This chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting and poached pears makes an ultimate dessert for the upcoming holidays. Egg-free and dairy-free, this vegan chocolate cake is rich in flavor and absolutely delicious!

Is there a better way to start off Monday than with a chocolate layer cake accompanied with soft poached pears? What if I told you that this cake is vegan (no butter or eggs in that filling), has soft chocolate layers and frosting to die for? 🙂

Chocolate and pears go so well together, and this cake confirms it. With autumn and colder days in the countryside, I love mixing up the spices and warming up the house with a cinnamon scent. Making poached fruit is one of those cozy rituals that we love tasting near the fireplace.

Spiced poached pears make an easy and elegant autumn dessert, eaten either alone or accompanied with whipped cream and a splash of melted chocolate.  Or for an even more indulging autumn dessert, try pairing it with spiced chocolate cake. You will not regret it, I promise! 😉 

After a long hot summer and many fruit cakes, I was craving a good old chocolate layer cake. Soft chocolate layers, creamy chocolate frosting, and spiced poached pears make this cake an ultimate dessert for the upcoming holidays.

This chocolate layer cake is a quick and easy one-bowl recipe that happens to be egg-free and dairy-free. 

I know, baking vegan cakes can be a bit scary to those who usually go for traditional recipes with butter and eggs. But don’t let this stop you from making it - these chocolate layers are so moist and soft that no one will actually notice the difference! And what will surely happen, they will compliment your shiny and delicious frosting and ask for the recipe. 

Instead of butter and eggs, this time our frosting is made with one of my new favorite ingredients, Acquafaba. 

Acquafaba or chickpea water is a perfect egg substitute in all your recipes, not just vegan. 

It can be obtained in two ways. Either you buy pre-cooked chickpeas (I recommend buying the ones in a glass container instead of cans), drain the chickpeas and reserve the liquid. Or, if you prefer you can cook your own chickpeas and reserve the leftover cooking liquid. I prefer using the first option as the cooking liquid is never as silky and thick as the one you buy in stores and might not whip perfectly.

Acquafaba can be added to the recipes unwhipped as an egg replacer and binder of your dry ingredients, whipped into semi-stiff peaks and added to the recipes that call for an egg-white or whipped into stiff peaks for making desserts such as meringues and macaroons. 

Instead of throwing the aquafaba away preserve it and try using it in your recipes. You will be surprised how it turns out. I know I was. Whipped with hand or stand mixer, this silky chickpea water transforms in white firm peaks that will look just like egg whites. Mix in a good quality dark chocolate and you will obtain this delicious, shiny chocolate frosting that will become your new favorite. So rich in flavor and with a great texture, this frosting can be used for many recipes - from covering the layer cake, making brownies, chocolate mouse and many others. Quick note - it is important that your aquafaba is cold as this will make it easier when whipping the frosting. The result should be silky, chocolate frosting that has a nice firm consistency. 

A few very basic ingredients will make this cake irresistible and perfect for the upcoming holidays. If you decide to make it, tag me on Instagram @thehungryapron or comment below this post - I can't wait to hear your opinions! 

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Poached Pears and delicious Chocolate Frosting
Marija Gvozdenovic

INGREDIENTS

Serves 1O 
Prep. time: 1hour
Cooking time: 20 minutes

For the cake 

180g brown sugar

400ml mineral sparkling water

180ml sunflower oil

4 tbsp pear sauce (find instructions below)

300g all-purpose flour

4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

65g roughly chopped vegan chocolate (at least 50% cocoa)

FOR THE pear sauce  

2 medium pears, peeled and chopped

4 tbsp water

1 tbsp brown sugar

½ tbsp cinnamon

Pinch of ground nutmeg

FOR THE FROSTING

20ml acquafaba (Chickpea water), cold from the fridge

3 tsp powdered brown sugar (you can also use maple syrup)

120g vegan dark chocolate

FOR THE POACHED PEARS

1l water

120g sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

2-3 cloves

1-star anise

4 pears

METHOD

Prepare the cake:

Preheat your oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 °F). Prepare the pear sauce by adding all the ingredients to a blender and mixing until smooth. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, water, sunflower oil, and pear sauce until combined. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and spices. Mix well and then add the chopped chocolate. Grease and flour your pan (or line your pan with baking paper). I used a 20cm round pan for this recipe. Divide your baking mixture and bake two cake layers for 20 minutes, or until the cake tester comes out clean. Place on a cooling rack until completely cooled down.

Prepare the poached pears:

Poach the pears by putting water, sugar, and spices in a large cooking pot. Bring to simmer until the sugar dissolves. Peel the pears and gently add them to the simmering water. Cook until soft, for 15-20 minutes, depending on their size. Once ready, remove them and continue to simmer the water until it becomes syrup.

Prepare the chocolate frosting:

Melt the chocolate for the frosting and cool it down before adding to aquafaba. In the meantime, place aquafaba in a medium bowl and whisk with a hand mixer. Once foamy, add sugar and continue mixing until it forms soft white peaks. Add melted chocolate and whisk for another 2 minutes. Your aquafaba must be cold (the best thing is to leave your chickpea can in the fridge overnight), as this will make it easier when whipping the frosting. The result should be silky, chocolate frosting. If your frosting seems too liquid, place it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes until it gets a nice, smooth consistency.

Assemble the cake:

Assemble the cake by spreading a light layer of frosting in between the cake layers. Cover the whole cake with remaining frosting and decorate with poached pears. Serve the cake with pear slices. If you prefer, you can serve pears in halves or even whole. In that case, cover your pears with the remaining syrup for extra taste and sweetness.