Almond Joy Cake!

Alright! I baked a cake! I love baking those things! I wanted a cake for my graduation party, and since it was MY party and MY cake I make it the way I wanted. With coconut. Ha ha!

This cake had two layers of moist vanilla-almond cake, a dark chocolate-coconut-almond filling, and a fluffy dark chocolate frosting. It was then garnished with sliced almonds.

 CAKE. VEGAN LAYER CAKE. I win.

So actually, I suppose it's a Mounds cake... with almonds... but eh. I think Almond Joy has more name recognition. Lol. For the chocolate, I used Enjoy Life brand (which is gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free. Also, it's affordable). I think that it is a milder chocolate, so it's good for people who don't have as much love for the dark stuff. It also comes in the bag as mini chips so it's fairly easy to measure out and melt.

Almond Joy Cake:
For the cake:
3 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. turbinado sugar
1/4 c. canola oil
1/4 c. coconut oil (warmed to liquid, then measured)
2 Tb. no-sugar-added applesauce
1 1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk
1/2 Tb. rice vinegar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. pure almond extract

For the frosting/filling:
2 c. vegan chocolate chips (12 oz., which is one full bag plus part of another)
1/2 c. plain coconut creamer (or soy creamer)
2 sticks Earth Balance, softened
2 c. powdered sugar (make sure there are no lumps, sift if you have to)

1 c. sweetened, flaked coconut
1/3 c. sliced almonds, plus additional almonds to decorate the top of the cake

FOR THE CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350F, and prepare two 8" rounds by covering the bottom and sides with parchment paper, using a spritz of nonstick to help them adhere to the pan. Spray the bottom of each round with some more nonstick.

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, canola oil, coconut oil, applesauce, almond milk, vinegar, vanilla and almond extracts until completely combined.
3. Beat in half the flour on low speed.
4. Stir in last half the flour until combined.
5. Pour half the batter into each of the cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top springs back when touched and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans about 5 minutes, then let them finish cooling on a wire rack.

FOR THE FROSTING:
1. Combine the chocolate and the coconut creamer in a bowl and heat in the microwave until the chocolate is melted. Stir it every 30 seconds or so until it is completely smooth. Remove it from the microwave and allow it to cool about 15 minutes.
2. Beat together the softened Earth Balance and powdered sugar until it's nice and fluffy, then add the melted chocolate.
3. Beat in the melted chocolate and whip the frosting together about five minutes, so that it is well combined. Set aside.

*It's IMPORTANT that the chocolate has cooled (until it's lukewarm to touch), otherwise it will melt the butter!!*

FOR THE COCONUT-ALMOND FILLING:
1. Remove about 1/3 the prepared frosting and place it into a small bowl.
2. Add in the flaked coconut and sliced almonds and mix completely. Set aside.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:
1. Remove the parchment paper and place it onto the platter/cake tray that you plan on serving it on.
2. Place one layer right side up, and cover the top of it with the coconut-almond filling.
3. Place the second layer UPSIDE DOWN so that the flat part is on top. This will give you a nice, smooth surface to decorate. You may need to cut off part of the top of the second layer so that the cake will be level (if you want).
4. Use the rest of the frosting to completely cover the sides and the top of the cake. It helps if you have a flat spatula to smooth it out with. I would frost the cake as soon as the cake is cool enough to handle frosting. Otherwise, it might harden. 

Makes a good breakfast...

Garnish with sliced almonds and flaked coconut! Also, I think that you should leave this cake at room temperature. It tends to harden up if left in the fridge. I also liked to eat my slices nuked in the microwave for about 10 seconds so that the chocolate got slightly melty.

This cake got a thumbs up from all who tried it... even those who didn't care too much for coconut!

Also, it is official. Now that I have eaten cake, I am a university graduate! I'll have an interesting announcement regarding that in February or so, and it may just change the direction my blog is headed... literally... like, the Midwest Vegan will probably be moving to Georgia this summer!

ANYWHO, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! My boyfriend got me a wok, a bamboo steamer, and the Happy Herbivore cookbook (he knows me so well!). Which is good, because I've really wanted to make steamed dumpling for forever. Also, I make a lot of stir-fry and the regular ol' skillet just ain't cutting it. And last but not least, I make some awesome vegan cinnamon rolls for Christmas for my family (who loved them!) and I shall post the recipe before New Year. After all, something-something New Year's resolutions something something, am I right?

(So yes, lots of healthy stuff coming from me in a couple of days!).