Black Forest Gateau

• A beautiful, moist chocolate gateau.
• The perfect festive centrepiece!
• Sweetened only with coconut sugar and fruit.
• Serves 10.
• A firm favourite at the Healthy Supplies office!

Plain White Flour, Gluten-Free, 1kg (Dove's Farm)

265g plain flour

Organic Coconut Sugar (1kg) - Sussex Wholefoods

400g Organic Coconut Sugar

Organic Cacao Powder (1kg) - Sussex WholeFoods

70g Organic Raw Cacao Powder

Gluten-Free Baking Powder 250g (Sussex Wholefoods)

1½ tsp Gluten-Free Baking Powder

Bicarbonate Of Soda 100g (Sussex Wholefoods)

¾ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

Fine Pink Himalayan Salt 1kg (Sussex Wholefoods)

¾ tsp Himalayan Pink Salt

Ecomil Nature Organic Sugar Free Almond Drink 1L

250 ml Almond Milk

Rapeseed Oil, Organic 500ml (Biona)

120 ml Rapeseed Oil

Organic Cornflour 110g (Dove's Farm)

4 tablespoons Cornflour

Biona Organic Coconut Milk 400ml

4 cans Canned Coconut Milk (ensure that these cans have been chilled for at least 4 hours)

Freeze Dried Cherry Powder 100g Healthy Supplies

Pinch Freeze Dried Cherry Powder

Other Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• A tin of cherries

Method

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5. Line two 9-inch round cake tins with baking paper.
2. Add the plain flour, Coconut Sugar, Raw Cacao Powder, Baking Powder, Bicarbonate of Soda, Salt, and 2 teaspoons of Vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl.
3. Then add three eggs, almond milk and Rapeseed Oil and mix until a smooth batter is formed.
4. Evenly split the batter and pour into the pre-prepared cake tins. Bake for 40-45 minutes – or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Set aside and allow to cool before building the gateau.
5. Drain the tin of cherries, keeping 150ml juice aside.
6. Add the reserved juice, cornflour, drained cherries and 2 tsp vanilla extract to a saucepan and simmer on a low heat until the liquid begins to thicken. Set aside and allow to cool before using.
7. It is very important that the coconut milk has been chilled for at least four hours.
8. Carefully open the cans so as not to mix the contents of the can. The aim is to maintain the separation of the liquid and the solid coconut that will have formed whilst chilling.
9. Spoon the solid cream from the top of the cans to a mixing bowl and using hand mixer on a high speed whip until it becomes light and creamy.
10. Split each cake into two halves. Keep three parts of the cake for the layers and crumble on into crumbs to decorate the outside of the cake.
11. Split the cream into four even portions
12. Assemble the cake in this order: cake, cream, cherries, cake, cream, cherries, cake, cream.
13. Spread the remaining portion of cream around the side of the cake. Press the crumbs into the cream.
14. Sprinkle the cherry powder over the top. Arrange the remaining jar of cherries decoratively on top.