Vegan Almond Cake with Nougat Cream and Peanuts
I'm pretty sure that I've never ever baked a cake like this. Ever! After all, I'm the "Jagdwurst" part of this blog and usually responsible for the hearty recipes. But somehow I felt like taking on the challenge – which starts with the fact that I've never tried this famous almond cake that so many people love.
Let's start with the classic almond cake base. It's tricky. Traditionally, it consists of beaten egg whites, sugar, and ground almonds. The cream is egg yolk-based. So far, so bad for us. There's also a beloved variant with Daim, which is not vegan, so this was no option either. In the end, we decided to go with our own take on this IKEA favorite: almond cake meets a fluffy vegan nougat cream and a peanut-chocolate topping.
Our cake is based on aquafaba, which is the liquid of canned chickpeas. I remembered that Lauren Toyota from hot for food had baked with this before, and I was grateful for every tip. For example, the tip to cool aquafaba before you start to whip it. However, the first two baking tests turned out bad – the first cake batter simply didn't bake through, the second one fell apart when I halved it horizontally. The (somewhat more time-consuming) solution: bake it twice to get two cake bases. If you are lucky enough to own two springform pans of the same size, go for it and use them parallelly.
This cake requires a lot of time and patience to bake and cool down. But hands down: every minute of preparation was worth it. I felt like a proud pastry chef when I cut the first piece of cake. And it tasted heavenly! Bake it on a special occasion, like a self-care Sunday after a stressful week. You deserve it.
Vegan Almond Cake with Nougat Cream and Peanuts
Ingredients
For the almond cake:
175 ml (0.75 cups) aquafaba (approx. 2 liquid from 2 cans of chickpeas)
2 tsp cream stiffener
1 tsp vanilla extract
0.25 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
125 g (1 cup) ground almonds
125 g (1 cup) flour
150 g (2/3 cup) sugar
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
1 lemon
For the nougat cream:
- 125 g (4.5 oz) vegan nougat
- 50 g (2 oz) dark chocolate
- 200 g (1 cup) whippable plant-based heavy cream
- 1 tsp cream stiffener
- 0.25 tsp salt
For the peanut chocolate topping:
- 300 g (10.5 oz) dark chocolate
- 50 g (1.5 oz) roasted peanuts
Instructions
Before we can get started, drain chickpeas but save the liquid (the aquafaba) in a bowl and let it cool in the fridge for approx. 15 minutes. During this time, it also makes sense to cool the vegan heavy cream in the fridge, as this will help later to whip it.
In the meantime, mix ground almonds, flour, sugar, vanilla sugar, baking powder, salt, and the zest of a lemon in a bowl. Cover the bottom of your springform pan with parchment paper and grease the bottom and sides of the baking pan. If you are lucky to own two springform pans of the same size, we advise you to use them both, as this will save a lot of time. Preheat oven to 180°C/355°F.
After the aquafaba cooled down long enough, add cream stiffener, vanilla extract, and salt to the bowl. Use a hand mixer (it works even better with a kitchen machine) to whip the mixture for approx. 10 minutes. It should at least double, maybe even triple in volume, and get stiff in the end. Pour in vegetable oil slowly and keep whipping for approx. 5 minutes. Once this is done, you should be able to turn the bowl of aquafaba upside down without the whipped mixture falling out.
Carefully fold in the flour mixture until it’s just combined. Add half of the batter to the prepared springform pan. Bake at 180°C/355°F for approx. 20 min. To test the doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. It should come out clean. During the baking, let the remaining batter rest in the fridge.
As soon as the first cake base is baked, remove from the oven and let it cool down for approx. 5 minutes, then release it from the pan and let cool out completely on a wire rack. Afterward, prepare the springform bake again, as mentioned in step 2, and repeat the baking with the remaining batter.
While the first cake base bakes, prepare the vegan nougat cream. Chop nougat and dark chocolate. Melt in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool down until the mixture is lukewarm. In the meantime, add the cooled vegan heavy cream, cream stiffener, and salt to a bowl and beat until stiff. Afterward, carefully fold in the cooled nougat-chocolate mixture. Refrigerate the nougat cream until both cakes are baked and cooled out.
We’re almost there! To finish the cake, chop dark chocolate for the peanut chocolate topping and melt it in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Chop roasted peanuts. Place the first cake base on a platter and spread half of the nougat cream on top. Carefully place the second cake on top of the cream, and cover the top and sides of the cake with remaining nougat cream.
Time for the final chocolate layer. Start by applying melted chocolate only on the sides of the cake. If the nougat cream seems to be too sticky, refrigerate the whole cake for 10 minutes, then try again. Once the sides are done, add chopped peanuts to the remaining melted chocolate and add the mixture on top of the cake. Make sure to refrigerate the cake until the chocolate is set before serving. And then you’re done! You deserve this cake!
