A fantastic cake inspired by the well-known peanut chocolate bar, this Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake is moist, creamy and simply delicious! If you think plant-based eating means not being able to enjoy decadent treats like this then you are so wrong! Although we’re not insisting this is the most nutritious recipe in the world, it’s entirely made from vegan-friendly ingredients and will make the most show-stopping cake for birthdays and celebrations!

INGREDIENTS: Makes 1 cake

For the cake:

320 ml (1⅓ cups) plant milk

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

320 g (2½ cups) flour

1 tbsp. soya flour

270 g (1 ¼ cups) raw cane sugar

65 g (½ cup) cocoa powder

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda

a pinch of salt

160 ml (⅔ cup) coconut oil, melted

180 g (¾ cup) unsweetened apple purée

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

120 ml (½ cup) strong coffee or more milk

salted peanuts to decorate (optional)

For the icing:

450 g (2 cups) vegan cream cheese (at room temperature)

8 tbsp. smooth peanut butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

100 g (⅔ cup) icing sugar

For the ganache:

125 g (¾ cup) vegan dark chocolate, chopped

4 tbsp. plant milk or soya cream

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and grease two springform tins (20 cm/8 in.). (To make it easier to remove the cake from the tin later, you could also line it with baking paper.)

2. Whisk together the plant milk and vinegar in a measuring jug. Place to one side so it thickens and turns into a sort of vegan buttermilk.

3. Sieve the flour, soya flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl and mix.

4. Add the coconut oil, apple purée, vanilla extract and vegan buttermilk. Mix with a hand mixer on the medium setting until everything is well combined. Reduce the speed a little, pour in the coffee and mix. (You can also add a little sugar if you like.)

5. Divide the mixture evenly between the two springform tins. Bake for around 30 minutes until a skewer comes out mostly clean. (Don’t bake for too long, else the cake will dry out.)

6. Once baked, leave the cake in the tin to cool for approx. 10 minutes, then turn it out and leave to cool completely before adding the icing.

7. To make the icing, blend the cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract. Sieve in the icing sugar and blend until creamy. (If the icing is too thick to spread, add a little plant milk. If it’s too runny, add more icing sugar.)

8. Slice each of the cooled cakes horizontally into two evenly-sized layers.

9. Place one layer onto a serving plate. Spread about a quarter of the icing on top and lay the next layer of cake on top. Repeat this process with the next two layers. After the fourth layer, use the rest of the icing to cover the whole cake, including the sides. (You can also keep a small portion of the peanut butter icing to one side for decorating using a piping bag.) Leave the cake to stand in the fridge for at least 4 hours (or preferably overnight).

10. To make the ganache, slowly melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of boiling water (or in the microwave), stirring occasionally. Gradually stir in the milk until the ganache is smooth and creamy.

11. Using a teaspoon, carefully spread the ganache around the outer edge of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides slightly. Spread the rest over the top of the cake.

12. Place the cake in the fridge for around 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to set.

13. You can now pipe little swirls of the leftover peanut icing onto the cake and decorate with peanuts.

Bianca Zapatka is a German-based food stylist, photographer, and blogger/Instagrammer, with over 635K followers on her channel @biancazapatka. Her book, ‘Vegan Foodporn: 100 Easy and Delicious Recipes’ is available now from Lotus Publishing.