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Raspberry Chocolte Chip Cake with Homemade Fondant

 

As most of us realize by now, Valentine’s day is right around the corner. Despite the fact that it’s in my nature to really hate the darned occasion, I actually look forward to it. It isn’t the romance that gets me, but the much broader idea of love: to everyone, everywhere. It’s a day to acknowledge the beauty of having a big and open heart.

It’s also an amazing reason to whip up a cake.

Happy Valentine’s day, dear readers. Thanks so much for being lovely.

♥ Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cake with Homemade Marshmallow Fondant

Vegan and Gluten-Free

Since you have to chill the fondant overnight (or 6 hours) before using, I’m going to start with the fondant recipe.

For the Fondant:

  • 1 bag (10 ounces) vegan marshmallows, such as Dandies
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
  • 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil or spread + 1/4 cup extra for kneading and greasing
  • 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar + about 1/2 cup extra for kneading
  • food coloring (optional)

I highly recommend using the  “spread” above if you don’t have any qualms with earth balance. It’s perfectly white so your fondant will stay true to color, and it’s taste is incredible. Incredible I tell you. I love the stuff. * Also, it has the same texture as butter, which works better than melty and oftentimes clumpy coconut oil, depending on which brand you use. Organic shortening would also work very well.

This recipe is pretty straight forward. Essentially you are just making a very soft and flexible candy that coats the outside of a cake. This only covers a cake the size of the given recipe for the cake below… so adjust accordingly. Easily doubles, triples, whathaveyou.

Place your marshmallows into a saucepan and heat over medium low until sticky. Add in water, almond extract, coconut spread and food coloring. Let cook over medium low heat until completely smooth, stirring often. I find it easiest to thoroughly grease a silicone spatula and use that as my utensil of choice. I think it’s the best tool for the job.

Transfer to a very well greased mixing bowl.

Carefully beat in 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar until tacky. There most likely will be confectioners’ sugar remaining in the bottom of the bowl. It’s okay, just leave it.

 

Using greased hands, remove from bowl and knead in about 1/2 tablespoon coconut spread and more confectioners’ sugar until the dough is no longer sticky.

 

It should take quite a few small additions to get it to the right consistency.

Wrap in plastic wrap and chill overnight. Remove the fondant from the refrigerator about 10- 15 minutes before using.

Now, let’s get to the cake.

For the Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cake:

  • 1 cup superfine brown rice flour
  • 1 cup sorghum flour
  • 3/4 cup potato starch
  • 1/4 cup sweet white rice flour
  • 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup non-dairy sour cream
  • 2/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon whiskey, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cup ice cold water
  • 3 tablespoons vinegar
  • 1/2 cup chopped raspberries
  • 1 cup non-dairy chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease and lightly flour two 4 inch cake pans.

In medium sized bowl, whisk together superfine brown rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, sweet white rice flour, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder.

In larger bowl, combine sugar, sour cream, olive oil and whiskey until smooth. Gradually add in the flour mixture, alternating with some water after each addition. Stir in vinegar a tablespoon at a time. Fold in berries and chocolate chips. Divide batter among the two pans and place into preheated oven on middle rack.

Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until puffed up and golden on edges and cracking ever so slightly. When you insert a knife into the middle of the cake it should come out clean… aside from some chocolate sticking to it.

Let cool completely before leveling out and covering with icing and fondant.

You only need to “crumb coat” it to make the fondant stick. Any thick and spreadable icing will do, and you’ll need at least 1 cup of it. I just whipped up a simple buttercream here… this one work nicely as well with a darker fondant..

When rolling out the fondant, be sure to use coconut oiled hands and dust a good amount of confectioners’ sugar onto your rolling surface. This will ensure that your fondant will transfer without any rips or pulls. If it seems dry, add a touch more coconut oil… if it seems oily, add some more confectioners’ sugar. It’s pretty hard to mess up.The amount given in the recipe covers a stacked 4 inch cake.

Gently drape the fondant over the cake and smooth with a fondant spatula. Trim as necessary to get to lay flat. Use the excess to make decorations etc, which can be adhered with water.

Top with all sorts of fun shapes and colors… I really love the simple dusting of confectioners’ sugar on this particular cake.

 

 

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37 Responses to Raspberry Chocolte Chip Cake with Homemade Fondant

  1. debbie says:

    Hey Allyson!

    I am a huge fan of your recipes, especially this one!
    Thank you for sharing your talent and inspiring me. =)

    debbie.
    (a vegan with Celiac disease).

  2. crystal says:

    This is so pretty. I want to make it for a birthday, but am I reading correctly that this is a 4 inch cake? Is this something I could double for a larger cake, or might it not work the same? Thank you!

  3. rachel says:

    That is a gorgeous cake! My sister and I make a homemade fondant too and found some candy flavorings through amazon that we use to give it an extra something something. Our favorite is the NY cheesecake flavoring. It really makes the fondant wonderful and people always ask about it.

  4. Vegetablearian'sDaughter says:

    I had no idea there was such a thing as vegan marshmallows! I know of the marshmallow cream (which does NOT work well as a marshmallow substitute in rice krispie treats), but never have I seen actual meat-free marshmallows. Anywho, I have been wanting to experiment with fondant, but always find the recipes to contain meat products – my mom and sister are vegetarians, but they can’t suffer missing out on my delectable desserts! ;) I will definitely have to find these vegan marshmallows and give this fondant recipe a whirl!

