There is something about chocolate! Chocolate desserts are always a hit, and this Chocolate and Coconut Log was absolutely scrumptious!
We served it up with fresh raspberries at our last vegan pop-up dining event. (Check out our Green and Vegan FB page)
The inspiration once again comes from Vegan Bible, by Marie Laforet, but I needed to make a soy free version.
Also, the original included praline, but I left this out as there were enough flavours and texture without it.
Not sure why, but I never got to take photos of the making, nor a pic of the whole completed log. The pictures show the plating and serving up, with a bit of the log in the background.
My version of the Chocolate and Coconut Log recipe:
Ingredients for the cake –
60 ml coconut oil
100 grm light brown sugar
200 ml cashew cream
50 grm hazelnuts, ground
1/4 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
160 grm flour, sifted
Ingredients for the filling/icing –
200 grm dark chocolate
2 T coconut oil
3 T hazelnut butter
50 grm icing sugar
1 x 410 ml tin coconut milk
20 grm dessicated coconut (for dusting the assembled log)
What to do:
Make the cake bit –
In a bowl, combine the oil and sugar.
Mix in the cashew cream, ground hazelnuts, vanilla, then baking powder and salt.
Fold in the sifted flour and mix well.
Spread the mixture out on baking parchment in a baking tray. (When spreading, bear in mind you are going to have to cut this into 3 equal sized rectangles to make the log)
Bake at 180 deg C for 15 to 20 mins.
Once done, set aside and allow to cool completely.
For the filling/icing –
Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie.
Add the coconut oil and hazelnut butter.
Fold in the icing sugar.
Add the coconut milk.
Whizz with a stick blender till smooth.
Chill the mixture in the freezer, stirring occasionally, till it has the consistency of thick cream, but not too stiff.
Assemble the log –
Cut the cake into 3 equal sized rectangles, as mentioned earlier.
Place one rectangle on a plate and spread a thick layer of the filling over it.
Place the next rectangle of cake on top, followed by more filling and so on.
Then coat the sides and ends with filling/icing.
Finish off by dusting the whole log with the dessicated coconut.
Keep in the fridge till serving. Lightly cover it to stop it drying out.
Some notes:
1 – The observant will see that my log had four layers!! The original recipe served about 8. I needed more for the pop-up dining, so I used 1 and 1/3 times the recipe and made a four layer log. This was quite a mission to assemble, so if I do this again I will make 2 x 3 layer logs.
2 – Cashew cream – this I made myself – 1 cup cashew nuts, soaked overnight. Rinsed and blended with 1 cup water.
3 – Melting chocolate – use a china or glass bowl over the hot water. Do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Do not overheat the chocolate – if you do it will “split” and no amount of blending or whizzing or anything will fix it!
Thanks again to Marie for her excellent book – Vegan Bible. I have now made quite a few of the recipes, and they actually work! If you do decide to get the book (available on-line from Amazon or Loot), be sure to get the correct one as there are several recipe books with the same or very similar names.
Bon apetit!
