A rain-heavy week like that makes one think about the warm sunflooded days of late Summer, doesn’t it? Particularly about those Summer days, that are marked by great conversations, hearty laughter, refreshing drinks, good food and a scenery that creates pure Summer feeling.

Just imagine standing on soft green grass, looking out onto the glittering surface of a blue, crystal clear lake. A little swan family swimming by in rank and file. Pretty white chairs, benches and tables positioned in comfortable groups all around in the green, surrounded by some old shady trees in their Summer prime. Merry music mingling with the sound of soft waves splashing against the grassy shores.
That’s where I found myself on one of this year’s last August days – in the middle of a Summer wedding party. No, not my own. I have to admit though, I wouldn’t have minded to celebrate my wedding in a dreamy place like that ;–) However, the fortunate bride was Juli, a former school mate of mine. In her elegant nostalgic lace dress, with raspberry-colored flowers in her long curls, she was the highlight on the scene. While her groom Flo, in his handsome blue suit (good thinking – no need to come up with another “something blue”;–) ), completed the “picture”, that was framed by a cheerful crowd of relatives and friends. Glowing with love and happiness they surely looked as if they had one of this perfect kind of days, that you want to lock away in your heart and quickly loose the key. Luckily, loads of fotos were taken ;–) And certainly many memories made to be retold again and again by all guests :–)

I wasn’t exactly a guest there, no, even better ;–) I was the one providing the wedding cake :–D When Juli contacted me some weeks ago, asking whether I could imagine making her wedding cake, I was thrilled! What a chance for this cake-bake-fanatic-side of me to have a crazy creative outburst in the kitchen ;–)

Another interesting aspect: Juli has a gluten free and almost vegan diet. Obviously the cake had to fit her needs, but the other 99 people shouldn’t necessarily taste a difference. This kind of challenge just got me all the more excited ;–) And also the fact that she wasn’t after this average sugar-loaded kind of cake, but wanted something that’s pretty much along my alley when it comes to sweetness. It even turned out to be a wholesome cake! And no one of the party crowd even realized that, or any other of this cake’s special “characteristics”. On the contrary, I was told that there were only very positive comments making their way across the dinner tables :–) So, don’t think to leave it out, just because you are normally not going for gluten free or vegan desserts!

But back to the start: after three tries to get the sponge right, Juli & Flo came to have a little version of my creation for taste test. …and totally approved! Which made my cake-bake-fanatic-side definitely swell up like a proud balloon within me :–D Green light for the whole three-layer-glutenfree-vegan-wedding-cake!

I should probably also mention, that yes: this cake is wholesome and I would therefor call it healthy, as it contains all the nutrients that naturally come along with the ingredients. BUT: no, it is not light food. It is definitely a bit of a calorie bomb, but after all it IS a wedding cake, not a low-fat breakfast cookie ;–)

The main component of the sponge is whole buckwheat flour. It’s nutty flavour is supported by hazelnut flour. Sweetness is added by apple sauce and caramely coconut sugar. Besides apple sauce coconut oil provides moisture and a blend of vanilla, cinnamon and rum brings it all together. The frosting is a dreamy, creamy mix of cashews, coconut cream, dates and chocolate. Raspberry-chia-jam adds a refreshing, fruity note and a nice touch of color in between the layers of sponge and frosting. And some fresh raspberries with a bit of blooming green from the herb garden turn it all into a treat for the eyes too ;–) Yummy!

 

A big thanks to Juli & Flo for taking the risk with me. After all, I am only a hobby baker ;–)

And here we go for the recipe – divided into three parts: one for each cake layer.

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Ingredients:

15 cm diameter cake

sponge:

• 65 g coconut sugar
• 35 g hazelnut flour (VERY finely ground nuts. You can also use hazelnut meal, which is not as fine, if you do not mind to feel tiny bits of nut in the end result – I like that very much too ;–) )
• 150 g whole buckwheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (or more to taste)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon (or more to taste)
• 2 tbsp ground flax + 5 tbsp water
• 1/2 tbsp apple vinegar
• 43 g coconut oil
• 145 g apple sauce (unsweetened!)
• 1/4 tbsp rum
• a fitting cake board (approx. 13 cm diameter) if you are planning to stack it

frosting:

• 130 g cashews soaked
• 20 g dates
• 130 g coconut cream (= the firm part of an overnight refrigerated can of full fat coconut milk, use watery part for curries, porridge etc.)
• 70 g dark chocolate (60% cacao)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• a dash salt
• gelling aid on agar agar base (Amount differs a lot from brand to brand… therefore go with what the packaging advices. Actually this ingredient is not really necessary if your cake has time to firm up in the fridge and won’t be exposed to warm temperatures for a longer period of time)

raspberry – chia – jam:

• 100 g frozen or fresh raspberries
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 1/3 tbsp maple syrup

25 cm diameter cake

sponge:

