Gluten-free and vegan peanut butter chocolate layer cake

I think it’s high time I posted another one of those big, bold, and beautiful layer cakes. Don’t you agree?

This time, I’m setting out to prove that it is possible to make amazingly delicious desserts without the assistance of eggs, dairy, wheat—grains, even, since this cake is made with quinoa (a pseudocereal with gluten-esque properties)—or any kind of animal product you can think of. Sub some kind of other nut butter (almond butter, probably, since it’s the most similar to peanut butter in flavor), and you’ve got rid of another common allergen. People, this is some mildly world-changing shit. Do you know how many fat (but happy) vegans this cake has given birth to?!

Fuck if I know. At least one.

But, I mean, that’s just my regular day-to-day fare. You know. You’ve probably been here for a while; you’ve seen it all. Brash declarations of awesomeness! and fabulousness! and even—dare I say it—sexiness! Really ought to tone it down sometimes. Which reminds me...

I think I shall make this my last post comparing an edible, inanimate object to a living, breathing human subject of sexual desire. Because that’s just hyperbole. The word “sexy” seems kind of cheap these days, too, don’t you think? You’ve got people throwing it around to describe things like salads and sunsets, and somehow it all escalates into calling inanimate things “porn”, food porn only one prominent genre in that phenomenon. On the glorious time suck of a website that is reddit.com, it is possible to find things as varied and inaccurately named as earth porn and power washing porn (?) to—get this—human porn, which is not at all sexual, contrary to what it might seem. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Before we know it, we’ll be calling regular porn “porn porn”, if only in an attempt to distinguish the totally not kid-friendly stuff from the pretty pictures you see on Pinterest and Foodgawker.

So call this a one-woman crusade against the desexualization of the word “sexy”. It probably doesn’t matter. In fact, it doesn’t, not a single bit. But I’m a pedant, and frankly I’d rather keep one word in a NSFW territory than have to invent newer, more grotesque words to describe what “sexy” originally meant. God forbid we end up whispering about how that one hunky actor is particularly “bae-esque”.

Now that's a headline I never thought I'd read. source

NOT THAT IT MATTERS. Anyway, forgive my ranting. You just gotta let things out sometimes, you know?

Let’s get back to cake.

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In my efforts to reduce the amount of hyperbole you have to endure on this here blog, I am going to tell you in no uncertain terms just what this cake is. It is very interesting. You will look at it and be perplexed—how can this possibly be free of all those allergens? You may also experience feelings of lust GOD DAMMIT I MEANT MILD HUNGER observing the swaths of ganache and layers of buttercream. It’s only natural, when faced with such a luscious dessert. Do not resist. Go back for another slice. Munch quietly and contemplate where your life is headed.

And then you will be very grateful that you ventured out into the kitchen one day and made this cake.

Here is the recipe.

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Gluten-free and vegan peanut butter chocolate layer cake

Adapted from this chocolate cake

Makes one double-layer 8-inch round cake

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Gluten-free chocolate cake

Ingredients

80 grams • nondairy milk • 1/3 cup

240 grams • silken tofu • 1 cup

4 grams • vanilla extract • 1 teaspoon

360 grams • cooked and cooled quinoa • 2 cups

170 grams • coconut oil, melted • ¾ cup

300 grams • granulated sugar • 1 ½ ups

80 grams • cocoa powder • 1 cup

6 grams • baking powder • 1 ½ teaspoons

2 grams • baking soda • ½ teaspoon

3 grams • salt • ½ teaspoon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment.

Combine milk, tofu, and vanilla in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add quinoa and coconut oil; blend until completely smooth. You want to ensure that there are no little chunky pieces of quinoa in your cake batter.

In a large bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour pureed ingredients into the bowl and stir until thoroughly combined.

Divide batter between baking pans and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring from pans to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Peanut butter frosting

Ingredients

113 grams • coconut oil, softened • ½ cup

256 grams • peanut butter • 1 cup

45 grams • full-fat coconut milk • 3 tablespoons

240 grams • powdered sugar • 2 cups

2 grams • salt • ¼ teaspoon

Instructions

Place coconut oil in the bowl of an electric stand mixer; beat until smooth. Add peanut butter and beat until smooth once more. Add remaining ingredients and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.

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Peanut butter chocolate ganache

Instructions

113 grams • nondairy chocolate, finely chopped • 4 ounces

Pinch salt

120 grams • coconut milk, full-fat • ½ cup

14 grams • coconut oil • 1 tablespoon

22 grams • light corn syrup • 1 tablespoon

16 grams • peanut butter • 1 tablespoon

Instructions

Place chocolate and salt in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, whisk together remaining ingredients. Heat over medium-low heat until all ingredients are thoroughly combined and the edges of the mixture are beginning to bubble. Pour over chocolate and let stand for a minute. Whisk until thoroughly combined, about 2 more minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

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Peanut butter cups

Ingredients

113 grams • nondairy chocolate, chopped • 4 ounces

32 grams • peanut butter • 2 tablespoons

Instructions

Place miniature cupcake wrappers in 8 miniature cupcake tins. Melt chocolate over very low heat in a small saucepan, stirring consistently. Spoon a bit of chocolate into each tin, filling it about 1/3 of the way up; add a dab of peanut butter, then top off with more chocolate. Freeze cups until firm.

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Assembly

Ingredients

Gluten-free chocolate cake

Peanut butter frosting

Peanut butter chocolate ganache

Peanut butter cups

Instructions

Place chocolate cake on a cutting board or other frosting surface. Spread a good amount of peanut butter frosting on top of the cake and place the other layer on top. Frost the entire cake and pipe little dollops of frosting around the edges with a large star tip. Place a peanut butter cup on top of each dollop. Pour ganache on top, letting it drip down the sides of the cake all pretty-like. Slice and munch.

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OODLES AND OODLES OF PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE!

It’s not like you’ve ever seen any cakes as dramatic and glorious (there goes my hyperbole resolutions) as this, but in an attempt to give you your daily links! to other blog posts! I’ve included some other peanut-buttery and possibly chocolaty treats you may enjoy.

Chocolate peanut butter swirl bread. What your French toast dreams are made of.

Peanut butter zucchini bread with homemade peanut butter chips. Once you go to homemade PB chips, you’ll never go back.

Peanut butter and jelly Oreos. An interesting but good Oreo flavor.

Apple peanut butter cheesecake with sautéed apples. Very creamy and filled with that sweet peanut butter flavor.

Oh! And one more thing—I’m entering this very fine recipe into a chocolate contest hosted by Torta Della Figlia, a very fine Polish dessert blog. See more about the contest here.