Vegan Tiramisù

August 3, 2010 in Allgemein

When I went vegan over three years ago, I didn’t have much baking experience. I adapted many vegan and non-vegan recipes and many of those adaptions failed. I once tried to make a vegan tiramisù. The sponge cake base fell apart completely and the filling  had an off soy taste. That removed tiramisù from my to-do lists for quite some time.

A slice of tiramisù

This weekend I made another attempt to veganize tiramisù and this time I was successful, I think. I am slightly proud both about the creamy filling and the sponge cake. Like most other, German sponge cake (Biskuit) recipes call for tons of eggs, since they are important for the fluffy and light texture. Like I wanted to make tiramisù for ages, I also wanted to make Biskuit for a long time. Who knew that all it needs is several spoons of chickpea flour to get almost the same results?

Since I don’t have access to vegan cream cheese and vegan sour cream, I made the filling with soy yoghurt, cashews and coconut oil which turned out to be a perfect combination.

The filling is creamy and rich and has a mild almost cream like taste. The sponge cake is so light that it absorbs all the coffee and alcohol pretty well. This is the perfect treat to bring to a party or share it with your family.

Tiramisù (for one 18 x 28 cm or 7 x 11 inch pan)

For the sponge cake:
3 tablespoons chickpea flour
150 ml (1/2 cup + 1/8 cup) hot water
150 g (3/4 cup) sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
100 g (3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
50 g cornstarch (6 tablespoons)

Line a 18 x 28 cm square pan (7 x 11 inch) with parchment paper. It is important to use parchment paper as the cake tends to stick to the pan when greased. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).

In a bowl, whisk together chickpea flour and hot water. Add sugar and oil and beat constantly. Add flour, baking powder, and starch. Transfer to pan and bake for 12-15 minutes. You should keep an eye on the oven, as the cake burns easily.

Let cool in pan for 30 minutes. Remove and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

For the filling:
625 g soy yoghurt (22 oz)
200 g raw cashew nuts (7.1 oz)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
150 g powdered sugar* (1 1/4 cups)
110 g coconut oil, melted and cooled (1/2 cup)

*This filling is only mildly sweetened because the sponge cake is very sweet. Please feel free to add more sugar if you like your desserts sweeter. You can also add some vanilla extract to the filling, if you feel like it.

In a food processor, combine yoghurt and cashew nuts and process until smooth. Add flour and sugar and process into a smooth paste. Pour coconut oil into the mixture and process until smooth again.

240 ml freshly brewed and cooled coffee (1 cup)
2-4 tablespoons coffee liqueur or Amaretto, to taste

1-2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

Slice the cake into two equal layers. Place one layer on the bottom of the pan (the same pan you baked the cake in). Mix coffee with alcohol and carefully pour half of the mixture over the cake layer, soaking the whole cake with coffee. Pour half of the filling over the soaked cake layer, distributing it evenly. Place second piece of cake on top, soak with coffee and pour remaining filling on top. Sift cocoa over the tiramisù and transfer to fridge. Let sit for several hours or overnight. Serve with strong coffee or tea.

Straight from the pan

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