Mini Red Velvet Cakes With Cashew Cream Cheese Icing {DF, GF, Egg Free}

I wonder sometimes if people think food photographers and bloggers lead glamorous lives. I ponder this as I sit here writing that sentence with a crying baby on my lap, my hair mostly dry shampoo and I wonder if I put deodorant on today. Glamorous!? Yeah... no!!! While I may not be glamorous these gorgeous Mini Red Velvet Cakes with Cashew Cream Cheese Icing certainly are. I mean just look at them. They are delectable and moist with a sweet, soft crumb filled with a tangy and creamy cashew cream cheese filling that fits this cake perfectly. There is a secret ingredient in these cakes that make these cakes naturally red. No nasty dyes needed.  

I made these Red Velvet Cakes into mini versions because I love anything done small. Cakes especially. They just look way too cute and I think they add a touch of whimsy when made into miniature versions. I went into the garden and picked some jasmine foliage and flowers that were about the yard to decorate the tops of the cakes. I just love the trend of foliage and flowers being used for decorative purposes on cakes. While there wasn't a lot of flowers in our gardens at the moment I really loved the sculptural value of the Jasmine vine. It was all intertwined together and had these thin climbers at the end wanting to grab anything in their reach. I loved what they added to the images of these cakes. 

So I said there was a secret ingredient in these cakes and I will let you in on the secret. It's beetroot. It's what gives the cake it's reddish colour and adds moisture to the cake giving it it's lovely crumb. The beetroot has to be roasted or steamed until soft and blended with the wet ingredients before adding to the batter. I had to make this cake twice as the first time I added to much cocoa powder and it didn't have any red tinge to it. I reduced the amount of cocoa and the next time the colour came out pretty good. If you wanted a redder more vibrant red velvet cake I think you could try adding less cocoa than I have noted in the recipe. I was happy with the colour here but I think you could probably go redder if you wanted too. 

I wanted to add a little fun factor to these cakes and who I couldn't go past sparklers to just add that little bit of fun and dare I say glamour to these already special cakes. I may have had a bit of fun catching them through my camera as well. I was afraid I was going set the smoke alarm off in the house while the kids were napping lighting these sparklers up. It would not have ended well as the kids were only halfway through their nap. Thankfully that did not happen as I cracked the door open to let some air in to sweep away the smoke. Also trying to set alight three sparklers simultaneously before shoving them into the cakes and setting the camera to shoot was fun. I took me a couple of goes to get my setting right but I loved the final pics I managed to capture. So much fun!

Aquafaba is the cooking liquid that comes from cooking bean, chickpeas and legumes. It is the leftover liquid if you cook them yourself or the liquid in the canned beans, chickpeas etc you buy from the supermarket. Don't throw this amazing liquid down the drain. Make sure you save it and follow the instructions I did on the Black Food Bloggers Club of reducing the aquafaba down slightly to better mimic eggs. I found the liquid from my cans of chickpeas to be quite runny and this affected the result of my baked goods (looking at you vegan sponge) too much to put up with. So I stumbled across the Black Food Bloggers post about reducing the aquafaba liquid to help it mimic a egg replacement better. This magic liquid can make meringues and pavlova just like egg whites. Amazing.

Mini Red Velvet Cakes With Cashew Cream Cheese

Prep Time: 45 min + soaking

Cook Time: 25-30 min

Ingredients (Makes 3 mini cakes)

Beetroot Red Velvet Chocolate Cake

• 200g dairy free margarine
• ¾ cup maple syrup
• 6 tbsp Aquafaba ** See notes
• 370g beetroot, cooked & skin peeled
• ¾ cup coconut milk
• 3 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup almond meal
• 1 ¾ cup besan flour (chickpea flour)
• 1 cup gluten-free self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

Cashew Cream Cheese Icing

• 2 cups raw cashew
• Zest of 1 x lemon
• 100ml lemon juice (approx. 2 x large lemons)
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• Pinch salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Instructions

Add the cashews to a small mixing bowl and pour boiling water over the top until covered. Set aside for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 180-degree C (fan bake) and line a large cookie tray with baking paper or alternatively small baking tins to make a mini cake. Set aside.

Into a large blender jug add the cooked and peeled beetroot, coconut milk, apple cider vinegar and vanilla. Blitz for 1-2 minutes or until a smooth batter is formed. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer add the margarine and maple syrup and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time beating until combined between each.

Sift in the almond meal, besan flour, gluten-free self-raising flour, baking powder and salt and on low speed slowly pour in the beetroot mixture into the bowl of the electric mixer. Mix on low until a smooth batter is formed. Pour the batter over the large cooking tray and smooth until even.

Place into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

Cashew Cream Cheese

Drain the water off the soaking cashews and place into the bowl of a food processor. Add the lemon juice, zest, maple syrup, coconut milk, pinch salt, vanilla and coconut oil.

Blend all the ingredients together until smooth icing forms.

Assembly

Using a plate or small bowl approx. 12cm in diameter as a template to cut circles of cake from the cooled Beetroot Red Velvet Chocolate Cake.

Place the first layer of cake onto a serving platter or cake stand and add two tablespoons full of the Cashew Cream Cheese Icing to the centre of the cake. Spread out evenly over the cake and repeat with a second and third layer. Next spread the cream cheese icing over the top and side of the cake to cover completely.

Chill the cake for 2-3 hours and decorate with decorative flowers.

Serve immediately.

Cooks Notes

-These cakes can be frozen in an airtight container for up to a month. Remove from freezer and place in the fridge overnight to defrost.
- Aquafaba is the liquid found in tinned chickpeas. See the note above the recipe for how to prepare it correctly.

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