Rainbow Nourishments

Pink dragon fruit layer cake

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pitaya layer cake vegan 1. 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.

pitaya layer cake vegan 2Layer 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.pitaya layer cake vegan 3

pitaya layer cake vegan 4You 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…

pitaya layer cake vegan 5Even 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!pitaya layer cake vegan 6

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.

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5 from 3 votes

Pink dragon fruit layer cake

Servings: 4 -6

Ingredients

Sponge cake

  • ¾ cup buckwheat
  • ½ cup desiccated coconut
  • ¾ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbsp Just Blends pink pitaya powder
  • ¼ cup canned coconut cream, + 1/8 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

Jelly

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 15cm cake tin with baking paper.
  • For the sponge cake: Add all dry ingredients to a high-powered blender and whizz until it forms a fine flour. Scoop flour into a bowl. Create a well in the centre and add all wet ingredients except aquafaba. Gently incorporate wet ingredients into the dry flour.
  • Whisk aquafaba in a small bowl with a fork until small bubbles sform (around 30 seconds). Gently mix into the sponge batter pour into cake tin. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer can be inserted and comes out clean.
  • For the chia jam: Add all ingredients to a small bowl and mash raspberries with a fork. Mix all ingredients thoroughly and set aside to thicken.
  • For the mousse: Drain cashews and add to high-powered blender with coconut cream, rice malt syrup and dragon fruit powder. Whizz until extremely smooth. Set aside.
  • For the mousse: Add the agar powder to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and add to the blender. Pulse the blender until ingredients have been mixed.
  • When the sponge has been fully baked, remove from the tin to cool. Trim the top of the cake to create a flat surface. Return the cake to the tin and spread jam on sponge making sure you cover all holes. Pour on the cashew mousse mixture on the jam and set aside in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  • Start making the jelly layer when the mousse has set and is relatively firm to the touch. For the jelly, add the agar powder and 1 cup water to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in syrup and dragon fruit powder. Pour onto the cake's mousse layer and put in fridge to set.
  • To serve, remove from fridge and gently slice. The cake will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Thank you so much! Yes, the beetroot juice goes into the sponge cakes under ‘wet ingredients’ in Step 2. I hope this helps xo

      Reply

  2. Hi Anthea, this cake is a true beauty! I’m hoping to make it for my friend for her 25th birthday this weekend. Can the recipe be doubled for a bigger cake/cake tin? Also, I’m thinking of substituting the dragon fruit powder for an alternative one, perhaps acai? What do you think? 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Vanessa! Sorry for the late reply. Yes, I would say the recipe could be doubled for a bigger cake tin! And I think acai would work well in replace of dragonfruit powder. Just taste as you go as acai differs from dragonfruit in terms of sweetness!

      Reply

  3. Looks delicious, I was wondering does the pitaya powder just add color or does it have a sweet taste as well? I was thinking about ordering a pouch from just blends now that they ship worldwide 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Diana! When you add the pitaya powder to a small amount of food, you will see it’s beautiful colour and it has a slightly sweet taste! Pitaya itself is quite subtle and the powder is a little more intense than the fruit 🙂

      Reply

    • Thanks so much Annabelle! I did a quick google search and Hybrid Herbs in the UK sells pink dragon fruit powder. I’m not sure where else might sell it but it might be worth checking in with your local health food store xo

      Reply

  6. Those layers! My cakes do usually turn out like trodden on sandcastles but I’m to try the world of raw cakes so maybe this is time for my cake making to shine, lol. And I had no idea dragon fruit powder was a thing?!

    Reply

    • Thanks James! Haha, I’m glad I’m not the only one with epically failed layered cakes! Oh, I didn’t know dragon fruit powder was a thing either until someone recommended it to me! I thought it only came frozen. The powdered version turned out to be quite convenient as my freezer is shocking! I hope you get to give this cake a go 🙂

      Reply

  7. This cake is just BEAUTIFUL Anthea! I am hoping to make it for my daughter for her birthday. She has an allergy to chickpeas though. What could I use instead of aquafaba? Any advice would be appreciated!!

    Reply

    • Aw, thank you so much Kaillin! You can use the brine of any other canned beans (maybe cannellini or butter beans?) or substitute it for 1 tbsp ground chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water. I hope this helps!

      Reply


  8. Cake is beautiful and I can imagine how delicious.
    Last time I used Agar for jelly he would not squeeze
    although I was doing all the instruction.I used 2 teaspoons
    per half liter of fluid.To which the temperature of the heated fluid with Agar.?I warmed up to 40 C.Where is problem?
    Thanks for help.

    Reply

    • Thank you so much Vesna! The cake was delicious!

      I initially had the same problem with the agar agar. Some instructions tell you to heat your water up to 40C but realised that the water needed to be heated to a much higher temperature. My water was almost as hot as tea. Maybe try again but heat it up higher?

      Reply

    • Thanks so much Dee! I haven’t had jelly in years so it was amazing to make and eat this jelly! xo

      Reply

    • Thank you so much! I love pink dragon fruits too – I only wish that Australia had the climate to grow more! Wish I could send you a piece of this delicious cake xo

      Reply

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