Ice-Cream and Giggles

This baby was made for my sister's birthday (hence gluten free). Not only is it vegan, but refined sugar free! I wasn't intending on blogging it, so I only have (crappy) iPhone photos, but after the response I got on instagram I decided I would post the full how-to here (as it is a bit complicated). It is a caramel mud cake, with a salted caramel filling, sugar free icing, caramel ganache, caramel and white chocolate bark, with caramel date balls and coconut.

For the caramel mudcake (recipe altered from here), you need:

200g vegan margarine
200g vegan sugar free caramel choc (I used Loving Earth), but sugar free vegan white choc also works)
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup stevia
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/3 cup potato flour
2/3 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 vegan egg equivalents (I used Orgran)

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees, grease a cake tin.
2. In a saucepan on medium heat combine the marg, chocolate, vanilla, coconut sugar, stevia, water and maple syrup until smooth and gooey. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
3. Sift together the flours and baking powder in a bowl. Prepare your vegan eggs.
4. Mix vegan eggs into caramel mix.
5. Add caramel mix into flour bowl. Whisk. Pour into cake tin, cook for 50-60 minutes.
6. Let cool for at least 2-3 hours.

For salted caramel filling, you will need:

2/3 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup coconut milk/cream
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp Himalayan salt

1. Combine the sugar, cream and oil in a small saucepan on medium heat. Cook until all bubbly and simmering. Add salt. Let cool.

For the caramel bark, you will need:

150 g of Loving Earth Salted Caramel Chocolate
30-40 g vegan sugar free white chocolate

1. Prepare a square tin by lining it with baking paper.
2. Melt the caramel chocolate in the microwave on medium heat at 1 minute intervals.
3. Pour into the tin and shake tin so the chocolate is even.
4. In a separate bowl, melt the white chocolate using the same method.
5. Pour white chocolate into a piping bag. Cut tip, and draw a swirl into caramel.
6. Using a skewer or toothpick, draw a swirly design through chocolate, going back and forth.
7. Set in fridge.
8. Cut into shards.

For the date caramel balls (recipe by Funky Forest Food), you need:

12 medjool dates
3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup coconut shreds (plus 1/4-1/3 cup more to roll balls into)
1 tsp maca powder

1. Combine ingredients in a food processor.
2. Roll into balls, and roll in more coconut.

For the sugar free vegan butter cream icing, you will need:

1/2 cup vegan margarine
1 1/2 cups natvia icing powder
1 tsp vanilla
dash almond milk

1. Cream the butter, then add the icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Add vanilla, and almond milk until reached desired consistency.

For the caramel ganache, you will need:

1 x 100g block of Loving Earth Caramel Chocolate
1/4-1/3 cup natvia icing powder

1. In the microwave, melt the chocolate in the microwave on medium heat at 1 minute intervals.
2. Stir in the icing powder. Whisk this until it reaches room temperature, without allowing it to set.

Assemblage:

1. Once your cake is cool, cut out the centre of the cake, fill it with the salted caramel filling (you might not need all of it), and top it back with cake.
2. Top with buttercream.
3. Pour on the caramel ganache. You can use a skewer to help it "drip".
4. Before ganache sets, stick in the chocolate shards, date balls, and top with some shredded coconut.

For best results: store in the fridge until ready to serve. The Loving Earth caramel chocolate has a very low melting point!