orange ginger layer cake [vegan, refined sugar free]

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my first post, wow! uhm, ok so let's start with this lovley fella..it's a moist fluffy orange-scented cake with a heavenly slightly sour ginger cream to complement the strong flavours. i love to think about combinations of textures, flavours and colors beforehand and trying it out afterwards to see if they work.

a cold morning, some last spots of snow in the garden and a jazz song playing on the record player. since i'm done with school i have half a year just for me until my preliminary design course starts in august. some exciting stuff is coming up: two workshops in may and a month travelling with an "interrail" ticket. in my little notebook i have already written down so many cafés, shops, restaurants and places which i'd love to visit that i think i have to voyage at least a year, hahaha! however, back to the kitchen. this cake was one of my last hopes to bake a fluffly cake without eggs. oh yes, i tried a lot - chia eggs, flax eggs, baking soda and acid, commercial egg replacer, mashed banana,... but the result was each time depressing. the taste and colour could have been amazing. the texture? ha, i guess wet, dense and soggy describes it quiet well. and then it worked. IT WORKED! i could have been smiling all the time, like an idiot - but as my cheeks started to hurt i decided to stop smiling ;D

the orange-scented air in your home is like a big hug and the ginger warms your soul - what are you waiting for? let's go and bake! :)

NOTE: i baked mine in a 11cm springform - i haven't tried it in a bigger one, so i can't guarantee it will rise as good as in the tiny one.

if you don't have two springform pans, it's important that you divide your wet and dry mixtures in half. then combine one half of each mixture and add half of the orange juice, bake it and repeat these steps for the second layer.

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RECIPE

for the cake:

_ 140g flour

_ 1,25 tsp baking powder

_ 0.75 tsp baking soda

_ zest from one organic orange

_ good pinch of ground vanilla

_ 0.25 tsp fine salt

_ 45g coconut oil or organic margarine ("alsan")

_ 50ml agave syrup

_ 50ml maple syrup

_ 140ml fresh orange juice

for the frosting:

_ 80ml soya cream

_ 180ml coconut yogurt or soya yogurt

_ 1-2tbsp agave syrup

_ freshly grated ginger (to your taste)

_ pinch of ground vanilla

1// preheat your oven to 180° celcius and grease two 11cm springform pans

2// depending on which yogurt you take, you have to put it in a cheesecloth over a bowl to

to drain until it has a spreadable consistency [about 1-2 hours]

3// combine the dry ingredients [the first six of the list] and whisk well

4// in another bowl beat the coconut oil or margarine until fluffy. then add the two syrups and beat

again

5// now add the dry ingredients, stir it a few times and then add the orange juice

!: the batter will fluff up because of the reaction of the baking soda with the acid in the juice and

create a lot of air bubbles - that's why it's important that you don't over-beat it and distribute

it quickly in your pans

6// now it has to be baked for 35 mins

7// for the frosting combine all your ingredients and beat it until it gets stiff, if it's too liquidy to spread

refrigerate it for an hour

8// once your cakes are completely cool you can frost them and sprinkle some cocout flakes on top

enjoy! ;)

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