Yoga Kitchen – Simple, healthy, and plant-based
This could become the plant-based rival to Black Forest cake
Choosing a plant-based diet also offers opportunities to break free from the unhealthy traditions of our conventional, animal-product-based eating habits.
In our family, the Black Forest cake that my mother traditionally made for the Christmas dessert buffet was always a huge hit. I’m working on a plant-based alternative that can rival the classic Black Forest cake in terms of taste and texture. And with the recipe below, I’ve already got a good recipe to get the cake base just right.
So here’s a rich, two-tiered chocolate cake, filled with and covered in a smooth layer of chocolate glaze – you can easily make this entirely with plant-based ingredients too. And in this case, a rather unexpected and surprising green ingredient makes an appearance.
What ingredients do you need?
Wet ingredients for the cake base
- 10 to 12 juicy dates (e.g. Medjool or Mazafati)
- 150 g pak choi, stalks and leaves, approx. 5 stalks (yes, you won’t believe it)
- 150 ml soya milk (or another plant-based milk)
- approx. 50 ml strong herbal or spiced tea (I used a yoga tea)
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 50 ml plant-based, neutral-tasting oil
- 5 tablespoons almond butter
Dry ingredients for the cake base
- 250 g wholemeal flour
- 50 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- a pinch of salt or herb salt
Ingredients for the chocolate glaze
- 150 g dark fair trade chocolate
- The flesh of a ripe avocado
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt or herb salt
- 150 ml soya milk (or another plant-based milk)
To decorate
- approx. 30 g chopped walnuts or pecans
You will also need one or two round cake tins, approx. 20–23 cm in diameter.
Method
The cake layers
- Cut the washed pak choi into pieces and place it in the bowl of a blender together with the dates and the other wet ingredients.
- Blend until smooth.
- Place all the dry ingredients in a sufficiently large bowl and mix them well.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix them into a smooth, creamy batter.
- Line the baking tin with baking paper and spread the first half of the batter over it.
- Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 180°C (preheating is not necessary for a fan oven).
- Remove the first half from the oven and the tin, and leave to cool on a wire rack.
- Repeat steps 5 to 7 for the second half of the dough.
The chocolate glaze
- Pour the plant-based milk for the glaze into a small saucepan, break the chocolate into pieces and melt over a low heat, stirring continuously.
- Remove the pan from the heat and pour the contents into a measuring jug.
- Add the chopped avocado and the salt.
- Blend everything with a hand blender until you have a smooth, spreadable mixture.
Assembling and finishing the cake
- Spread a generous layer of chocolate glaze over each of the two cake bases.
- Place the two halves on top of each other and coat the sides of the cake completely with the remaining chocolate glaze.
- Finally, decorate the top with chopped nuts.
And there you have it!
Wholefood plant-based
Despite the healthy ingredients, this isn’t a cake you’d want to tuck into every day, given the generous amount of chocolate. It’s a cake for special occasions, for those few times a year when you really want to conjure up something special.
Credit where credit is due:
The original idea for this cake comes from the book “Gebak met groenten” (Pastries with Vegetables) by the Flemish entrepreneur and caterer Eveline Versluys, alias Vegamuze.
I have adapted it considerably, however, in line with the principles of a wholesome plant-based diet.
And with good reason.
Traditional patisserie makes extensive use of eggs and dairy products such as butter.
It is to Eveline’s credit that she offers an original and successful plant-based alternative in which vegetables play a key role.
Wholefoods rather than refined ingredients
Furthermore, many of the other ingredients are often ultra-refined: the flour and sugar, for example. Vegetable oil, too, has been stripped of the fibre and other wholesome components of the seeds or nuts.
That is why I replaced the refined flour with finely ground wholemeal flour, the sugar with dates, and the neutral oil partly with an unrefined fat (almond paste). After all, the dates provide extra fibre (and also some moisture), and the almond paste, which is admittedly more expensive than refined oils, provides extra protein and fibre. Wholemeal flour still contains all the vitamins and minerals from the grain, unlike white, refined flour.
The result of these substitutions has undoubtedly been very good.
Substitutions
| Original | Substitution |
|---|---|
| 250 g white flour | 250 g wholewheat flour |
| 120 g sugar | 10 to 12 dates |
| 120 ml vegetable oil | 50 ml oil + 5 tbsp almond paste |
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