This week is my mom’s and my little brother’s birthdays! I was lucky enough to spend the day with my mom yesterday. Before going to see her though, I wanted to make something extra special for her. This recipe is the result, and it was delicious! My mom isn’t too big on sweets, so I halved this recipe to make the layers thin.
Mom’s Berry Cake
Cake:
Ingredients:
Combined: 1/4 c flax meal + 1/2 c water
2 1/4 c unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 c tapioca flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 c raw sugar
1 1/2 c almond milk
4 tbsp coconut oil
3 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 2 8″ round cake pans. Prepare your flax and water combo and set aside.
Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda in a medium bowl, mix well and set aside.
Combine almond milk, coconut oil, extracts, sugar and mix well. Add the flax mixture and mix thoroughly.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, mix until just combined and no clumps.
Pour mixture evenly into your cake pans, and bake for 17-20 minutes. (A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean) Let cool before icing.
Raspberry Puree (for between the layers)
1 pint raspberries, rinsed
2 tbsp raw sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
Directions:
Combine in a saucepan and cook until sugar is melted and raspberries have been broken down, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain to remove seeds. (I used a strainer and set it on top of a bowl while I did everything else, this gets it strained and lets it cool)
Vanilla butter cream frosting:
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tbsp vanilla almond milk
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
Beat shortening and margarine together until well combined. If you would like the frosting a bit stiffer, do a bit more shortening and a bit less margarine. Once combined and fluffy, add the sugar and beat thoroughly for several minutes. Add vanilla and almond milk and mix well for several more minutes until you have a delicious fluffy frosting. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
frosting recipe from: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
Berries:
2 cups strawberries, stemmed&halved (I remove the stem by cutting it in a V at the top, it results in an almost heart shape)
1 1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 tsp orange extract
1/4 cup water
several dashes orange zest
Combine all in a bowl, and let marinate until you are ready to use them.
Apricot Glaze for berries:
1/2 c apricot preserves
1 tbsp water
Heat preserves and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted. Remove from heat. Let cool until just slightly warm, and then brush the berries with it.
Assemble the cake! Frost the bottom layer, doing the sides a little bit higher up. Slowly add raspberry puree to the center of the cake, and spread it out with a spoon or spatula. Don’t feel obligated to use all of it, I saved some of mine for future use. Place the top layer on the bottom and frost the top and sides. Apply berries as you like! I alternated strawberry/blueberry around the bottom and then did blueberries all around the top edge, and then wrote out “MOM” in strawberries and blueberries on the top and trimmed one of the strawberry halves to look more heart shaped. I recommend placing berries in whatever way you prefer around the bottom. After that, you could a layer of berries covering the top, you could do a lovely cluster in the center, you could make a shape or write something, have fun with it!
cherryvegan 