So from start to finish, the request full fat Alfred tortellini was a hit, heavy cream, butter and all. I had to toss in some Broccoli just to pretend there was some balance.
But I must say, I played a fast one with my Vegan chocolate cake and butter cream frosting! Absolutely so rich and yummy, moist and high there was no outward trace of anything missing. I have to admit to using a traditional Bavarian cream filling though, a long hard search came up with no options in that department.
If you need a cake for any reason I urge you to use this one!
Based on Chef Chole's (the winner of Cupcake wars) Spooky Halloween
cake recipe
http://www.chefchloe.com/
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used dark)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
1 cup vegetable oil (I used corn)
¼ cup vinegar of any kind (I used apple cider)
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease 2- 8 or 9 inch round cake pans. You can put a circle of parchment paper on the bottom of the greased pan to remove the finished cake easily.
2. Sift or whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the water, oil, vinegar, vanilla, and optional espresso powder until smooth and espresso is dissolved.
3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix with a whisk until combined.
4. Divide the batter evenly among the 2 prepared cake pans. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
5. Once the cakes are completely cooled, frost the tops of each layer with the orange frosting and then stack the cakes.
Vegan Chocolate Buttercream
( I halved this, due to the Bavarian cream filling)
2 C. Earth Balance Butter, room temperature (I used 2 sticks)
12 oz. Vegan Semi Sweet Chocolate, melted and cooled (3/4 of a bag)
3 T. Plain Soy Milk (I used almond)
2 t. Vanilla
5 C. Powdered Sugar (I used 2 cups)
Beat the butter in a stand mixer until fluffy for about 2 or 3 minutes. Slowly add melted chocolate with mixer on low. After chocolate and butter are well combined, add vanilla, milk and sugar. Beat at medium low until just combined. This makes enough to frost 2 8-9 inch cakes.
I followed this but added the chocolate at the end because I wanted to color some of it.
Bavarian Cream Filling
From Joepastry.com
1.5 ounces (3 tablespoons) cold water
2 1/4 teaspoons gelatin
4 large egg yolks
3 ounces (1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) sugar
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
Seeds from one vanilla bean
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, cold
Put the cold water in a small bowl, sprinkle on the gelatin and let it stand. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar.
Get a large bowl of ice water ready.
Put the half-and-half in a small saucepan, add the vanilla seeds and whisk to combine. Bring the mixture to the boil, then slowly pour it into the egg mixture, whisking the whole time. Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and bring it just to the boil. When the custard starts to bubble, pour it through a fine mesh strainer into another bowl. Whisk in the gelatin and place the bowl in the ice water bath.
While the custard is cooling, whip the cream. Add the cold cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whip and whip to the soft peak stage. When the the custard has just started to thicken but is still liquid, fold in the whipped cream. Scrape the mixture into the appropriate mold and chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours. It can be kept several days or frozen for up to three months.
I made the cake and filling the day before and the frosting when I got home from work. I could have done the whole cake the night before but I didn't have space in the fridge to seal it properly without damaging the frosting.
Enjoy this cake just because you are you! Its kind of proof you can have your cake and eat it too without going crazy. For me, making little tweeks here and there and taking out some of the ick makes me feel better about feeding my family and taking care of our bodies.
