Method (cake)

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees c fan and line two, 6 inch cake tins with grease-proof paper
2. In a bowl, combine the dairy-free milk with the apple cider vinegar and whisk until fully combined. Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle. This creates a vegan ‘buttermilk’.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well to combine.
4. Add the oil and cherry flavouring (optional) into the ‘buttermilk’ and whisk to combine.
5. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
6. Pour equal amounts of batter into the lined cake tins. Make sure to tap the tins on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
7. Pop the cakes into the centre of the preheated oven and bake for around 25-30 minutes. You will know they are done when you put a knife or skewer in and it comes out clean and they are springy to the touch.
8. Place the cakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool fully.  Whilst the cakes are warm, brush over some cherry liqueur / amaretto and allow it to soak into the sponges. Don’t add too much or the cakes could end up very soggy.  Once cool, pop them into a sealed container to keep them fresh before frosting.

Method (buttercream)

1. In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free butter and whip until creamy. I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment, a hand mixer will work great too.
2. Sift in the icing sugar and whip on high speed for a couple of minutes to incorporate it.
3. Pour in the aquafaba and vanilla extract and whip for 5 minutes until it turns light and creamy. Don’t over whip it or it can become too soft. If it does, just add in more icing sugar until it’s thick and creamy. The buttercream should be airy and light. You might need to add in some more butter to get it to the right consistency.
4. Transfer the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a patisserie nozzle. Place one of the cakes on a serving plate or cake stand. Pipe small stars of buttercream around the outer edge of the cake, then fill in the middle with more buttercream (as seen in the photos above). Place the chopped cherries on top of the buttercream, then spread over 2 tablespoons of cherry jam / conserve.
5. Place the second chocolate cake layer ontop. Press it down gently so it sticks.
6. Pipe some left over buttercream around the top edge of the cake, and press on some whole, fresh cherries.
7. Spoon 2 / 3 tablespoons of cherry jam / conserve into the middle of the buttercream circle and spread out. Decorate with some dairy-free dark chocolate shavings and a drizzle of chocolate ganache.

Method (ganache)

1. Place the dairy-free cream into a saucepan. Gently heat until it comes to a light simmer then turn off the heat.
2. Place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and pour over the hot cream, stir to combine. Allow to cool slightly.
3. Transfer the ganache into a piping bag and pipe over the top of the cake. Alternatively, you should drizzle it over the top of the cake using a spoon.
4. Ta dah, the perfect Vegan Black Forest Cake. Enjoy!