Bake up the holiday spirit with Chocolate Gingerbread Mini Cakes, where vegan, gluten-free ingredients meet in a symphony of festive flavors that's perfect for holiday celebrations.
Chocolate Gingerbread Mini Cakes Recipe
Start your holiday baking with a delightful batch of Chocolate Gingerbread Mini Cakes. These treats are a perfect meld of rich chocolate and warm gingerbread spices, enveloped in a velvety chocolate ganache. Crafted to be vegan and gluten-free, these moist mini cakes ensure everyone can indulge in the joy of the season. This recipe turns traditional flavors into an extraordinary dessert experience that will impress all chocolate and gingerbread aficionados.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup brown rice flour (95 grams)
- ½ cup buckwheat flour (70 grams)
- ½ cup sunflower seeds (70 grams), ground into flour consistency
- ¼ cup tapioca flour (30 grams)
- ¼ cup cacao or cocoa powder (30 grams)
- ¾ cup rapadura sugar (100 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- pinch sea salt
- 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed + 9 tablespoons water
- ⅓ cup apple sauce (80 ml)
- ⅓ cup olive oil (80 ml)
- ¼ cup molasses (60 ml)
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup hot water (60ml) + more as needed
CHOCOLATE GANACHE: MAKE THE NIGHT BEFORE
- 8-ounces dark vegan chocolate (220 grams)
1 cup oat cream (240 ml)
1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
DECORATION
- Fresh cranberries
- Rosemarie sprigs
- Blended desiccated coconut for snow
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C).
- Grease and line a 10x14 inches (25 x 35cm) Swiss roll tin with baking paper.
- Mix 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed with 9 tablespoons water and set aside to thicken.
- In a large bowl whisk together brown rice flour, buckwheat flour, ground sunflower seeds, tapioca flour, cacao powder, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.
- In a small bowl whisk together flax eggs, apple sauce, olive oil, molasses, apple cider vinegar and water.
- Add the wet mix to the dry mix and mix until well combined. Add extra water 1 tablespoon at the time to achieve pourable muffin consistency. I've used 2 tablespoons more in my mix.
- Pour the mixture onto the lined tin and smooth out the surface.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until a cocktail stick comes out clean. Try not to overbake it.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool down.
- Once cooled using 2" round cookie cutter cut out 25 shapes.
- Spoon ganache into a piping bag fitted with large star nozzle, pipe on top of the cakes and layer them on top of each other. You can create two- or three-layer cakes or a mix of both.
Chocolate ganache:
- Roughly chop the chocolate for the chocolate ganache and place into a medium bowl.
- Place the oat cream and maple syrup into a small pot and gently heat until boiling point.
- Pour over the chopped chocolate and stir until completely melted and smooth. Leave to cool down before placing into a fridge to set overnight into a pipeable consistency.
- It should be perfect consistency for piping but if it's too hard leave it at room temperature for a little while to soften.
- Decorate with cranberries and rosemary sprigs.
- Blend some desiccated coconut and sprinkle on top and around the mini cakes to resemble snow.
Serving Suggestions
- Pair with Warm Beverages
- Accompany with Fruit
- Dessert Platter
- Ice Cream or Sorbet:
Tips and Tricks
- The use of a 25 x 35cm Swiss roll baking tray and a 2" (5cm) round cookie cutter is specified, which is ideal for achieving the perfect size and shape for these mini cakes.
- Oat cream is used to avoid coconut cream, catering to those who may not prefer its taste. If coconut cream is not an issue, it can be used and might even require a little more quantity as it sets more solid.
- It's advised to let the chocolate ganache set overnight, which suggests planning your cake preparation with enough lead time to allow for setting without rush.
Leave a Reply