  5. Beautiful work, Allyson. Wow! So inspired!! =)

  6. Richgail says:

    I never thought fondant can be veganized. I shall “pin this”.

  7. sarah says:

    I love your blog and I’ve been following it for a few months now.

    I nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award today! I posted about it on my blog today as well.
    Take care!

  8. Hi, this recipe you shared looks wonderful. Can’t wait to give it a try. Can you suggest a good brand of non-dairy chocolate chips please? Thanks a lot!

  9. Lisa says:

    Woooooooooooow! Beautiful cake Allyson! So excited about your book, I’ve preordered it! :)

  10. That cake is beautiful! I don’t have much experience working with fondant but I really should practice more. I can’t believe you made it from scratch! I have a bunch of marshmallows waiting to be used, I’ll have to try your process. It sounds much more flavourful then any store bought variety. How do you store it (fridge/freezer?) and how long do you think it will keep?

    • allyson says:

      Hey Maggie!

      I’d say use it up fairy quickly, maybe within a few days, and store in fridge… unlike rolled fondant, the marshmallow fondant seems to dry out a bit quicker. :)

  11. Wow. That looks amazing! I’m sure I could never pull off such a perfect cake. You are a very talented lady! I love the raspberry chocolate chip idea too. Sounds delish!

  12. allyson, i can’t believe you made your own fondant! wow, i’m so impressed. i love the little hearts too. i still haven’t gotten into icing my own layered cakes yet. it always comes out so crumbly. i think i need a better knife! thanks for the step by step tutorial. have a great valentine’s day!

  13. alli says:

    Are Dandies marshmallows really 100% GF…..? Help?
    I know they are vegan, but I’m fairly sure my friends told me that they write on the marshmallow bags that they may contain wheat in them because they manufacture the marshmallows in a facility or on machinery that is used to make gluten and wheat stuffs. Is this true? Not true?
    Any and all Gluten free update info would be much appreciated. :) Thanks!!

    • allyson says:

      Hi alli,
      I personally haven’t heard that (or noticed it on the package for that matter). It also says on the package (and on their website) that they are gluten free, certified kosher, and that they do contain soy. I have a particularly sensitive tummy to gluten and have never had any issues with them… but I’ve also not seen the warning on the bag. Hopefully that helps a bit?

      <3

  14. I’m going to try this without the fondant (I’m too timid to attempt it!) and I’d like to replace the non-dairy sour cream with coconut yogurt. What do you think?

    • allyson says:

      definitely, Ellen! The cake may be a touch moister depending on the consistency of the yogurt, but it should be pretty spot on, otherwise. :)

  15. alualuna says:

    Oh! I thought first this was going to be the usual chocolaty chocolate cake with some raspberries thrown in, but it’s actually different and it looks oh so lovely!

    Not so keen on fondant (although just for the heck of making it myself I might try that out at some point),

    Thanks for sharing this gorgeous cake with us!

    • allyson says:

      You should absolutely try it homemade; it’s not even the same animal as store bought fondant, imho. I absolutely love how homemade tastes but am not fond of the store bought stuff other than its convenience. :)

      <3

  16. Mihl says:

    What a gorgeous cake! I never really know what to do with marshmallows. I am so glad you put up this recipe, next time I’m just gonna juste them for cake. Yup.

    • allyson says:

      me either! I always just end up tossing them into fudge… :) I hope you enjoy the fondant making; it’s fun! <3

  17. Nicole Wong says:

    Wow! I just fell in love <3 This is beautiful and I'm crazy about the vegan marshmallow fondant. I love your choice of chocolate raspberry cake for V-Day too. Thank you for this lovely post.

  18. Ashlae says:

    I love homemade fondant – it tastes so much better than the store bought variety. Your cake looks beautiful!

  19. Katrina says:

    This is so beautiful!!

  20. WOW. You just put all other V-Day recipes out there to shame. ;) I’d kill for a slice of this right now!

  21. Melanie says:

    This looks amazing! I’m too scared to make fondant myself but this looks delicious and not intimidating at all.

  22. shannon says:

    ADORABLE! I’ve been trying to find a vegan marshmallow fondant for a while now, and here it is! So excited.

  23. Laurel says:

    First off, I’m disappointed not to see a picture of your little girl’s eyes when she first beheld this beauty. And that fondant! All I can say is it’s a darn good thing I’m allergic to soy because I’d probably just grab up that fondant and stuff it and nothing else into my maw. I’m kind of shameless when it comes to marshmallows. I used to buy those pink hostess Sno-Balls and peel them, eat the marshmallow and toss the invariably stale cupcake. So yeah, marshmallow fondant’s been like the holy grail for a while now and you not only did it, you did it beautifully, as you always do.

  24. bitt says:

    GF fondant?!! Wow! Way to go. This looks so pretty and professional. I never thought fondant would be able to be eaten by me but you’ve proved me wrong.

  25. Leinana says:

    What a gorgeous cake! I’m a bit intimidated by fondant, but you make it look so easy!

  26. Tiffany says:

    What a beautiful cake! Thank you for posting this recipe/tutorial. I was actually wondering a few days ago whether it was possible to successfully make marshmallow fondant with Dandies, so it’s good to know that it does in fact work.