November 2024 kicks off a very important year of celebrations for The Vegan Society – our 80th anniversary! Get in touch at editor[at]vegansociety[dot]com and let us know if you recreate this delicious showstopper. We decorated the cake with gingerbread shapes – but feel free to get creative!
Serves 16–35 people depending on appetite
Time to make: Approximately 3 hours, not including chilling time
Ingredients 
For the orange curd
- 30 g cornflour
- 250 ml orange juice
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- 100 g caster sugar
- Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
- 70 g vegan butter (such as Flora Plant Butter)
- 60 ml soya milk
- 1 tsp orange extract
For the ginger cakes
- 450 g plain flour
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 4 ½ tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 160 g light brown soft or caster sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 200 g golden syrup
- 200 g treacle
- 160 ml neutral oil
- 360 ml boiling water
For the chocolate buttercream
- 250 g 70% dark chocolate (such as Divine or ASDA own brand), finely chopped
- 500 g vegan block butter (such as Flora Plant Butter), softened
- 90 g cocoa powder, sifted
- 500 g icing sugar, sifted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For the chocolate drip
- 100 g 70% dark chocolate (such as Divine or ASDA own brand), finely chopped
- 10 g coconut oil
Method
Orange curd
1. Place the cornflour in a non-reactive saucepan (such as stainless steel). Gradually whisk in the orange and lemon juices. Whisk in the sugar and orange zest.
2. Place the pan over a medium-low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Continue to cook the curd whilst stirring until it comes up to the boil and becomes very thick.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vegan butter, milk and orange extract, then stir until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. Allow it to cool slightly then pour it into a bowl, cover it and refrigerate it overnight.
Ginger cakes
4. Preheat the oven to 180 °C/160 °C fan/gas mark 4. Grease three 20 cm/8 in round cake tins, and line the bases with baking parchment.
5. Whisk together the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, mixed spice, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
6. Add the golden syrup, treacle, oil and boiling water to the bowl, and whisk until no lumps of flour remain.
7. Divide the batter between the prepared tins and bake for about 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 15 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Buttercream
9. Melt the chocolate, either in a bain marie or in short bursts in the microwave. Set it aside to cool a little.
10. Place the vegan butter in the bowl of your stand mixer (or you can use an electric hand mixer). Whisk it until it is smooth. Add the cocoa powder and mix on a low speed until this has combined.
11. Add the sifted icing sugar and mix it in on a low speed until combined, then turn the mixer up to a high speed and whisk for a good few minutes until it is light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl every now and again.
12. Check that the melted chocolate is no longer hot to the touch, then add it to the buttercream along with the vanilla extract and whisk it until smooth.
13. Transfer about 1/4 of the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle.
Assembly
14. Trim the tops of the cake layers to level them if needed (they bake up fairly flat so this shouldn’t be necessary), then place one layer on a serving platter or board. Spread over a thin layer of the buttercream then pipe two rings of buttercream around the edge of the cake and a blob in the middle.
15. The chilled orange curd will have set quite firm, so give it a good whisk until it becomes smooth and creamy again. Spoon some inside the ring of buttercream, making sure not to overfill it.
16. Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the bottom of one of the remaining cake layers and place it on top. Repeat the same steps as before; you may not need all of the orange curd.
17. Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the TOP of the final cake layer, and place it on the cake upside down to give you a flat surface.
18. Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the top and sides of the cake (a crumb coat). Place in the fridge for about 15 minutes to firm up.
19. Spread another layer of buttercream over the whole cake, getting it as smooth as you can with a bench scraper or spatula. Return the cake to the fridge while you make the chocolate drip. (You want the cake to be cold when you add the drip).
Chocolate drip
20. Melt the chocolate, either in a bain marie or in short bursts in the microwave. Stir in the coconut oil until it melts, and the mixture is smooth. Set it aside to cool until it has thickened slightly and is no longer warm to the touch.
21. Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate drip around the edge of the cold cake, using the back of the spoon to encourage it to drip over the edge. Spoon the rest into the middle so that the top of the cake is fully covered. Return the cake to the fridge until the drip is set.
22. Place the leftover buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a star-shaped nozzle. Pipe decorative dollops of buttercream on top of the cake as you like and add any other decorations.
Recipe and image by Hannah Hossack-Lodge (Domestic Gothess)
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