All, Dessert, Recipes, Vegetarian

Plant-based Cacao Cake with Hibiscus Glaze

By Casa de Suna

Published Dec 08

If you follow us on social media, you’ll know we’re obsessed with LINNÉ Botanicals and their fantastic skincare products.

The Renew Serum is a particular favorite among the team. We couldn’t get enough of the nourishing ingredients–so we decided to work together to craft a recipe inspired by the beneficial botanicals. It’s vegan, rich, and flavorful–and the tinned, full-fat coconut milk is crucial for bringing it all together.

How to Make It

Difficulty: Easy

Overall Time: 1 hr 45 min

Prep Time: 30 min + 1 hr 15 min cooling time

Serves: 8

Ingredients

Cacao Cake

3 tbsp water
2 tbsp whole ground flaxseed meal
1 cup natural cane sugar
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
⅓ cup coconut oil, plus extra for oiling pan
½ cup raw cacao powder, plus extra for dusting pan
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp apple cider vinegar
½ tsp vanilla extract

Hibiscus Glaze

1 hibiscus tea bag
½ cup boiling water
2 cups icing sugar
Coconut whipped cream (optional)
Raspberries, to garnish
Rosemary sprigs, to garnish (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
For the cake, combine water with flaxseed meal in a small bowl and set aside to stand.
Generously oil an 8-inch round metal cake pan. Line bottom with parchment. Dust with cocoa powder. Set aside.
Combine sugar with coconut milk, oil, and cacao powder in a medium saucepan. Set over medium heat and cook, whisking occasionally, until oil is melted, and sugar is dissolved, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool for 5 minutes.
Whisk together flour with baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Scrape cooled sugar-mixture into a large bowl. Whisk in flaxseed-mixture along with vinegar and vanilla until combined. Whisk in flour-mixture just until a smooth batter forms and no white streaks remain. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top.
Bake in center of oven until a tester inserted into the center of cake comes out clean, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let it cool for 15 minutes. Turn the cake out onto rack and discard parchment. Let it cool completely, about 1 hour.
For the glaze, while the cake is cooling, place tea bag in a small glass measuring cup. Pour over hot water and let steep until cooled to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Add icing sugar to a medium bowl. Stir in 2 to 3 tbsp of cooled hibiscus tea until a smooth glaze forms.
To finish, transfer cooled cake to a cake stand or plate. Spoon glaze over cake, starting in the center. Using the back of the spoon, push glaze towards the edges so it lightly drips over. (Alternatively, cake can be served unglazed and garnished with coconut whipped cream). Top with raspberries and rosemary sprigs. Serve immediately.