Ingredients
Makes: 12
MINI CAKES (see tip)
CHOCOLATE CREAM
TO DECORATE
Method
- Preheat the oven 170°C. Lightly grease a jumbo cupcake tin and dust very lightly with cocoa powder.
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the melted butter and sugar. Add the coffee and vanilla and stir to thoroughly combine.
- In another bowl, mix the soy milk and vinegar together to create a thick buttermilk substitute. Add to the melted butter mixture and stir until completely incorporated. Set aside.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarb soda, salt, and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl and whisk together.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and slowly pour in the liquid. Gently mix together with a whisk until only just combined.
- Pour the batter into each of the cupcake moulds, filling them ¾ full. Bake in the oven for about 25–27 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a cake comes out with only a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
- Allow the cakes to cool for 20 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Leave to cool completely before frosting.
- Meanwhile, make the chocolate cream. In a small saucepan, heat the soy milk over a medium heat until small bubbles start to form around the edge. Remove from heat.
- Mix together the agar agar and a small amount of the warmed soy milk in another bowl, until the agar agar is dissolved. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan of warm milk, whisking to combine. Place the saucepan back on a medium heat, continuously stirring for at least 2 minutes, until the liquid comes to the brink of a boil. Remove from the heat.
- Chop the chocolate into small pieces and add to a large heat-proof mixing bowl. Pour the hot soy milk mixture over the chocolate and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Then using a wooden spoon, stir the chocolate and soy milk until combined and completely smooth. Next, stir in the coconut cream and salt.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or baking paper, placing it directly onto the surface of the chocolate cream so it doesn’t form a skin. Chill in the fridge for at least two hours to set. Once set, whip with a whisk or hand blender until completely smooth. Place back into the fridge until ready to use.
- To assemble the cakes, level each cake by using a serrated knife to cut the domes off the top of the cakes. Turn the cakes upside-down and make sure they sit evenly; the
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle with the chocolate cream. Pipe the cream onto the top each cake to form a large dome. Decorate the blueberries with gold dust using a small paint brush and nestle them on the top of the chocolate cream. Add some fresh edible flowers to complement the blueberries, and serve.
TIP: Perfect baking is all about precision. For the best results, use a digital kitchen scale set to grams and weigh the ingredients where these weights are given.
