MINI VEGAN MANDARIN & LIME LAYER CAKE

Mini vegan cakes truly have my heart. So delightful to make and enjoy, so tiny and cute. And if they are full of homemade jam, even better.

When I was a child, there was a specific snack bar that I adored. Two layers of a simple vanilla sponge and a layer of marmalade between them. Given that jams have been one of my greatest loves since childhood, it was not a surprise that I loved those little snack bars.

They've been discontinued a long time ago and even if they were still being produced, I am quite sure the sponges were egg-based so it would not align with my preferences now, so I took it upon myself to bring them back in a way that is much more fitting for who I am today.

Four vegan vanilla sponge layers and three layers of homemade mandarin orange and lime jam. Absolute perfection all on its own, but even better with a crunchy chocolate glaze.

Ingredients

For the soft vanilla cake layers

180 grams plain flour
200 grams granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
45 millilitres neutral oil
240 millilitres carbonated water

For the mandarin and lime jam filling

400 grams fresh mandarin orange segments
200 grams apples, grated
50 grams lime segments
300 grams granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 teaspoons apricot brandy

For the dark chocolate glaze

70 grams dark chocolate (60%)
20 millilitres neutral oil
30 grams flaked or crushed almonds

Preparation

Start by making the jam filling, because it needs time to cool down. Grate the apples and squeeze them dry, and add them to a heavy saucepan or a small cooking pot. Segment the mandarin oranges and limes, remove any pips, and add them to the apples. Finally, tip in the sugar and mix everything thoroughly. Place the pot over medium heat, and let it very slowly come to a boil. As soon as it starts to bubble, start the timer, and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring often. As this is a small batch of jam, the cooking process is quick.

After about 30 minutes or so, purée the jam completely with an immersion blender, and cook for 10 minutes more. At that point, check to see if it has reached the setting point, either by dropping a teaspoon of it onto a chilled plate, and seeing if it sets after about a minute, or by inserting a candy thermometer and making sure it has reached 90-95°C. If not, continue cooking and checking in 2-minute intervals until set. The longer you cook it, the deeper the colour and flavour will get, but it will also be much more difficult to spread and slice the cake. Once the jam reaches its setting point, remove it from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let it cool down completely. You should get around 400-420 grams of jam.

Next, make the vanilla cake layers. Let the oven preheat to 180°C and line a medium square cake pan (18x18 cm) with baking paper, bottom and sides. Take a medium bowl and sift in the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add in the sugar and salt, and mix well. Finally, in no particular order, pour in the carbonated water, oil, vanilla, and vinegar, and whisk until combined. As soon as the batter is ready, pour it into the prepared pan, and bake immediately in a preheated oven, at 180°C, for about 20 minutes or so, checking for doneness early on. As soon as a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, the cake is done. Remove from the oven and let it cool down a bit in the pan.

My cake was done after exactly 21 minutes.

Once the jam has cooled down almost fully and the cake is still slightly warm to the touch, proceed to assemble the cake.

Level the cake if needed, slice it in half lengthwise, to create two thin strips of cake, and then cut each of them in half to create four very thin layers. Weigh the jam you previously cooked and separate it into four parts. Three of them should be 100 grams each, while the fourth one can be whatever is leftover.

Place the first cake layer on the serving platter, and add 100 grams of jam. Place another cake layer on top, and keep repeating the process until all the cake layers are used up.

If your jam is too thick or has gotten very cold, you can add it to a piping bag and simply pipe the jam in a single layer onto the cake.

Add the apricot brandy to the remaining jam, and heat it very lightly, to make it additionally spreadable, and then use it to frost the cake on all sides. Place in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours.

Once the cake has set, melt together dark chocolate and oil, either over low heat or in the microwave, and mix it very well. Just before glazing, add in the flaked or crushed almonds, and glaze the cake on all sides, covering all of the jam. Return it to the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, and then serve as desired. Yields 12 rich servings.

VEGAN CHOCOLATE WALNUT CINNAMON ROLLS

Homemade cinnamon rolls. Fluffy, light, beautiful. Full of chocolate and walnuts. Truly a perfect sweet treat.

Although they are typically seen as a breakfast item, being someone who doesn't tolerate early sweets all that well, I find them excellent for brunch or an after-lunch indulgence. With that being said, they are on the sweeter side because of the chocolate in the dough and the chocolate glaze, so serving them with coffee will always be my heartfelt recommendation.

