Vegan Tree Stump Cake Food

WINTER TREE STUMP CAKE

Steps:

• For the tree stump cake: Put about 1/2 cup of the buttercream frosting into a bowl and dye it to look like the inside of a tree stump (a few drops of yellow and brown food dye). Spread a thin layer of the colored buttercream onto the top of your prepared 6-inch cake and smooth out into a flat layer. Using a cake comb in a clockwise motion, create concentric circles on the top of the cake to represent the rings of a tree.
• Dust the bench with cornstarch and roll out the dark chocolate modeling chocolate so it is approximately 1/2 inch taller than the height of your cake and at least 20 inches long. The modeling chocolate should be kept fairly thick, approximately 1/2-inch.
• Using the sculpting tools, start texturing the modeling chocolate with scrapes, lines, divets, etc.
• After it is textured, trim the bottom edge so that you have a straight line. Wrap the modeling chocolate around the outside of the iced cake.
• For the cardinal: Roll some of the red modeling chocolate into a ball a little larger than a golf ball. Rolling one end between two hands, taper the ball to a teardrop shape. The pointed end of the teardrop will be the head. Pinch the top of the head and pull backward to make the tuft of feathers on the cardinal's head. With a rolling pin, flatten the remaining red modeling chocolate to 1/8-to-1/4-inch thick. Cut out 3 teardrop shapes about 2 inches long using either a craft knife or a teardrop-shaped cookie cutter. These will be the wings and tail.
• Dampen one side of each wing with a drop of water and stick them to the sides of the body. Do the same with the tail and stick it to the back. Use a tool to add feather details to the wings and tail if desired.
• Using a rolling pin, roll out a small amount of black modeling chocolate to about 1/8-inch thick. Cut it into a diamond shape to make the black part of the cardinal's face. Dampen one side of the black chocolate and stick it to the face area of the cardinal. Use the dragees for eyes. (If you don't have dragees roll 2 small balls of black modeling chocolate with your hands to about 1/4-inch diameter. Stick them to the cardinal's head.)
• Using ivory modeling chocolate, make a teardrop shape about 1/2-inch long. Stick it to the cardinal between its eyes to form a beak. Use a sculpting tool or a butter knife to add the mouth detail to the beak.
• For the mouse: Choose a modeling chocolate color for your mouse - white, tan, grey, brown or a more fanciful color. Roll some of the mouse color modeling chocolate into 2 balls; 1 about the size of a golf ball, the other a little smaller. Dampen a small area of each ball with water and stick them together. These will form the head and body of the mouse. The larger ball is the body.
• Roll 2 balls of mouse color modeling chocolate about the size of peas and stick them to the front of the mouse's head. Roll a small tube, 1/4-to-1/2-inch long and lay it between and on top of the 2 small balls. This will be the nose part of the mouse's muzzle.
• Roll 2 tubes of the mouse color modeling chocolate about 1-inch long each for the mouse's forelegs. Attach them to the side of the body and head.
• Roll 2 small balls of the mouse color modeling chocolate about the size of grapes and partially flatten them. These will be the haunches of the mouse's back legs. Attach them to the rear of the body on either side.
• Make the mouse's 4 paws by rolling 4 balls out of pink modeling chocolate about 1/2-inch in diameter. Attach them to the ends of the forelegs and the front of the haunches. Use a sculpting tool or knife to add toe details to the paws.
• Roll a very small ball of pink modeling chocolate and apply it to the tip of the nose.
• Roll a "snake" of pink modeling chocolate between your hands for the tail and attach it to the mouse's behind.
• Using a rolling pin, flatten out some pink modeling chocolate and some mouse color modeling chocolate. Using a 3/4-inch cookie cutter, cut 2 circles of each color. Dampen the backs of each pink circle and attach them to the mouse colored chocolate circles. These will be the mouse's ears. Attach them to the mouse's head.
• Attach a very small piece of white or ivory modeling chocolate to the underside of the mouse's muzzle to make the protruding incisors.
• For the mouse's eyes, use the dragees. (If you don't have dragees roll 2 small balls of black modeling chocolate with your hands to about 1/4-inch diameter. Stick them to the mouse's head.)
• Add your sculptures to the cake.
• Use the extra buttercream to add a snow effect to the top of the trunk and the board or plate your cake is on. Accent the snow with some clear crystal sugar.

