Death to Diets Cake

Well here it is.

New and improved 2017 version of the ultimate Death to Diets Cake.

Some of you may already be familiar with this signature creation I introduced several years ago when I still owned my bakery.

The idea for this cake came about when I was on one of my many diet phases.

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Yes, too have to pull back the reigns on my cake, cookie and cupcake intake every now and again, as it gets way out of control sometimes.

It seems whenever I am sugar and fat deprived, my brain kicks in to ultra creative gear and I dream up amazing concoctions that I am just dying to sink my poor deprived teeth into.

Hence the name~ Death to Diets Cake.

This was a diet buster for sure and worth every last calorie! I can attest to that!

This year at Gretchen’s Vegan Bakery it is certain that the only thing we are killing is diets!

The new and improved version has been vegan-ized, coffee-ized, Oreo-ized and smaller sized! LOL

Single servings is where it’s at!

Ok, this is technically NOT a single serving, but I won’t tell if you don’t!

The best way to a guilt free dessert is simple: Don’t tell anyone you are making it so when you finish it all by yourself, you have no guilt because no one knew it existed in the first place!

Stick with me, I have all the tricks.

However there really are no tricks here, just straight up Building on Recipes to make this fabulous tower of deathly sinful goodness! (Is it legal to use those words altogether in one sentence?)

As with any Building on Recipes project you will have to make several recipes ahead of time.

I walk you through it step by step below in the video tutorial as well as in the written instructions, so just be sure to organize yourself and give yourself at least a day (or two half days) to get it all done.

I usually start the baking of the brownie and mix the buttercream recipe, fudge icing, cream cheese icing and ganache on one day; then assemble the cake the next day.

It is so much easier to divide up your time that way so you are not spending what seems like a lifetime in the kitchen making this cake from start to finish.

Having the recipes prepared in advance is a lifesaver.

Now get going on this project! I mean, seriously,  how much longer can you be on a diet!?
Jeeesh!

**One last note, in the video you will notice I used 2- 5″ Ring Molds to build the cake.

It is not necessary to build the cake in ring molds, but it does help.

You can of course build this cake traditional style (meaning just build it and ice it as you would any layer cake) however since this is such a tall cake, the ring mold will help to keep it all together, prevent leaning and flopping and well…. it’s kinda professional~ like.

Besides I use my ring molds for so many cake projects and I know you will too if you are even just semi serious about baking once in a while, so it’s a good investment.

Also I am obsessed with the 5″ size, but you can go for the larger 8″ Ring Mold Size if you prefer, just double the recipe below to accommodate that size.

Death to Diets Cake

 

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While the brownie layers are baking you can prepare all the other recipes as listed below.
Click the links and follow along for each recipe

Serves: 1 - 5" Cake

Ingredients

• For the Brownie Batter:
• Granulated Sugar 1½cup (300g)
• Coconut Oil or any vegetable oil you prefer 8 tablespoons (120ml)
• Natural or Dutch Process Cocoa Powder ⅔ cup (60g)
• Hot Water ⅔ cup (160ml)
• Ground Flax Seeds 6 Tablespoons (48g)
• Hot Water 8 Tablespoons (120ml)
• Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoon (10ml)
• All Purpose Flour 1 cup + 6 Tablespoons (175g)
• Salt ¼ teaspoon
• Baking Powder 1¼ teaspoons
• Additional Recipes:
• Ganache Icing: 8 ounces vegan chocolate + 4 ounces of soy milk
• ½ Recipe Fudge Icing
• ½ Recipe Best Vegan Buttercream Icing
• ½ Recipe Vegan Cream Cheese Icing
• * we will be making some the buttercream mocha (optional) so you will also need instant coffee granules
• Oreos for garnish *optional

Instructions

1. For the brownie batter:
2. Combine the ground flax and 8 Tbs hot water and let stand for 5 minutes to thicken.
3. Combine the cocoa powder with the other measure of hot water (the ⅔ cup) and whisk smooth
4. Add the melted coconut oil
5. In a large mixing bowl combine the sugar, flax mixture, cocoa paste mixture and vanilla extract and whisk smooth
6. Sift the flour with the salt and baking powder and add to the chocolate mixture, whisk smooth
7. Pour batter into greased cake pans or the ring mold as shown in the video
8. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 25 minutes or until they are springy to the touch when you gently press the centers
9. Cool completely before assembling the cake as shown in the video
10. To make the Mocha Icing dissolve 1 Tablespoon instant coffee granules with 2 tablespoons warm water, add to half of the buttercream recipe at the last stage of mixing, mix smooth
11. For the Vegan ganache: Warm the chocolate and milk alternative together in a sauce pot stirring constantly until melted and smooth

Notes

Death to Diets cake must be kept refrigerated, store air tight for up to 10 days

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