GBBO Recipe Challenge With Lavinia Drake (Italian Special)

GBBO recipe challenge time! This week we have Baking Time Club's own Lavinia Drake who takes on Italian week with her amazing Vegan Tiramisu.

Name: Lavinia Drake

Occupation: Founder of Baking Time Club

Social Media: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram

How Did You Get Into Baking?

I learnt a lot from helping my mum as a kid for big family meals, elcairs are her speciality!  I think the fun came from trips to a scoop shop with my Granny, to get all the ingredients, imagine pick n mix but for every kind of powdered or dried goods. Where we'd scoop and bag our own flour, dried fruits and sugar, then head home and I'd have the job of adding ingredients to the scales, then eating the cakes after.

How Long Did The Dessert Take From Start To Finish?

In total around an 1hour and half getting all the layers created and glasses filled. It needs at least 4 hours to set though!

What’s Your Favourite Thing About The Bake?

Eating a spoonful of all 3 layers, the hit of alcohol, chocolate, coffee and creaminess all in one, is a party for the tastebuds.

What’s The Hardest Thing About This Bake?

Getting the consistency of the cream cheese layer right and having the patience for it to set!

Tell Us About Baking Time Club And Anything Upcoming Customers Should Look Out For?

Baking Time Club sells fun baking supplies and sprinkles which are gluten and dairy free. We release new sprinkle mixes every month via our Subscription and have some really fun enamel pins currently in the pipeline, watch this space ;)

Vegan Tiramisu Recipe

This is my twist on the Italian Classic, Tiramisu, like Sophie in GBBO swapping Ricotta for Mascarpone, I'm really mixing things up with a dairy and egg free version!

This version is split into 3 layers, inspired by Lazy Cat recipe;

A sponge base soaked in Amaretto and Coffee for a little 'lift me up'.

A chocolate coffee ganache.

A layer of custard like cream cheese dusted with cocoa powder.

Serves 4 - 6 (depending on the size of glass you use, this make 6 in martini glasses, tumblrs would make 4)

Ingredients:

Coffee Sponge (Makes 1 x 9" cake pan):

2 Cups of Self Raising Flour

2/3 Cup of Caster Sugar

1 Tsp Baking Powder

3/4 Cup of  Soya or Rice Milk

1/3 Cup of light flavourless oil

2 Tbsp of Instant or Strong Real Coffee

plus

1 Cup of Strong Coffee for drizzling on sponge

1 Cup of Amaretto or Brandy

 

Chocolate Ganache 

100g Dark Chocolate

1/2 Cup Soya Milk

1/2 Cup Strong Coffee

1 Tbsp Icing Sugar

1 Tbsp Arrowroot

 

Cream Cheese Layer:

100g Dairy-free Cream Cheese

100g Tofu

2 Cups Icing Sugar

1 Tbspn Arrowroot

1 Tsp Amaretto / Brandy

1 Tsp Lemon Juice

1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

 

Sponge Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180'c (350'f)

2. Grease cake pan

3. Mix flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl.

4. Add soya milk, oil and coffee, stirring with metal spoon, do not beat.

5. The raising agents will start work straight away, so tap the bowl to let the bubbles out, place into cake pan and bang the pan on work surface before placing in oven.

6. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes. Cool for 15 mins then transfer to wire rack.

7. Cut out layers of sponge and place into your glasses for the first layer of Tiramisu.

8. Mix the 1 cup of coffee and 1 cup of alcohol and spoon 3-4 tbsp into each glass. The sponge will absorb the liquid, so repeat until the sponge is wet and a darker shade.

Now make layer 2.

 

Chocolate Ganache Method:

1. In glass bowl sat in a bowl of boiling water or a pan on low heat.

2. Add broken up chocolate with soya milk and coffee.

3. Stir over heat until chocolate has melted and you have liquid. 

4. Mix in the icing sugar and arrow root, keep stirring, once the arrowroot reaches the right temperature (just before boiling) it'll react, and the chocolate will thicken, keep stirring quickly to prevent lumps and remove from heat.

5. Pour over sponge layer in each glass evenly. 

Now make layer 3.

 

Cream Cheese Layer Method:

1. Add all the ingredients to a blender or mixer and mix until smooth. Use cream cheese straight from the fridge, if its too warm all the coconut oil will be melting and the consistency will be very very runny.

2. The consistency will be quite runny, (think of hot custard when its runny but will get thicker as it cools), check it doesn't still taste like soya cream cheese, if so add small amounts of lemon juice and icing sugar.

3. Spoon into glasses on top of the chocolate ganache.

4. Dust in cocoa powder.

5. Place glasses in fridge and leave to set for at least 4 hours. Over night is ideal for flavours to mature.

Enjoy after dinner or if your like me, for breakfast!!!

Thanks for reading and check back next week for a new GBBO recipe challenge.

Happy baking!