VEGAN BLACK FOREST PAVLOVA MERINGUE CAKE

Collaboration Kaslink AITO

If there is one sweet treat you have to try this summer, it’s this right here: vegan Black Forest pavlova meringue cake. A crispy, fluffy, sweet cake filled with whipped oat cream, dark chocolate, cherry jam and fresh cherries. One of the best cakes of summer!

Kaslink AITO Oat for whipping

I’ve raved about Kaslink AITO oat for whipping all summer long, and I will continue doing so. It is just the best plant-based whipped cream with a beautiful fluffy and also quite light consistency.

Because of the lightness, I think this cream is simply perfect for a sugary sweet cake like this black forest pavlova. It doesn’t weigh the crumbly meringue down, and it spreads perfectly on top of the layers. This whipped cream is also gluten-free.

My taste testers said they prefer oat cream to regular cream because it is fluffier and the aftertaste is lovely: it doesn’t leave a greasy “coat” in your mouth like sometimes regular heavy whipped cream does.

Making vegan meringue: a few tips

I’ve seen many recipes online for vegan meringue. The oven temperature varies, the additional ingredients are slightly different (lemon juice, apple cider vinegar..), but one thing is pretty stable: the chickpea brine and sugar ratio. I think it needs to be about 1/1 and based on my experiences the finer the sugar the better. I’m using a very fine caster sugar for this.

One thing to remember: you need to add the sugar little by little (1 tbsp) after you’ve whipped the aquafaba for a while. And then you must whip the sugar into the aquafaba and only after it’s fully incorporated you can add another table spoon.

So it’s a long process to make this cake, but it is so worth it! And the active time is about 30 minutes. Then you’ll just have to wait for 2 hours hoping the meringue will turn out perfect!

Sweet day from the forest!

♥ Tiina

This is a sponsored collaboration, but all my opinions are my own! I only collaborate with brands I really love and use regularly when cooking and baking.

Print Recipe

Vegan Black Forest Pavlova Meringue Cake

Vegan black forest pavlova meringue cake is a beautifully crispy, fluffy and sweet cake for summer filled with cream, chocolate and cherries. 

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time2 hrs

Total Time2 hrs 30 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: gluten-free, vegan

Keyword: aquafaba, black forest cake, cherries, chickpeas, pavlova, vegan meringue

Author: Tiina from My Berry Forest

Ingredients

Vegan meringue

• ~3/4 cup chickpea brine (aquafaba) from a can of chickpeas
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 1,5 tbsp cacao or cocoa powder

Black forest cake decoration

• 1 cup (1 package) Kaslink AITO Oat for whipping
• 1,5 oz (about 50 g) dark chocolate
• 1/3 cup cherry jam You can also use raspberry jam if cherry jam is not available
• 1 cup cherries
• 1 oz (about 30 g) dark chocolate to decorate the cake

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 248 F / 120 C. Put a parchment paper on top of a baking sheet.
• Whip aquafaba in a clean ceramic or glass bowl for about 10 minutes or until it is completely white and looks like whipped cream.
• Start adding sugar about 1 tbsp at a time. Continue whipping until each table spoon is fully incorporated in the aquafaba whip.
• When all sugar is whipped and the aquafaba is getting very stiff, take about 1 cup of the fluffy cream aside for later. 
• Start adding the cocoa powder about 1 tsp at a time. Make sure to whip it well before adding another tsp. 
• NOTE: adding the cocoa powder is optional as it can get a little tricky. Sometimes when making this (depending on the cocoa) the aquafaba starts losing its fluffiness, but you just need to keep on whipping until the aquafaba doesn't come out of the bowl when you flip it upside down.
• Take the white aquafaba and put it inside a piping bag. Pipe decorations for the cake on top of the parchment paper.
• With a clean spoon scoop the rest of the aquafaba (the chocolate aquafaba if you added the cocoa powder) and make two equal sized round cake shapes on the parchment paper.
• Bake in the oven for 2 hours. Don't open the oven before 1,5 hours in the oven, but you can check how your meringue is doing after about 1,5 hours. I usually check at 1 h 45 min and sometimes the small piped decorations are ready at this point. I just take them out with my hands without taking the baking sheet out of the oven. 
• When the meringues are ready let them cool down.
• Melt 1,5 oz of dark chocolate in a water bath. 
• Chop a handful of cherries.
• Whip the the oat for whipping cream and add melted dark chocolate. Continue whipping until it's fluffy and chocolatey.
• Assembling the cake: place one meringue cake layer on the serving plate, add whipped cream on top, cherry jam, chopped cherries. Place the other meringue cake layer on top, spread whipped cream on top, add cherries and the piped meringue decorations.
• To finish the cake shave dark chocolate on top.
• Enjoy this delicious cake right away! 

Notes

You might have to whip the aquafaba for 15-20 minutes altogether to get the desired consistency.

This cake doesn't keep well stored as the meringue will soften. It will still be delicious (and very sweet), but the lovely crispiness is gone.