The filling acts almost as a thin brownie layer in the centre of each of them, and it is beyond perfect when served hot out of the pan. I mean, they are good even cold, but serving them straight from the oven is what I adore for that molten reason alone.

Given that the recipe makes 8 very large rolls, you can absolutely divide the roll into 12 smaller pieces and bake them for a shorter time, making sure they stay soft and pillowy. The dark chocolate glaze is optional, but very welcome, I promise you.

Ingredients

For the soft dough

375 grams plain flour
180 millilitres almond milk, warm
30 millilitres neutral oil
20 grams fresh yeast
35 grams granulated sugar
10 grams salt
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

For the chocolate walnut filling

80 grams vegan block butter
60 grams dark chocolate (75%)
60 grams icing sugar, sifted
20 grams unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
30 grams toasted walnuts, finely ground
2 teaspoons cornflour
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

To serve

50 grams extra dark chocolate (85-90%)

Preparation

Start by making the dough. Take a medium bowl, crumble in the fresh yeast, add in the sugar and warm almond milk, and mix well. Set the bowl aside for about 10-15 minutes so the yeast can activate.

Separately sift the flour into a large bowl, add in the salt, and blend well. Once the yeast is ready, make a well in the centre, pour it in, and add in the vanilla and oil. Mix with a wooden spoon until a very soft dough forms.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it by hand for about 5 minutes or so, until it becomes smooth and elastic. If it is sticking too much to your hands or the surface, feel free to add a tablespoon of flour more. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover it with a kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm spot for about an hour, or until doubled.

When the dough is almost risen and ready, make the filling. Place the vegan butter, chopped chocolate, sifted cocoa powder, and icing sugar into a saucepan, and place it over medium-high heat. Stirring constantly, let everything melt together until completely liquid. Remove from the heat, add in the ground walnuts, cornflour, cinnamon, and vanilla, and blend very well.

As soon as the filling is ready, let the oven preheat to 200°C and line a rectangular baking pan (20x30 cm) with baking parchment. Take the dough out of the bowl, knead it gently, and then roll it out into a large rectangle. Spread half of the filling onto the dough, and fold it into thirds, like folding a letter. Almost as if you were laminating it like croissant dough. Rotate it 90°, roll it out once again, and repeat the folding process once more. Finally, rotate the dough again, roll it out to about 1 centimetre in thickness, and roll it up into a tight roll. Slice into 8 equal pieces.

Arrange them into the prepared pan, cover and let them rise for another 20 minutes. Bake in a nicely preheated oven, at 200°C, for about 12-15 minutes, or until golden. If you wish, you can brush them with a bit of vegan butter for an additionally soft and rich crust. Serve them right away with melted dark chocolate. Yields 8 very rich servings.

MINI VEGAN STRAWBERRY STRACCIATELLA CAKE

This is a wonderful mini vegan spring layer cake, full to the brim with fresh strawberries, dark chocolate, vanilla, and almonds. The perfect flavour combination for afternoon coffee or tea.

There is something truly special in fruit cakes, and they will possibly forever be one of my dearest things to make and enjoy. And here, beautiful fresh strawberries pair so well with vanilla and almonds. And dark chocolate, naturally.

Speaking of that, I used a 70% chocolate bar because I know that one is the middle ground when it comes to my trusted taste-testers and myself, but feel free to use an even darker bar if you like. That crunch from the chocolate shavings is simply unexpectedly delightful.

It slices perfectly despite its height, so you can easily get 20 thin slices, more than plenty for a smaller gathering. I emphasise this because we are headed for the warmer part of the year and I believe many of us have been eagerly awaiting outdoor get-togethers.

One thing I do want to point out, though; if you are using frozen strawberries that you plan on defrosting for this, use more than you believe you need. When testing the recipe, I had to use 150 grams of frozen strawberries to get 120 grams of puree, so do plan accordingly.

The decoration I leave up to you, as always, but I chose as many fresh strawberries as I could add, and some amaretto coffee to go along. Feel free to add some flaked almonds, they would be magical in this combination, as well.

