Celebrate on a Thursday With This Vegan Eton Mess Cake

• • Liquid from 1 can of chickpeas (a little over 1/2 cup of liquid)
• • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• • 125g of powdered sugar
• • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• • 400ml soy milk
• • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 
• • 350g dairy-free spread (we used Pure Soy Based Spread)
• • 250g caster sugar
• • 550g self-raising flour
• • 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
• • 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• • ¼ tsp of salt

• • zest of 2 lemons
• • 350g powdered sugar
• • 200g vegan butter
• • cream of 1 full-fat coconut milk 
• • mixed berries (raspberries, strawberries, blackberries)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Chill the can of chickpeas in the fridge for at least ½ hour.
• Once chilled separate the chickpeas from the liquid and save the chickpeas for another dish.
• Pour the liquid in a large bowl and add the cream of tartar.
• Whisk until soft peaks form about 5 minutes in, add the vanilla and start adding the powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Keep whisking for another 3-5 minutes until the mixtures becomes glossy and you get stiff peaks that stay up in the mixture.
• The mixture is now ready to pipe into small discs (about 3cm discs). Line a baking tray with baking paper and space your discs at least 1 cm apart, they will puff a bit but will not run if the mixture was stiff enough.
• Bake for 1 ½ – 2 hours on 130 Celsius, when baked let the meringue cool in the oven completely, propping the oven open slightly to let steam escape. You want to dry the meringues out as much as you can so they’re nice and crispy.

• Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
• Add the vinegar to the almond milk (you can also use soy milk) to make your butter milk and set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar together and whisk until light and fluffy.
• Add butter milk and vanilla and give the mixture a quick stir.
• Sift in the flour, bicarbonate and salt and mix until combined, but do not over whisk as it will build up the gluten in the flour and take away the lovely crumbly texture of the sponge.
• Grease the three tins with dairy-free spread or oil then line with a piece of balking paper on the base.
• Divide your cake mixture equally between the three pans (about 500g per mixture)
• Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clear.
• Let the cakes cool in the pan fully before assembling your cake.

• Chill a can of full fat coconut cream for at least 24 hours in the fridge, your cream (fat) will then separate from the liquid.
• Remove the fatty layer, or “cream” from the coconut milk and let come to room temperature
• Make sure the vegan butter is room temperature.
• Whisk together the butter, sugar, lemon zest until light and fluffy.
• Your mixture might curdle if the temperature different between the butter and coconut cream is too big but don’t worry. Heat the sides of your bowl (a.k.a. the hairdryer trick!) and keep whisking. The cream will melt and as you whisk an emulsion will form.
• Chop up a two handfuls of berries, we used a bit of everything and set aside (this will be used when you assemble you cake.

• Place your first layer on a flat dish.
• Spread a thin layer of the buttercream over the sponge and then pipe a line of icing on the edge of the sponge. You should now have space in the middle surrounded by a ring of icing.
• Scatter a handful of berries in the middle of your cake and level the icing layer out with a bit more buttercream. You want a generous layer of tangy fruit in here to balance out the sweetness of your icing and cake.
• Repeat this process for the next layer.
• For the top sponge spread a light layer of buttercream on top and decorate liberally with fruit and you meringues.