VEGAN RHUBARB LAYER CAKE + SUPPER CLUB ANNOUNCEMENT WITH SALVIA LIMONE (V+, ChF, GF)

Vegan Rhubarb Layer Cake - The Little Plantation

Today it's all about my upcoming vegan supper club and collaboration with Salvia Limone, but if you just want the delicious recipe for vegan Rhubarb Layer Cake, please don't be shy and make your way to the end of this blog post where you'll find it.

These past few weeks I've felt like a little school girl, desperate to spill the beans but bound to secrecy. (Though if left to my own devices, I would have told ALL in a blink of an eye.) So what is it that I've been dying to tell you? Well, if you don't live in or around London, let me warn you, this is gonna be a little bit of a let down. And if you DO live in London but aren't available on Thursday the 27th of April, 2017 then this will be an even bigger let down. OK so, pre-warnings done and dusted....

... I and one of my best food blogging buddies - the SUPER talented Silvia (a trained macrobiotic chef and vegan cake maker extraordinaire) are hosting our first ever Vegan Supper Club called Spring Gathering on Thursday the 27th of April, 2017 at the cutiest, loveliest and most perfect of venues, The Social Pantry in South West London. I'm really excited to bring some of the recipes from my blog and Silvia's blog to life and share them with you! We've put a lot of thought and love into the menu focusing on seasonal, flavoursome, colourful food that offers something for the eye and even more for the palate. You'll be glad to hear that this beautiful vegan layer cake with a gorgeously creamy rhubarb filling has secured it's spot on our Spring inspired menu (WOOHOO!). You can find the full menu and all the booking details below as well as the recipe for this looker of a cake! Thanks for popping by everyone and we SO hope to see you on the 27th of April.

P.S. for a look at Silvia's take on the day, please click here.
P.P.S Wanna support this blog? Then please do help spread the word by pinning my images on Pinterest or following along on instagram. It would make my day.
P.P.S. Wanna be the first to hear about our events I’m hosting and get a exclusive mailing list discount codes? Then please sign up to our newsletter below :).

VEGAN SUPPERCLUB DETAILS:

Where: The Social Pantry Cafe, 170A Lavender Hill, London, SW11 5TG

Transport: about a 5 minute walk from Clapham Junction Station. Limited parking is available in the adjacent streets

When: Thursday, April 27th, 2017

Time: 7.30pm arrival. Dinner served from 8pm - 10pm

How to book: via Eventbrite

Cost: £36/pp

Discounts: early bird offer 10% off (book by 01/04/17)

Special diets: There will be many paleo and gluten-free dishes on the menu. For details and any other dietary requirements, please get in touch!

Further questions: e-mail kimberly(at)thelittleplantation(dot)co(dot)uk

Find the menu below. Recipe for the cake below too....

Preparation Time: 20-25 minutes
Baking Time: 35 minutes
Decorating/Icing Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 8-10

Ingredients for the sponge (makes 4 layers):

3 cups of white spelt flour
2 cups sugar
5 tsp organic baking powder
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp of unrefined salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil or rapeseed oil (plus extra for greasing)
1 cup of unsweetened plant-based milk
zest of 1 lemon

Ingredients for the filling:

1 can coconut milk (refrigerated)
1.5 stalks of rhubarb
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp ground pink peppercorn or to taste
1 tbs Xylitol
1 tbs arrowroot
a pinch of salt
2-4 raspberries for colour (optional)

Ingredients for the icing:

400g coconut yogurt, whipped
a pinch of ground pink peppercorn

Ingredients to decorate:

fruits or flowers

Image by Silvia Bifaro from Salvia+Limone

Instructions for the sponge:

Pre-heat the oven at 180C/355F and grease 4 tins of 16 cm diametre.

Take all the dry ingredients from the cake (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) and mix well in a large bowl. Cover with the wet ingredients and lemon zest and gently combine all ingredients well. The more gently you fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, the less rounded the top of your cakes will be. It is matter of folding more than stirring in fact. When the batter is ready spread it evenly across the 4 cake forms, place in the preheated oven and cook for approximately 35 min or until full baked through (do stick test).

Once cooked, let the cake layers cool down for about 10 min, then remove from tins and leave on a rack. Let them cool completely before starting to assemble the layered cake.

Whilst the cake is cooking prepare the filling and the icing.
For the filling, rinse the rhubarb and peel off the hardest bits. Then cut into small-ish pieces.
Scoop out the coconut cream only and place in a bowl, leaving the water inside the can.
Next stir the arrowroot with the coconut cream. Then add a tablespoon or so of the left over coconut water until you have the consistency you want (it should be creamy, but not hard or too runny)

In a small saucepan heat the rhubarb (plus the raspberries) with the xylitol and the salt, stirring for a couple of minutes. Add the coconut cream ad arrowroot and bring to a gentle boil over a low flame. Next stir in the vanilla. Turn the flame off and leave to cool completely. The creamy compote should be firm enough so the filling stays in the cake and isn't too runny. You can reheat and add a bit more dissolved arrowroot, if need be.

Continues below...

For the frosting, wip the yogurt, adding a bit of ground pink peppercorn for flavour and texture.

When the cake layers are perfectly cold and the frosting and filling are "solid", you can start to assemble the cake.

(If the cakes are rounded cut off the top, taking care to cut them straight and similar in height)

Spread some of the filling in the centre up to 1.5 cm from edges. use the frosting on the outer edges of the cake layers. Then, place another cakes layer on top and repeat. Place the last cake layer upside down so the flattest side is showing at the top of the cake.

Now you can start with fine tuning the frosting. Poke a long stick in the middle of the cake. This will hold the layered cake while you work with the frosting. If necessary put the cake back in the fridge for some moments before starting.

Scoop a generous amount of frosting on top of the cake, and with a spatula work it all around the top and down the sides,gently scraping away the excess. You want to fill up any space leaving only some of the cake edges on display.

Finally, clean the edges, smooth the top and decorate with flowers or fruit.