Ingredients

For the fresh strawberry cake layers

120 grams strawberries, fresh or defrosted
100 grams plain flour
75 grams light brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
35 millilitres neutral oil
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
30 millilitres carbonated water
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

For the vanilla almond cake layers

100 grams plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
100 grams granulated sugar
30 grams blanched almonds, finely ground
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
30 millilitres neutral oil
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
150 millilitres carbonated water

For the stracciatella filling

350 millilitres soy milk, cold
75 grams granulated sugar
50 grams cornflour
150 grams vegan block butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
100 grams dark chocolate (70%)

Preparation

Let the oven preheat to 180°C and line two medium round cake pans (15 cm) with baking parchment, bottom and sides. It does not really matter which cake you make first, because they will both go into the oven at the same time.

If your oven has room for just one cake, bake the other one once the first one is baked, so the baking soda can still work.

Place the strawberries into a blender or a small food processor and let it work until they are completely pureed. Add in the rest of the wet ingredients and blend very well. Separately sift together the dry ingredients into a medium bowl, add in the sugar, and mix it through very well. Pour the fruit puree into the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined.

If you notice that the batter is very thick, add a small splash of water, not more than a tablespoon.

For the vanilla almond cake, sift together all the dry ingredients into a medium bowl, and then add in the sugar and ground almonds. Mix well, add in all of the wet ingredients in no particular order, and gently mix until only combined.

Pour both cake batters into the prepared pans and bake immediately, in a nicely preheated oven, at 180°C, for 18-22 minutes. Make sure you check them with a toothpick, so they do not dry out in the oven. Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely in the pans.

Both of my cakes were done after exactly 20 minutes.

While the cakes are cooling, make the custard buttercream. Pour the soy milk into a heavy saucepan, sift in the cornflour, add the sugar, and whisk very well. Place the pan over medium-high heat and let it slowly come to a boil. Once boiling, start stirring constantly, and cook for about 2-3 minutes, until it resembles a soft custard. Remove from the heat, cover the surface with a piece of cling film or a round of baking parchment, and let it cool down to room temperature, about 45 minutes.

While the custard and the cakes are cooling down, make chocolate shavings from a bar of dark chocolate, and place them into the refrigerator to harden and become brittle. This will come in handy later on.

Once the custard is almost at room temperature, transfer it to a large bowl, and whip with an electric mixer on the highest setting until smooth and very creamy. At this point, it might seem that it lost some of the firmness, but that is fine. Add the softened vegan block butter and vanilla directly into the custard, and proceed to whip on the highest setting until very airy, light, and fully combined. Place the bowl into the refrigerator for about 30-40 minutes.

If you taste it at this point, it will resemble soft ice cream.

While the filling is setting, level the cakes if needed, and slice the strawberry cake into three thin layers, and vanilla cake into four thin layers. This is best done using a cake leveler, because the layers are so very thin.

Once everything is cool to the touch, remove the filling from the refrigerator and add in the chocolate shavings you made earlier. Add them directly to the filling and whip on high one last time. That was, some pieces will remain larger, for added texture.

Place the first vanilla layer on the cake platter and add a portion of the filling. If you want to be precise, 70 grams of filling goes on each layer. Top with a strawberry layer, and add another 70 grams of filling. Continue stacking, alternating cake layers, until all of them are used up. Because the cake is firm, you can use the remaining filling to frost the top and sides.

Place the cake into the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight, and serve in thin slices. Keep in mind that the slices will not be perfect because of the chocolate pieces. Yields 20 servings.

MINI VEGAN CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CAKE BARS

This type of filling is honestly one of my absolute favourites. It almost resembles sitni kolači, and by now, you are both acquainted with that type of confectionery and my love for them. Well, this cake combines the best of both worlds; deeply chocolate cake and a fudge-like frosting.

As the years go by, I am finding myself more and more drawn to specifically fudge-like textures when it comes to desserts, and these cake bars are simply perfect for that. A cake base almost resembling brownies and frosting of dreams.

The only thing I can advise is to make sure the base doesn't overbake. That is my only caveat for this recipe. The rest is pretty straightforward, with just a bit of melting and swirling, but the cake does need your attention.

