Birthday Cake Cake Caaaake~

Yesterday was Matto's birthday, so in preparation for celebrating today, I made a cake! Matto being a vegan, I put my vegan baking-pants on and made this PPK chocolate cake (although the recipe says cupcakes) with a slight alteration to the mousse. Vegan chocolate chips are hard to come by in this region, so I subbed them for melted peanut butter :D I will post the recipe and the steps I took to make it below~

Chocolate Mousse Cake, PPK


For the mousse:
1 cup melted peanut butter
12 oz/350 grams extra firm silken tofu
1/4 cup plain soy milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the cake:
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt


Cooking spray/vegetable shortening

Prepare the Mousse:
1. Crumble the tofu into a blender. Add the soy milk, syrup and vanilla extract. Puree until completely smooth. Set aside.
2. Microwave the cup of peanut butter, stirring occasionally and keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn.
3. Add the peanut butter to the tofu and blend until well combined, use the spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender every so often.
4. Transfer the mousse to an air tight container or a bowl covered in saran wrap and let chill for an hour.

Prepare the cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180C and grease a cake pan with some vegetable shortening or cooking spray.
2. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle.
3. Add the sugar, oil, and vanilla extract to the soy milk mixture and blend well.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain.
5. I made a small layer cake, so just split the batter evenly into two cake pans.
6. Bake 20 minutes, until a toothpick/knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

To assemble:
1. Once the mousse is chilled, use a frosting spatula to spread the mousse between the two layers of the cake. After putting the layers together, completely cover the top and sides of the cake with the mousse and keep in a cool place until serving.