Years and years ago, when I was taking my first pastry steps, no-bake cakes were my first choice. Effortless to make with readily-available ingredients, universally loved because of the sheer amount of chocolate, and very easily tailored. I love them even today, even though I don't make them as much as I once did.
This little beauty is made with chocolate, sweet and sticky maple and date syrup, and plenty of dried figs and almonds. Such a lovely treat that is perfect for any gathering or simply a cup of afternoon coffee.
My tips for success.
When choosing the biscuits, go for thinner ones, as they will get softer due to the warmth of the syrup. If you do like firmer pieces of biscuits throughout the cake, then choose the ones you love the most.
You can soak the dried fruit in some brandy or rum before adding it to the batter and you can also roughly chop it or blend it up coarsely, that is up to your preference. The texture will be smoother with blended dried fruit, definitely.
If serving the cake to the little ones, or you want to avoid using rum, use rum flavouring and increase the amount of milk by 50 millilitres and it will be perfect.
Ingredients
For the cake
350 millilitres almond or soy milk
50 millilitres dark rum
50 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
50 millilitres maple syrup
50 millilitres date syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
150 grams vegan block butter, cubed
80 grams extra dark chocolate (80%), chopped
400 grams vegan vanilla biscuits, roughly chopped
50 grams toasted almonds, chopped
75 grams dried figs
50 grams raisins
For the chocolate topping
50 grams dark chocolate (75%), chopped
20 grams vegan block butter, cubed
15 millilitres almond or soy milk
Preparation
Take a serving platter, place a 15-cm cake ring in the middle, line it with a strip of acetate, and close it tightly. Set the platter aside briefly. Take a heavy saucepan, add in the milk, rum, cocoa powder, maple and date syrups, and vanilla, and place it over medium high heat.
Let it slowly come to a boil, and cook, stirring often, for about 5-6 minutes, until the syrup thickens slightly. Remove it from the heat and add in the cubed butter and chocolate. Mix until everything is melted and combined.
Allow the syrup to cool down for a bit, until it's no longer piping hot. Meanwhile, combine the biscuits, dried fruit, and almonds in a large bowl. Pour in the syrup and mix thoroughly, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides regularly, so everything is combined.
Add the chocolate batter in layers to the prepared cake ring, pressing lightly as you go, so there are no air pockets once it cools down. Level the top and place it in the refrigerator for a moment.
For the chocolate topping, melt everything together over low heat, let it cool down briefly, and pour it evenly over the cake. Gently shake the platter so everything settles, and place it in refrigerator for at least 6 hours, preferably 8. Yields 16 servings.
