This vegan entremet consists of a set and airy vegan caramel mousse, a deliciously moist and fluffy vegan chocolate cake, a vegan ganache that cuts beautifully, a vegan coconut crisp base, and a lush vegan date caramel with salted peanuts! All the elements themselves are actually quite simple and easy to make, and when you put them all together a sophisticated, fancy and mouthwatering dessert is created!
There is no denying that it takes quite a bit of time to whip up this spectacular treat, however, it's the challenges like this that make baking so fun for me. I love working on the recipe and not stopping until all the details are exactly as I wanted them to be. So yes, it is exhausting, but I think (as a person that enjoys spending all their time doing this), it is worth it.
There are some other layered cakes and entremets on the blog, and most of them have used really light and fruity flavors. So, here I wanted to go a bit richer, and focus on the cozy, full, flavors of chocolate, caramel, coconut and peanuts.
A lot of thought was put into the design of this entremet, I wanted to fit in all these layers and textures, while still working mechanically (you can still easily eat it). In the end that was pretty much accomplished, except for the coconut base. The coconut base is super stable, dense, and adds a wonderful chewy texture to the whole dish, as well as a nice hint of salt that compliments everything else very well. But, it is so challenging to cut! I have not figured out a solution to this problem, because I still really want that nice chewy texture, let me know if you have any suggestions!
The layers are (from bottom to top);
Coconut cookie base
Date caramel w/ salted peanuts
Chocolate sponge w/ cacao nibs
Caramel mousse
Chocolate ganache
Caramel mousse
Optional Caramel covered peanuts as garnish
Ingredients (makes 8 - three inch cakes)*
for the chocolate sponge
240ml plant-based milk
1 tsp vinegar
125g sugar
50g brown sugar
100ml oil
2 tsp vanilla
150g flour
50g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs cacao nibs (optional)
for the coconut crisp base
3/4 cup shredded coconut
3 Tbs coconut flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
3 Tbs vegan butter, melted
60g brown rice syrup (or agave, maple, etc.)
for the date caramel
200g coconut milk (only use the creamy stuff from the top)
47g sugar
2 dates, soaked until soft
2 Tbs coconut oil
1 Tbs peanut butter
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
1/4 tsp coriander
about 1 cup roasted and lightly salted peanuts
for the ganache
100g coconut milk (only use the creamy stuff from the top)
134g dark chocolate
10g vegan butter
10g brown rice syrup (or agave, maple, etc.)
for the mousse
344g coconut milk, chilled (only use the the creamy stuff from the top)
50g sugar
79g plant-based milk
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp coriander
1 1/2 Tbs agar agar
59ml water
Caramel covered peanuts (an optional but HIGHLY recommended garnish)
* you will most likely have some leftover chocolate cake and ganache because you have to cut them out, however, everything else should perfectly fit into the eight cakes.
Instructions
Day One
For the sponge; Grease and line a 10x11 rectangle pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together the milk, vinegar, sugars, oil, and vanilla. Set aside. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour the wet into the dry and whisk together until just combined (do not over-mix!). Transfer the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle with some optional cacao nibs, and bake for 25-35 minutes (or until a skewer comes out clean). Let it cool completely in the pan before cutting it with the 3" circle mold. Set the sponge rounds aside for later.
For the coconut base; Line a cookie tray with parchment paper, grease 8 three inch molds with coconut oil and put them on your prepared tray. Combine the shredded coconut, coconut flour, salt, and sugar in a small bowl. In another bowl whisk together the melted butter and syrup, pour the liquid mixture into the coconut bowl and stir everything together. You should end up with a sticky coconut mixture that you can divide evenly between the 8 molds. Press the dough into the molds and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until they are lightly golden. Let them cool completely in the molds before transferring them to a cooling rack.
For the date caramel; Place all the ingredients except for the peanuts in a blender. Blitz everything together until smooth and pour the mixture into a medium sized saucepan. Cook for close to 10 minutes on medium heat, whisking often, until the mixture becomes quite thick. Transfer the caramel to a clean bowl, cover with a lid, and let it cool before transferring to the fridge.
For the ganache; Place the chocolate, butter and syrup in a small bowl. In a small pot, bring the coconut cream to a simmer, pour the hot cream onto the chocolate and let everything melt. Stir together until you get a smooth and creamy ganache. Line a cookie tray with parchment or silicon and pour the ganache onto the tray, smooth it out into a thin layer and place it in the freezer. After about 10 minutes the ganache should be frozen solid, heat up a pan and place one of the 3" molds directly on the hot pan for a couple seconds to heat up the bottom of the metal mold. Cut out a circle from the ganache and place it on a clean, lined, baking tray. Clean the mold and repeat the process until you have 8 rounds of ganache. Put the tray of ganache rounds back into the freezer. You can melt together the leftover ganache pieces and store in the fridge, it is an excellent ice cream topper 😉.
To assemble; Put 8 clean three inch molds onto a tray, line each mold with a strip of acetate and place the coconut base on the bottom of each mold. Then spread a layer of date caramel, a sprinkle of the salted peanuts and cover it with more date caramel. Put a round of chocolate sponge on top and set aside.
For the mousse; Place the cold coconut cream into a cold bowl and whip it until stiff peaks form, place the bowl in the fridge. Spoon half of the sugar into a small pot on medium heat, cook without bothering it until the sugar has started to melt and turn a golden color, sprinkle the other half of the sugar into the pot and continue cooking, undisturbed, until the all sugar is completely melted and is a nice amber color. Take off the heat and slowly, carefully poor in the plant based milk, stir vigorously. The caramel will sputter a lot so be careful. Once you have a nice caramel milk, add in the salt and coriander, and set aside.
In another small pot mix together the agar and water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Pour the agar water into the caramel milk and whisk together. Take the coconut whipped cream out of the freezer and put a spoonful or two of it into the caramel agar mix, whisk it together before pouring the whole thing into the coconut cream. Quickly, mix everything together (the agar sets pretty quickly) and then distribute half of the mousse evenly between the 8 cakes, place a layer of frozen ganache on top and then distribute the other half of the mousse on top. Level out the top of the cakes and transfer them to the freezer to set up overnight.
Day Two
In the morning, remove the cakes from the freezer and transfer them to thaw in the fridge. Make some caramel peanuts as garnish and serve!
Chocolate sponge inspired by the Domestic Gothess
Coconut crisp base inspired by The Toasted Pinenut
Date caramel inspired by the Crowded Kitchen
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