Hell Yeah It's Vegan!

There are so many things you can do with cake.

A while ago, I saw a post about a 14-layer cake on Bakerella. Shortly after, I came across a dozen 6.5″ aluminum foil-bottomed take-out containers, and my fate was sealed. I had to make a layer cake.

Okay, so mine isn’t as pretty as Bakerella’s, but it was my first try, okay? Instead of making a Smith Island cake, I opted for a 10-layer chocolate cake with peppermint buttercream frosting, dipped in chocolate ganache. And I’ll be damned if it wasn’t delicious.

It’s been a couple of months since I made this cake, but here’s the recipe to the best of my recollection. Feel free to experiment! You can use any kind of cake and frosting combination you like. This time around, I chose chocolate cake with mint buttercream frosting, covered in dark chocolate ganache. Also, note that I use peppermint extract in the mint frosting; I love peppermint and really dislike spearmint in dessert, but if that’s too strong for you, you can always substitute “mint extract”, which is a combination of mints. Note that if not consumed immediately, the mint sinks into the cake and gets stronger each day. I personally like the effect — what better than a cold slice of cooling minty chocolate cake in the summer? — , but be aware in case you’re more sensitive to mints.

I stuck with 10 layers because at 6.5″ wide, more layers would’ve made the cake disproportionately tall and wobbly (and thusly difficult to slice). If your take-out containers are wider and you want to shoot for more layers, have at it!

10-Layer Chocolate Mint Cake

Chocolate Cake

3 c all-purpose flour
2¼ c sugar
3/4 c  cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
2 c cold water
½ c vegetable oil
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp vanilla

Mint Buttercream

3/4 c shortening
3/4 c soy butter
5¼ c confectioner’s sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
1½ tsp peppermint extract (more to taste)
3 tbsp soy milk or water (more if you’re having trouble with spreading)
green food coloring (optional)

Dark Chocolate Ganache

1 c semi-sweet chocolate (chips work fine), finely chopped
2/3 c soy milk

10 aluminum-bottomed take-out containers

Grease and flour your pans. Shortening works best!

If you’re using chocolate cake and care about these sorts of details, you can dust the pans with cocoa powder instead of flour to ensure a uniform appearance.

Sift together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Add wet to dry and stir ’til just mixed; some lumps are okay, and the batter will turn lighter in color.

Pour quickly into prepared pans.

Bake the layers at 350° for 8-10 minutes each, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Be careful not to burn them! Repeat as necessary until all layers are finished. I was able to fit 4 layers at a time in my tiny oven; your mileage may vary. As each round of layers comes out of the oven, stick them in the freezer (or refrigerator if you don’t have the space) to cool them  — frozen cake is infinitely easier to work with, and produces fewer crumbs. Carefully release each layer from its respective pan as needed; it should pop out fairly easily thanks to the flouring you did earlier.

Center your first layer over a cake board on a wire rack. Cake boards are particularly useful for tall cakes like this one, but are useful for any cake that requires transporting; this way, you can slide the entire, finished cake onto a plate without being concerned about damaging it. If you don’t already have one specifically for this purpose, you can fashion one out of a thin (and clean!) piece of cardboard. Trace a circle the same size as the layers you’re making, and cut it out. You can also add a fitted piece of waxed paper on top (or wrap with aluminum foil) before placing the first layer onto it.

Frost your first cake layer with a thin, even layer of mint frosting, being careful to reach all the way to the outside edge of the cake.

Add a new layer and repeat until all layers have been frosted.

As you’re working, be sure your layers are centered. If they’re not, you’ll end up with a leaning tower of cake. Which makes not a lick of difference to the tongue; the eyes, however, may be less forgiving.

With an off-set spatula or butter knife, thinly frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Don’t pay any attention to how it looks; all you’re aiming to do here is seal in all the crumbs, so none of them end up mixed in with your ganache, resulting in a smooth, finished product. You also want to fill in any gaps between cake layers so the sides are pretty smooth up and down.

Once finished, toss the cake back in the refrigerator so the frosting can harden up. At your leisure, whip together the ganache. Retrieve your cake from the refrigerator, placing the wire rack over a cookie sheet or large plate. In a saucepan, simmer soy milk. Remove from heat, add chocolate, and stir until smooth. Working quickly, pour the ganache onto the top of the cake. Using a clean spatula or knife, coax it over the edges of the cake so it drips down the sides.

Do this as evenly as possible until the entire cake has been coated in a thin layer of ganache. If you must spread it to ensure it leaves no empty patches, do it immediately; once the ganache begins to set, any spreading with frosting tools will become visible.

Now let out a sigh of relief (whew!) and put your cake back into the refrigerator (or, if it’s cool enough in your kitchen, just let it harden on its own). You’re basically done! All that’s left to do is lift your cake board off the wire rack and slide it onto a clean cake plate for presentation. (Aren’t you glad you used that cake board?)

Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh mint.

You can (and should!) reuse your cake pans! I soaked mine before washing (carefully, so as not to bend them out of shape), and they’re good as new. Trust me, once you get a bite of this moist, rich dessert into your mouth, you’re going to want to do this again and again.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 at 6:10 am and is filed under Desserts, Recipes, Vegan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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