VEGAN TREE STUMP CAKE

Steps:

• Add the almond milk, caster sugar, and cornflour to a saucepan and place on it a low heat. Whisk vigorously for a couple of minutes until the sugar has dissolved.
• Slice the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and pod to a saucepan along with the coconut milk, and salt.
• Turn up the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer, while continuously whisking. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes, the custard will start to thicken. Make sure you are constantly stirring the custard to avoid it burning to the bottom of the pan. I recommend alternating between a whisk and rubber spatula.
• Place the chopped chocolate in a large heat-resistant bowl and place a sieve on top of the bowl. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pass the mixture through a sieve to remove any large particles from the vanilla pod, into the bowl of chocolate.
• Use a spatula to fold the hot custard through the chocolate, until it melts together into a smooth mixture. Then use an electric whisk or emersion blender to whisk/blend the mixture for a couple of minutes until silky smooth and lump-free. Cover the bowl with cling film and place in the fridge overnight (or for at least 6 hours).
• Preheat your oven to 180°C (356°F). Line the base of three 6" cake tins with a circle of parchment paper and spray the sides with oil spray.
• To make the vegan "buttermilk" add the soya milk and apple cider vinegar to a jug, stir and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Add the strong coffee and sunflower oil to the buttermilk mixture and whisk to combine.
• In a large bowl mix together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and use a spatula to fold everything together until you have a smooth batter.
• Divide the batter into the lined cake pans and bake for 30-40 minutes. Check they are ready by inserting a skewer, it should come out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 15-20 minutes and then carefully turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool further. Refrigerate the cakes in an airtight container until ready to use. Chilling the cakes for a few hours (or overnight) makes them easier to work with and decorate.
• Place 2 large sheets of parchment paper (approx 25" in length) on your work surface.
• Note: If you're not bothered about tempering the chocolate you can simply melt it over a water bath (bain-marie) and skip the following 2 steps.
• Add 2/3 of the finely chopped chocolate (200g) to a heat-resistant bowl and place on top of a saucepan that is about 1/4 ways filled with simmering water (bain-marie). Stir the chocolate with a rubber spatula every so often to melt it evenly. Place your candy thermometer into the chocolate and once it reaches 55°C (131°F) remove it from the heat.
• Reserve one ⅓ of the melted chocolate and add the chopped chocolate to the remaining ⅔ of melted chocolate. Place your candy thermometer into the chocolate and keep stirring until the temperature reaches 28°C (82°F). Stir in the reserved ⅓ of melted chocolate and stir until the temperature reaches back up to 31°C (88°F).
• Divide the melted chocolate between the 2 sheets of parchment paper and use a spatula to spread the chocolate out into an even rectangular layer. Allow the chocolate to slightly set until it is not runny but still soft enough to roll (about 5 minutes). Next, gently roll up the sheet of parchment paper into a cylinder and place it into the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes. Repeat with the second sheet of parchment.
• Once set, very gently unroll the sheet of parchment paper. The chocolate "bark" will break off in long pieces. Sit these on a tray lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Meanwhile, make the vegan coffee swiss meringue buttercream.
• Cut the domes from the tops of the chocolate sponge cake to get them as even as possible.
• Remove the chocolate cremeux from the fridge and give it a stir. To assemble the cake, add a little chocolate cremeux onto your turntable to secure the cake. Place the first layer of cake and follow with a layer of chocolate cremeux. Smooth out the cremeux using a spatula, making sure not to go all the way to the outer edges. Continue this process for the second layer and top with the third chocolate sponge.
• Use a spatula to spread the coffee buttercream on top and on the sides of the cake. Use a cake scraper to smooth out the surface - it does not need to be perfect as the chocolate bark will be covering the sides.
• To get the tree trunk effect on top of the cake, use a fork to scrape lines into the buttercream in a circular motion. Then use the back of a small spoon to create circular rings from the middle to the outer edges of the cake.
• Wearing latex gloves, gently press the chocolate bark into the sides of the cake using the most attractive pieces. You will likely have some bark leftover, which you can reserve and melt for another recipe.
• Optionally, you can decorate with vegan meringue mushrooms and ground pistachios.
• Store the cake in an airtight container or cover with cling film and refrigerate it until needed. Remove it from the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.