You know those days where everything just seems to go right? sometimes they feel few and far in between but when they happen, isn’t just the greatest feeling?
I had one of those days earlier this week. I had an idea to turn one of my old chocolate cake recipes into something with a little more flare. To take a simple chocolate cake and dress it up to transform into something even more marvellous. That was my goal and I think I may well have just nailed it.
You see there is nothing terrifically hard about this recipe. You take a simple recipe for chocolate cake, bake it in a rectangle tin, cut it in half so that you have a top and bottom layer, spoon loads of vegan vanilla ice-cream (that you have spiked with loads of chocolate pieces) onto the bottom layer and then add the top layer on to form a giant chocolate sandwich. You then cut into individual portions to make it look all fancy then drizzle even more melted chocolate on top and serve with strawberries.
While the recipe does take a little while to prep I can assure you as stated above, there is nothing really difficult involved. there is no tempering chocolate or making ice-cream from scratch, although if you do want to make your own ice-cream then power to you, you wizardry legend!
It’s the perfect recipe to make over the course of 2 days. I started mine on a Monday, when I baked my cake layers and left it to chill over night before adding the filling the following day. Sometimes the best recipes are ones created with patience and care, slowly over a few days. You will notice if you do this, you usually end up with a pretty wicked result because you have taken time to make it with patience and love, rather than the rushing to get food on the table in under 20 minutes routine that most of us know all too well.
This recipe might seem a little ‘naughty’ in comparison to other recipes on the website but I like to call this my recipe for emotional happiness. I’m a big believer in you are what you eat and that if you fill up on loads of fruit and veg you will feel all the better for it. But sometimes, there is room for a treat and if you can’t enjoy an indulgent treat on valentines/palentines/galentines day, a birthday or every once in a while, then when can you?
If you have any questions or if you make this recipe, or even have an idea for a recipe you would like to see ‘veganised’, drop me a comment below or let me know on Instagram @theplantritionist
Talitha xx
Set oven to 180 degrees and line a brownie tray with baking paper.
In a large mixing bowl add all dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
In a smaller mixing bowl add all the wet ingredients and mix to combine.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well for a couple of minutes until you have a smoot mixture.
Pour mixture into a brownie tin and set in the oven until cooked through. Set your timer for 20 mins then check, if the mixture is still wobbly you'll need to cook for at least another 15 - 20 minutes. Note that i'm not giving you an exact time as different sized trays will require slightly different baking times. You can't go wrong if you keep a watchful eye and check at the 20 minute mark and then if it's really wobbly cook for a further 15 minutes and check again. The cake is ready once you can press the centre without any 'jiggle' or 'wobble'.
Once the cake is cooked, you need it to cool down completely. Once cool, you want to cut the brownie in half so you have 2 pieces, a top and a bottom layer. If your cake has risen unevenly you can use a knife to square off any lumps and bumps - It's more important for the bottom layer to lay flat on a board. Next you want the layers to be really cold so place them in the freezer for at least an hour or better yet, over night.
While your cake is cooking, dice chocolate up into small chunks and add to a mixing bowl , along with the ice-cream. Mixture until well combined then place the mixture back into the ice cream container with the lid on and store in freezer until ready to assemble.
Take your brownie layers out of the freezer and decide which will be your bottom layer.
Using your cookie dough ice-cream that you prepared earlier, Layer the ice-cream nice and thick across the bottom layer. You want to try and make it as compact and even as possible. With clean hands you can press the mixture in where there's any gaps. You will need to work fast though as we don't want the ice-cream to melt.
Next you are going to gently press the top layer of your brownie cake onto the ice-cream layer so that it forms a sandwich. Don't worry if the sides look a little messy at this stage as you can trim them up later once the dessert has set. Place the cake back into the freezer for at least 30 minutes or until the ice cream is completely firm once again.
The final stage is to remove the cake from the freezer and place on a chopping board. Using a large sharp knife, trim the edges so that you have a tidy square-shaped cake. Then cut into rectangles, as large or small as you like.
Next we are going to add 100g chocolate to a microwave for 30 seconds intervals until the chocolate is about 80% melted. Remove from the microwave and give the chocolate a gently stir or fold. The heat from the melted chocolate will melt any remaining solid pieces.
Drizzle as much chocolate as you like over individual portions and decorate with some fresh berries. Wait a couple of minutes before serving so that the chocolate on top becomes solid - this will also allow enough time for the chocolate cake layer to slightly soften too.
You could easily serve this as a full cake rather than individual portions. To do so, bake the cake in a round springform tin and slice in half, then follow the instructions the same, filling the centre with the ice-cream and drizzling chocolate on top.
Ingredients
Directions
Set oven to 180 degrees and line a brownie tray with baking paper.
In a large mixing bowl add all dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
In a smaller mixing bowl add all the wet ingredients and mix to combine.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well for a couple of minutes until you have a smoot mixture.
Pour mixture into a brownie tin and set in the oven until cooked through. Set your timer for 20 mins then check, if the mixture is still wobbly you'll need to cook for at least another 15 - 20 minutes. Note that i'm not giving you an exact time as different sized trays will require slightly different baking times. You can't go wrong if you keep a watchful eye and check at the 20 minute mark and then if it's really wobbly cook for a further 15 minutes and check again. The cake is ready once you can press the centre without any 'jiggle' or 'wobble'.
Once the cake is cooked, you need it to cool down completely. Once cool, you want to cut the brownie in half so you have 2 pieces, a top and a bottom layer. If your cake has risen unevenly you can use a knife to square off any lumps and bumps - It's more important for the bottom layer to lay flat on a board. Next you want the layers to be really cold so place them in the freezer for at least an hour or better yet, over night.
While your cake is cooking, dice chocolate up into small chunks and add to a mixing bowl , along with the ice-cream. Mixture until well combined then place the mixture back into the ice cream container with the lid on and store in freezer until ready to assemble.
Take your brownie layers out of the freezer and decide which will be your bottom layer.
Using your cookie dough ice-cream that you prepared earlier, Layer the ice-cream nice and thick across the bottom layer. You want to try and make it as compact and even as possible. With clean hands you can press the mixture in where there's any gaps. You will need to work fast though as we don't want the ice-cream to melt.
Next you are going to gently press the top layer of your brownie cake onto the ice-cream layer so that it forms a sandwich. Don't worry if the sides look a little messy at this stage as you can trim them up later once the dessert has set. Place the cake back into the freezer for at least 30 minutes or until the ice cream is completely firm once again.
The final stage is to remove the cake from the freezer and place on a chopping board. Using a large sharp knife, trim the edges so that you have a tidy square-shaped cake. Then cut into rectangles, as large or small as you like.
Next we are going to add 100g chocolate to a microwave for 30 seconds intervals until the chocolate is about 80% melted. Remove from the microwave and give the chocolate a gently stir or fold. The heat from the melted chocolate will melt any remaining solid pieces.
Drizzle as much chocolate as you like over individual portions and decorate with some fresh berries. Wait a couple of minutes before serving so that the chocolate on top becomes solid - this will also allow enough time for the chocolate cake layer to slightly soften too.
You could easily serve this as a full cake rather than individual portions. To do so, bake the cake in a round springform tin and slice in half, then follow the instructions the same, filling the centre with the ice-cream and drizzling chocolate on top.
