July 4, 2016 All Posts

Pink dragon fruit layer cake

This recipe captures pretty much everything that I love about cakes. I love taking a bite of a sponge cake and squashing the air out of it in my mouth (ok, that sounds weird and confronting, but it's the truth so I'll stick with it). I love the simplicity and smoothness of raw cakes. And of course, I just like something silly, like wobbly jelly.

Layer cakes can be tricky because if one layer doesn't work, your whole cake could collapse. It could even look like a child's sandcastle that's been trodden on by the child's sibling. I'll be the child crying for you. But never fear, I've brought the recipe is here, and it's not even dear (oh I had to)! I've tried 5 variations of this recipe so I've cut out all of the hard work and awkward taste testing for you!

I used simple and subtle-tasting ingredients to bring out the true flavour and colour of the pink dragon fruit powder. If you live in Australia, you can get dragon fruit powder from Just Blends.

You can probably sub dragon fruit powder with any other powdered flavouring. Think berries, chocolate, matcha! Of course, yours will be a different colour. I mean, just check out this magenta...

Even thought the cake might look difficult to make, I promise it isn't. It just takes some patience to wait for each layer to cook/set. But the wait is well worth it!

This post was brought to you through a collaboration with Just Blends. While Just Blends provided the pink dragon fruit powder used in this recipe, all opinions expressed in this post are 100% my own.

Print Recipe

5 from 7 votes

Pink dragon fruit layer cake

Servings: -6

Ingredients

Sponge cake

¾ cup buckwheat
½ cup desiccated coconut
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tbsp pink pitaya powder
¼ cup canned coconut cream, + ⅛ cup water
¼- ½ cup any light-coloured sweetener, such as rice malt syrup or maple syrup
¼ cup beetroot juice
3 tbsp aquafaba (brine from a can of chickpeas)

Raspberry chia jam

¼ cup raspberries
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp any light-coloured sweetener, such as rice malt syrup or maple syrup

Mousse

¾ cup cashews, soaked in water overnight
¾ cup canned coconut cream
3 tbsp any light-coloured sweetener, such as rice malt syrup or maple syrup
1 tbsp pink pitaya powder
½ tsp agar powder

Jelly

1 tsp agar powder
3 tbsp any light-coloured sweetener, such as rice malt syrup or maple syrup
1 tbsp pink pitaya powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 15cm cake tin with baking paper.

To make the sponge:

Add the dry ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend until it forms a fine flour. Scoop the flour into a bowl. Add all the wet ingredients except the aquafaba and mix until combined.
Whisk the aquafaba in a small bowl with a fork until slightly bubbly (around 30 seconds). Add the aquafaba to the sponge batter and mix until combined. Pour the batter into the cake tin. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer can be inserted and comes out clean.
When the sponge is baked, remove from the tin to cool. Trim the top of the cake to create a flat surface then return the cake to the cake tin.

To make the chia jam:

Add all ingredients to a small bowl and mash the berries with a fork. Mix the ingredients and and spread it on the surface of the sponge cake.

To make the mousse:

Drain the cashews and add to high-powered blender with ½ of the coconut cream, rice malt syrup and dragon fruit powder. Whizz until extremely smooth and set aside.
Add the other ½ of the coconut cream and agar agar powder to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the mixture to the blender and pulse the blender until the ingredients are combined.
Pour the mousse into the cake tin on top of the layer of chia jam. Place it in the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes

To make the jelly:

When the mousse has set and is firm to the touch, start making the jelly layer. Add the agar powder and 1 cup of water to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and stir in syrup and dragon fruit powder. Pour the jelly mixture onto the mousse layer and place it in the fridge to set.

To serve:

Remove the cake from the fridge and cake tin. Cut the cake with a sharp knife. The cake will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Did you make this recipe?Tag @rainbownourishments and use the hashtag #rainbownourishments on Instagram!

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