Tag Archives: snack cake

Gluten-Free Summer Peach and Blueberry Snack Cake

summer peach and blueberry snack cake
summer peach and blueberry snack cake

It’s that time of year when peaches are peaking. Where I live, fresh juicy peaches are in abundance and demand to be eaten in everything. They complement muffins and pretty layered cakes, but I like them best when added to an easy snack cake. No muss, no fuss.

The cake recipe that crossed my path was already vegan, and gluten-free as well. The first way I changed it was to add peaches instead of apricots, but you could even use plums or cherries here. The next swap was to use aquafaba instead of packaged egg replacer because aquafaba helps maintain the structure that can be lacking in gluten-free baked goods.

For high altitude baking, I reduced the baking powder and baking soda. I also swapped the water for milk, for more flavor, then curdled it with apple cider vinegar for a greater leavening effect that boosts gluten-free flours at altitude.

Gluten-Free Summer Peach and Blueberry Snack Cake adapted from Gluten-Free Blueberry Apricot Cake

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1.5 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
scant 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegan butter
3/4 cup organic sugar
2 tablespoons aquafaba, cold (the liquid from canned chickpeas)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 small peach, pitted and sliced

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Stir apple cider vinegar into the non-dairy milk and it set aside to curdle. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the vegan butter on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for 2 more minutes. Whisk the aquafaba and add it to the mixer bowl along with the vanilla. Beat until incorporated.

Reduce the mixer’s speed to low and beat in half of the flour mixture then half of the curdled milk. Scrape down the bowl and repeat the sequence with the remainder of the dry and wet mixtures.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Arrange the sliced peaches and blueberries on top.

gluten free peach blueberry cake
gluten free peach blueberry cake

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 33 to 38 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking time. Place the pan on a wire rack and let the cake cool completely before slicing.

The cooled cake can be covered in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Until next time, happy baking!

Cream-Filled Chocolate Mini Cakes

cream-filled mini cakesIt’s good to be back in the kitchen. I recently moved house, but the kitchen is unpacked and I am ready to bake. To start things off with a bang, I am making cream-filled cakes. Besides, I have a specialty pan whose design is for such cakes and it needs breaking in.

In online searches I found several recipes for homemade ‘Ding Dongs.’ I borrowed ideas from different ones and put together my decadent beauties. I chose a vegan recipe that included Black cocoa powder. It gives Ding Dongs and Oreos their signature flavor – you’ll know when you smell it. Altering for high altitude was basic – more flour, less baking powder. On a hunch I used less maple syrup so that I would get light cakes that wouldn’t get weighted down by the filling and altitude, and the hunch paid off.

The filling is a cashew cream that has a step done in advance, so start there. The recipe may seem like a lot of work but the cakes are worth it. I inhaled my first one. I am now savoring my second.

Until next time, happy baking!

cream-filled mini cakes
Print Recipe

Cream-Filled Mini Cakes

I recently moved house, but the kitchen is now unpacked and I am ready to bake. So, to start things off with a bang, I am making homemade cream-filled cakes. Besides, I have a specialty pan whose design is for such cakes and it needs breaking in.
Course: Snack
Cuisine: Vegan
Keyword: Baking, Cashew, Chocolate, High Altitude, Recipe
Servings: 6
Author: The Decadent Vegan Baker

Equipment

  • Creme Snack Cake Pan 
  • Electric Mixer
  • Pastry bag with large round tip
  • Blender

Ingredients

Cashew Cream Filling

  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons organic powdered sugar
  • dash fine sea salt

Cupcakes

  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 tablespoons black cocoa powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup organic sugar

Chocolate Coating

  • 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil

Instructions

  • Prepare the filling:
  • In a bowl, cover cashews with water and let sit at least 3 hours (no longer than 8). Drain completely, then combine drained cashews with 1/3 cup fresh water and blend in a high-speed blender until very smooth. Add vanilla, powdered sugar and salt and blend again. Chill in fridge. You will have leftovers you can add to smoothies or atop other baked goods.
  • Prepare the cupcakes:
  • Preheat oven to 325F with rack in middle of oven. Lightly coat Fat Daddio’s Choco Creme Snack Cake Pan with canola cooking spray and set aside.
  • Whisk vinegar into milk and set aside for 5 minutes.
  • In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powders, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl combine all wet ingredients, including milk mixture and sugar, and beat on medium with an electric mixer. Add dry ingredients to wet in two batches, mixing as you go. Beat for a minute more.
  • Use a scoop to fill the pan cavities 2/3 full. Bake for 17-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cakes cool in the pan.
  • Prepare the coating:
  • In a double boiler, melt the chocolate. When melted, stir in coconut oil.
  • Assemble the cupcakes:
  • You will need a cake decorator bag fitted with a large circle shaped tip.
  • Fill bag with the chilled filling. Poke a hole in the center of each cake with the tip making sure you don’t go all the way to the bottom. Squeeze the bag to fill the center, slowly lifting the bag until icing fills to the top. Wipe excess icing off the top of the cake.
  • Place cakes on a cooling rack with waxed paper underneath. Pour the coating over each cake using a spoon to either remove excess or fill in uncoated gaps on the sides. As an alternate, you can dip just the top of each cake into the coating. Put cakes in the fridge to set the coating, about 10 minutes.

Notes

Adapted from The Post Punk Kitchen and Chocolate Covered Katie