Vegan Pumpkin and Chocolate Layer Birthday Cake

A pumpkin chocolate cake for my 25th birthday, with two layers and a beautiful chocolate glaze. Vegan, pretty healthy, and super pretty - made with spelt flour, coconut sugar, and olive oil.

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

Milk Chocolate Glaze

▢ 400 ml full-fat coconut milk or one full can
▢ 200 grams (7 oz) dark chocolate
▢ 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla powder
▢ 1 pinch salt

Instructions

Pumpkin Cinnamon Cake

Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 26 cm (10 inch) springform pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Whisk to break up any clumps.
2 ½ cups light spelt flour, ½ cup coconut sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ½ teaspoon vanilla powder, 1 pinch salt
In a smaller bowl, whisk the milk, pumpkin puree, and olive oil until thoroughly mixed and there is no separation between the liquids.
1 cup non-dairy milk, ¾ cup pumpkin puree*, ½ cup olive oil**
Add the liquid mixture to the larger bowl and gently whisk until just combined. Don't over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until light gold and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Cool for ten minutes before removing the sides of the the pan, and then cool completely on a rack.

Chocolate Cake

Preheat your oven to 180*C (350°F) and grease a 26 cm (10 inch) springform pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, vanilla, and salt.
2 cups light spelt flour, ¾ cup coconut sugar, ½ cup natural cocoa powder***, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon vanilla powder, 1 pinch salt
In a medium bowl, combine the milk and olive oil, whisking until fully incorporated. Add this to the flour mixture and gently whisk until just mixed.
1 ½ cups non-dairy milk, ½ cup olive oil
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the pan and a toothpick doesn't have crumbs sticking to it when inserted into the cake. Cool for ten minutes before removing the sides of the the pan, and then cool completely on a rack.

Coconut Milk Chocolate Glaze

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan on medium, heat the coconut milk until it comes to a simmer.
200 grams (7 oz) dark chocolate, 400 ml full-fat coconut milk
Pour the hot coconut milk over the chocolate and let it sit before five minutes. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and salt, and whisk until a smooth chocolate sauce forms.
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey, ½ teaspoon vanilla powder, 1 pinch salt
Place the bowl in the freezer for thirty minutes to an hour, or until just warm, and then whisk again. You don't want it to set up completely because then it won't be pourable. If it does set (for example if you leave it in the fridge overnight), you can either use it as a chocolate icing or gently reheat it over a water bath.
To assemble the cake, cut the dome off the top of the chocolate layer, then eat it. Put the chocolate cake onto a pan base or plate (see the tip below) and pour a little less than half the glaze over it, from the centre. It will move outwards on its own. Place the pumpkin cake onto the chocolate layer and pour glaze over to cover the top and drip down the sides. You may have some glaze left over, but I'm sure you can find another use for it. Place physalis onto the top of the cake, opening the paper layer to make little wings.

Notes

• In hindsight I suggest have the cake on the base of a springform, on a cooling rack, with a bowl or plate underneath to catch the extra chocolate that drips off the cake when you pour it. You can see the huge chocolate mess I ended up with here from pouring it on after setting everything up.
• Make sure you use bar chocolate for the glaze, because chocolate chips have additives to keep them from melting too much. Most dark chocolates won't have milk in them, but just look at the ingredients if you're making this for someone who can't have milk products.
* You can use canned pumpkin puree, but it's really easy to roast a pumpkin - just cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and bake at 200C cut side down until you can pierce the skin with a fork. I used a hokkaido which is a little dryer than a sugar pie pumpkin.
** You can use a different light tasting oil, like grape seed, in place of the olive oil. Don't use coconut oil as the cakes will become too dense as they cool.
*** Don't bother with raw cacao since you're baking it anyway - natural cocoa powder is much less expensive and tastes great in cake.

Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.