How-To Guide: Dairy & egg free chocolate overload cake
This dairy & egg free chocolate overload cake is a chocolate lover's dream! And proof that kids with dairy & egg allergies don't need to miss out on a fun cake. My step by step guide will walk you through the process.
Ingredients
- One 8 inch (20cm) dairy & egg free chocolate cake, prepared (or two cakes if you are making a layer cake). (See notes below for suggested recipes)
400g tub ready made Betty Crocker chocolate icing OR homemade chocolate buttercream:
- 75 g dairy free margarine (I use Stork)
- 75 g vegetable fat (I use Trex)
- 1 tbsp vanilla essence
- 350 g icing sugar (you can increase or decrease amounts depending on how sweet you like it)
- 100 g pure cacao powder
- 40 to 60 ml plant based milk
Suggested chocolate overload toppings (all dairy & soya free)
- Bourbon biscuits (I use Sainsbury's own brand - always check ingredients as some brands are not dairy free)
- Moo Free baking drops or choccy rocks
- Moo free chocolate buttons
- Milky way dairy free popping candy bar
- Nomo caramel bar or caramel drops
- Nomo chocolate lollies
- Creative Nature gnawbles
- Rhythm 108 coconut bars
Instructions
Dairy free chocolate buttercream
- Using an electric whisk, whip together the margarine, vegetable fat and vanilla essence until creamy.
- Add half of the icing sugar and 20ml plant based milk and continue mixing until combined.
- Add the rest of the icing sugar, cacao powder, and 10ml more plant based milk. Mix for about a minute until you have a thick & smooth consistency.
- Mix in a bit more plant based milk little by little until you get the consistency you want. If it accidentally gets a bit too runny, mix in some more icing sugar!
Assembling the cake!
- Place your cake on whatever you will be serving it on - once you get decorating it will be difficult to move! I tend to use a plain white dinner plate, which can be moved into the fridge/onto a cake stand as needed.
- If you’re making a two layer sandwich cake then start by liberally spreading some buttercream on the bottom layer, and placing the second cake layer on top.
- Crumb coat the top and sides of the cake using a spatula. (A crumb coat is an initial thin layer of icing which seals the cake and stops crumbs getting on the final icing layer.)
- Then do a second layer of icing, spreading around the sides and thickly on top. The great thing about this cake is that the icing doesn’t have to be neat, so you can leave a bit of texture.
- As you ice the sides, allow the icing to spread around the base of the cake on to the plate, to give a border of around 2cm. I suggest using a clean finger to neaten this up and push the icing into any gaps between the cake and the plate.
- Now it’s time to get decorating. You want a variation of heights, shapes and textures on the cake. Start with the bigger toppings first e.g. some bourbon biscuits and halved chocolate bars. Stagger these so you can see them all.
- Next add the smaller elements such as chocolate buttons, drops and gnawbles. Sprinkle over the top, and add some to the icing around the base of the cake. Also stick some to the sides - a cascading effect can work well.
- If you have a chocolate lolly on a stick, now is the time to find a spot for that! Push it well into the cake so that it doesn’t topple over.
- Finally, break up a couple of bourbon biscuits into a mixture of crumbs and chunks, and sprinkle these over the cake, including around the base.
- Put the cake into the fridge for a couple of hours. This helps the icing set and keeps all the toppings secure.
Notes
You will need to have your cake prepared before you start. My favourite dairy and egg free chocolate cake recipes are:
- Nigella’s dark and sumptuous vegan chocolate cake (single layer)
- Kate’s veggie desserts best vegan chocolate cake (double layer)