A lovely mini vegan cake, with a hidden Rosé wine charm and sweet ripe strawberries. Tender cake layers, luscious strawberry truffle cheesecake filling, and delightfully sweet Rosé caramel drizzle make this cake the perfect holiday treat. Maybe not typically wintery in flavour combination, but festive nonetheless.
Made without any vegan butter, but with plenty of vegan double cream, the filling simply melts on every bite. And sweet jammy strawberries can only make things even better.
The recipe will work just fine with both fresh, ripe strawberries and defrosted ones. Simply let them thaw completely, mix them with lemon and sugar, and they will be perfect. However, I do find that defrosted fruit sometimes lacks flavour just a little bit, so if that is the case, feel free to add a drop or two of strawberry flavouring.
Ingredients
For the soft Rosé cake layers
200 grams plain flour1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
200 grams granulated sugar
30 millilitres neutral oil
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
220 millilitres Rosé wine, unfined
For the strawberry truffle filling
300 grams strawberries, fresh or defrosted1 lemon, preferably organic
75 grams granulated sugar
100 grams vegan cream cheese
200 millilitres vegan double cream
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 teaspoon whipped cream stabiliser
For the Rosé caramel sauce
350 millilitres Rosé wine, unfined150 grams granulated sugar
Preparation
Start by making the strawberry jam. Add the fruit into a heavy pot or a larger saucepan, add in the lemon juice and sugar, and place it over medium heat. Alternatively, for a completely smooth texture, puree the fruit completely before adding in the lemon and sugar. Let it heat up slowly and bubble away for at least 25-30 minutes, stirring often. The goal is to reduce the fruit into a thick paste, weighing around 200 grams. The longer you cook it, the thicker it will be. Once done, remove from the heat and let it cool down completely.
Next, make the wine caramel sauce. Pour the wine into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add in the sugar, and place it over medium heat. You do not have to stir it, but make sure it is not catching on the bottom of the pan. Let it cook for about 30 minutes, or until thickened and reduced to about 120-150 ml. It will look runny at this point, but that is fine, it will thicken as it stands. Remove from the heat and let it cool down completely.
To make the cake layers, start by preheating the oven to 180°C and lining a medium cake pan (16 cm) with baking parchment, bottom and sides. Sift together the flour with the baking powder, add in the sugar and whisk well. Add in all the wet ingredients and gently stir to combine. It may bubble up because of the wine, but that is fine. Pour into the prepared pan and bake immediately in a nicely preheated oven, at 180°C, for about 35 minutes. Make sure you check the cake early on, so it stays moist. Once baked, remove from the oven and let it cool down in the pan completely.
Once everything is ready, proceed to make the filling and assemble the cake.
Weigh out 200 grams of the prepared jam, add in the cold vegan cream cheese, and fold them together using a spatula. Do not overmix at this stage, there is no need. Whip the vegan double cream in a separate large bowl, alongside vanilla, until it starts to form soft peaks. Add in the jam and cream cheese mixture, along with the whipped cream stabiliser, and whip on the highest setting until stiff peaks form. Divide the filling into four equal parts by weight.
Level the cake if needed, and slice it into four thin layers. Be patient with this step, because the layers are very thin. Place the first cake layer on the serving platter, and add in one portion of the filling. Drizzle some of the wine caramel sauce, and top with another cake layer. Repeat the process until all the layers are used up, and decorate the cake using the remaining filling. Place the platter in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, and serve in thin slices with freshly brewed coffee and some more of the Rosé caramel sauce. Yields 12 rich servings.