• 225 g coconut sugar
• 120 g hazelnut flour (VERY finely ground nuts. You can also use hazelnut meal, which is not as fine, if you do not mind to feel tiny bits of nut in the end result – I like that a lot too ;–) )
• 515 g whole buckwheat flour
• 1 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 almost full tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla (or more to taste)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more to taste)
• 7 tbsp ground flax + 17 tbsp water
• 1 3/4 tbsp apple vinegar
• 148 g coconut oil
• 500 g apple sauce (unsweetened!)
• 1 almost full tbsp rum
• a fitting cake board (approx. 23 cm diameter) and cake dowels if you are planning to stack it

frosting:

• 225 g cashews soaked
• 35 g dates
• 225 g coconut cream (= the firm part of an overnight refrigerated can of full fat coconut milk, use watery part for curries, porridge etc.)
• 110 g dark chocolate (60% cacao)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• a dash salt
• gelling aid on agar agar base (Amount differs a lot from brand to brand… therefore go with what the packaging advices. Actually this ingredient is not really necessary if your cake has time to firm up in the fridge and won’t be exposed to warm temperatures for a longer period of time)

raspberry – chia – jam:

• 170 g frozen or fresh raspberries
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tbsp maple syrup

30 cm diameter cake

sponge:

• 300 g coconut sugar
• 160 g hazelnut flour (VERY finely ground nuts. You can also use hazelnut meal, which is not as fine, if you do not mind to feel tiny bits of nut in the end result – I like that a lot too ;–) )
• 690 g whole buckwheat flour
• 2 1/3 tsp baking soda
• 4 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 generous tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla (or more to taste)
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon (or more to taste)
• 9 tbsp ground flax + 23 tbsp water
• 2 1/3 tbsp apple vinegar
• 197 g coconut oil
• 670 g apple sauce (unsweetened!)
• 1 generous tbsp rum
• cake dowels if you are planning to stack it

frosting:

• 625 g cashews soaked
• 95 g dates
• 625 g coconut cream (= the firm part of an overnight refrigerated can of full fat coconut milk, use watery part for curries, porridge etc.)
• 315 g dark chocolate (60% cacao)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• a dash salt
• gelling aid on agar agar base (Amount differs a lot from brand to brand… therefore go with what the packaging advices. Actually this ingredient is not really necessary if your cake has time to firm up in the fridge and won’t be exposed to warm temperatures for a longer period of time)

raspberry – chia – jam:

• 200 g frozen or fresh raspberries
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 1/2 tbsp maple syrup

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Directions – same for all three cake sizes:

sponge:

1. Add water to ground flax seeds, stir and let sit until later use.
2. Cut out a circular piece of baking paper to fit your cake tin and line it. Or grease and flour the bottom (not the sides!) of your cake tin. Preheat your oven to 160°C hot air.
3. Add all dry ingredients to a bowl and stir until well mixed. Repeat the same in a second bowl with all wet ingredients.
4. Finally add the wet to dry ingredients and stir until no dry spots are left, but no longer.
5. Transfer to your cake tin and off it goes to the oven. Bake until an inserted toothpick/needle comes out clean. Depending on the chosen size and your oven time will vary somewhat. Here a guideline: 15 cm 37 minutes, 25 cm 40 minutes, 30 cm 45 minutes. But keep an eye on it anyway – every oven has it’s own “mind” after all ;–)

frosting:

1. Soak cashews (plus dates if not soft) overnight in cold water or for at least one hour in hot water.
2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler.
3. In the meantime drain cashews (and dates) and transfer to your kitchen processor. Scoop the firm part of the coconut milk out of the can(s) and weigh it to get the right measurement. If you are not using a gelling aid, just add it to your kitchen processor along with all other ingredients and blend until a smooth cream has formed. It might have a bit of a runny appearance yet, but will firm up once cooled. If you are using a gelling aid based on agar agar it is necessary to first add about a cup of coconut cream to a pot and heat it up with the agar agar. Reason is that the heat triggers the gelling process. Once that is managed, just blend it all up as explained above.

raspberry-chia-jam:

1. Add all ingredients to a pot and heat up until the raspberries have become liquid and a boil is reached, then turn down to keep it on a low boil until most of the water has cooked off and the jam has thickened somewhat. Keep stirring – it tends to stick to the bottom. Once cooled it will firm up more.

setting up the cake:

1. Make sure all components are well cooled before you start the final steps.
2. Cut the sponge(s) into 3 layers (check out youtube for numerous tutorials) and spread jam on the bottom sponge-layer, using a spoon or spatula.
3. Keep about a fourth of the frosting for final decorating and divide the rest into two parts. You might need to stir the frosting before continuing as it tends to get quiet firm in the fridge. With a pipe or using a spatula transfer one of those two parts onto the bottom cake layer and spread it out evenly.
4. Add the second cake layer on top and continue as with the bottom cake layer.
5. Add the third cake layer and decorate the cake with the remaining frosting to your liking. I kept it “naked” and therefor only covered the top with frosting.
6. If you are stacking several cakes I would advise to see some tutorials on youtube. It’s not a big affair if you have the right utensils to support the single cake layers. That means getting yourself cake boards and cake dowels. I used cardboard wrapped in plastic wrap and cake-pop-sticks for dowels. But there is loads of possibilities and after a few youtube how-tos you will know what will work best for you ;–)
7. Now some final touches with fruits, flowers, herbs,… of your choice.
8. Refrigerate for approx. one hour before digging in :–)