Masarap: Vegan Coffee Layer Cake

My cousin Jason celebrated his birthday last Friday.  For his cake, I wanted to veganize a Filipino recipe for Mocha Cake.  Filipino Mocha is actually a coffee flavored cake and I don’t understand why it’s called mocha.  Traditionally it is a roll cake, but some bakeries do make it as a layered cake.  Originally, I had planned to make a Vegan Mocha Crunch Cake ala Red Ribbon, with an airy toffee being the crunch part.  But I had to simplify the recipe since I was baking two cakes in one day.

This is the first cake I haven’t tasted personally since I dropped it off in the morning before heading out of town for the weekend.  My Mom and the birthday boy both told me it was delicious.  If you try out the recipe (or were one of the lucky few Jason shared it with), please leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Coffee Layer Cake

Dry Ingredients:

3 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

2 tbs Corn Starch
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Sea Salt

Wet Ingredients:

1/4 cup Soy Milk + 1 tbs Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

3 tsp Energ Egg + 4 tbs Water

2 cups Water  + 3 tbs Instant Coffee Granules
2/3 cup Canola Oil
1 cup Light Brown Sugar

3/4 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Applesauce

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 320ºF.  Add vinegar to soy milk and reserve.  Stir egg replacer and 4 tbs water, reserve.  Stir coffee granules into water, reserve.  Sift together dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl.

Pour oil and sugars into a large bowl and beat with a wire whisk until well incorporated.  Add egg replacer mixture, coffee, applesauce, and vanilla to combine until smooth.  Fold in dry ingredients.  Lastly, fold in soy milk and vinegar mixture.  Pour into 2 9-inch cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Allow cakes to cool. 

Coffee Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup Earth Balance Vegan Margarine

1/2 cup Earth Balance Natural Shortening

3 cups Powdered Sugar

3 tbs Water

1 tbs Instant Coffee Granules

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Stir coffee granules in water to dissolve, reserve.  Using an electric hand mixer, cream margarine and shortening until light and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar in stages.  Lastly, mix in coffee and vanilla.