼ oz) plain flour
• 80g (2¾ oz) ground hazelnuts
• 50g (1¾ oz) fine cane sugar
• 70g (2¼ oz) vegan margarine
• 1-2 tsp vanilla extract

For the sponge mix

• 300g (10oz) plain flour
• 200g (7oz) fine cane sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½  tsp salt
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 30g (1oz) vegan cocoa powder
• 1½ tbsp cider vinegar
• 400ml (14 fl oz) soya milk
• 150ml (5 fl oz) rapeseed oil

2. For the sponge mixture, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and bicarbonate of soda. Sift in the cocoa powder. Stir the cider vinegar into the soya milk, leave to thicken for 5 minutes, then stir in the rapeseed oil. Quickly combine the liquid and dry ingredients with a large spoon. Transfer to a springform tin lined with baking paper and bake in the centre of the oven for 40 minutes. Leave to cool completely, then slice in half horizontally. Put a cake ring securely around the shortcrust base.

3. For the filling, drain the cherries but retain the juice. Mix half the juice with the cornflour, sugar, and vanilla extract. Bring the other half to the boil, remove the pan from the hob, stir in the cornflour and juice mixture, then return to the boil, while stirring. Remove from the heat again. Stir in the cherries. Once the mixture has cooled slightly, spread it over the pastry base.

4. Place one of the sponge layers on top of the cherries and press down slightly. Drizzle the sponge with 2 tablespoons kirsch, then spread one third of the cream on top. Cover with the second sponge layer, drizzle with 2 tablespoons kirsch, spread with cream, and chill briefly. Release from the cake ring and cover the sides with cream. Transfer the remaining cream to a piping bag with a star nozzle attached and pipe 12 swirls on top. Top each swirl with an Amarena cherry. Scatter chocolate flakes over top and chill overnight.

Marbled chocolate cheesecake

This dark shortcrust pastry with a hint of coffee, delicious vanilla yoghurt filling, and a delicate crumble is pretty hard to resist.

For a 22cm (8½ in) springform tin.

Time: 35 minutes prep, plus 1 hour chilling and 45 minutes baking

METHOD

1. For the base, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cornflour, cocoa powder, instant coffee, and salt in a bowl. Add the margarine in little blobs and work it in with your fingers, then add the vanilla extract. If the pastry is too firm, add a few drops of water. Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill for 1 hour in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE BASE:

• 200g (7oz) plain flour
• 100g (3½ oz) fine cane sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 4 tbsp vegan cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp instant coffee granules, finely ground
• 1 pinch of salt
• 125g (4½ oz) vegan margarine
• 1-2 tsp vanilla extract

FOR THE FILLING:

• 40g (1¼ oz) cornflour
• 5 tbsp soya milk with vanilla flavouring
• 500g (1lb 2oz) soya yogurt with vanilla flavouring
• 110g (3¾ oz) fine cane sugar
• 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
• juice and zest of 1 organic lemon
• 125g (4½ oz) vegan margarine

2. Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F/Gas 3) and line the springform tin with baking paper. Thinly cover the base of the tin with three-quarters of the pastry – press it down slightly and bring up the sides so it stands about 4cm (1½ in) high. Prick the pastry with a fork and chill it again.

3. To make the filling, stir together the cornflour and soya milk with a balloon whisk until smooth. Stir in the soya yogurt, sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice and zest. In a small pan, melt the margarine over a low heat and, when it is lukewarm (not hot), combine it with the soya and sugar cream. Spread the mixture smoothly over the pastry. From the remaining pastry, use your fingers to pull off little crumble pieces and distribute these over the filling mixture.

4. Bake in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Remove the tin from the oven and leave to cool completely.

TIP: For a really lavish cake, double the ingredients for the topping and use a larger springform (24 or 26cm/8 or 10½ in in diameter), and bake for about 1 hour.

Vegan Cakes and Other Bakes, by Jérôme Eckmeier and Daniela Lais, £12.99

Available now at Amazon.co.uk

*This content was commissioned and approved by DK