Ingredients

For the vegan chocolate cake

200 grams plain flour
25 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
240 grams granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
350 millilitres boiling water
2 heaped teaspoons instant espresso powder
45 millilitres neutral oil
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

For the double chocolate peanut butter frosting

200 grams vegan white chocolate
150 grams creamy peanut butter
50 grams vegan block butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
100 grams vegan milk chocolate
30 millilitres neutral oil

Preparation

Start by making the vegan chocolate cake. Let the oven preheat to 180°C. Line a medium square cake pan (18x18 cm) with baking parchment, bottom and sides, and set it aside. Take a small bowl, sift in the cocoa powder, add in the espresso powder and boiling water, mix very well, and set aside. Take a large bowl and sift in the plain flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in the sugar and mix very well. Make a well in the centre, pour in all the wet ingredients, and whisk until just combined. Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake in a nicely preheated oven, at 180°C, for about 20-25 minutes, or until done.

Mine was done after exactly 22 minutes.

As every over bakes differently, check with a toothpick to make sure it stays soft. Take it out of the oven and let it cool completely in the pan.

When the cake is cool to the touch, proceed to make the double chocolate peanut butter filling. Place the peanut butter into a heavy saucepan, add in the vegan butter, chopped white chocolate, and vanilla, and place the saucepan over medium-low heat. Take your time melting this, because it can burn, and make sure you stir it constantly.

As that portion is melting, separately mix the chopped vegan milk chocolate with the neutral oil, and melt it in the microwave or in a double boiler. Keep this portion of the chocolate liquid, do not let it set up.

Once peanut butter and white chocolate are melted, remove from heat, let it cool down for a minute or two, and pour it over the completely cooled chocolate cake. Wait another minute or two, just so it starts to set up, and then slowly and gently drizzle the melted vegan milk chocolate on top. Use a butter knife or a skewer to swirl it through, and place everything in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.

Once ready, slice it into portions and serve with strong coffee. Yields 9 very rich servings or 16 more modest ones.

MINI VEGAN STRAWBERRY ALMOND COFFEE CAKE

Coffee cakes or crumb cakes are something I've grown to adore in the last few years. I've always enjoyed their texture, but because nobody around me ever liked them, I somehow always pushed them aside and favoured fudgy and soft cakes. But honestly, we only get one life this time around, so why not start prioritising ourselves a little and indulging in some lovely coffee cakes alongside a cup of coffee or tea?

The texture of this mini coffee cake is pure perfection, as far as I am concerned; just the right balance between that signature dense crumb cake texture, with the soft jam layer, and what I consider to be the perfect topping - a mix of crumble and some flaked almonds. If you want to make any of my cakes, start with this little gem.

Ingredients

For the coffee cake batter

100 grams Greek-style vegan yoghurt
50 millilitres carbonated water
30 millilitres neutral oil
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
100 grams granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
125 grams plain flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

For the soft strawberry apple jam

150 grams strawberries, hulled
75 grams ripe apples, grated
50 grams granulated sugar
10 grams cornflour
15 millilitres water

For the crumb topping

30 grams vegan block butter, melted
50 grams granulated sugar
50 grams plain flour
20 grams flaked almonds

Preparation

Start by making the strawberry jam. Finely chop the strawberries and finely grate the apples. Add them to a small saucepan alongside the sugar, and place it over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, for about 10-15 minutes, until the fruit cooks down into a paste. Separately whisk together the cornflour and water, add it to the jammy fruit, and cook for about 2-3 minutes, until thickened. Remove from the heat and let it cool down.

Next, make the coffee cake batter. Let the oven preheat to 180°C and line a small rectangular cake pan (10x20 cm) with baking parchment. Take a medium bowl and add in the Greek-style vegan yoghurt, carbonated water, oil, almond extract, and vanilla, and whisk until blended.

It is best if the yoghurt is at room temperature, but it will work even if cold.

Add in the sugar and fresh lemon zest, and whisk until the sugar starts to dissolve. Finally, stir in the flour and baking powder, whisk until just blended, and immediately transfer it to the prepared cake pan. Place the pan into the preheated oven, and bake for about 15 minutes or so, or until the top of the cake starts to firm up, so it can hold the jam.

While the cake is baking, make the crumb topping. Mix together the granulated sugar and the flour, add in the melted vegan butter and mix quickly with a fork, until big, beautiful pieces of crumble form.

Once the cake top is firm, add the jam and spread it evenly. Top with the crumb topping and continue to bake for another 25-30 minutes, until baked through. As soon as the cake is baked, take it out of the oven and sprinkle on the flaked almonds abundantly. Let it cool down completely, dust with icing sugar, and serve. Yields 8 individual squares.