vegan fig dark chocolate layer cake

This Vegan Fig Dark Chocolate Layer Cake is sure to be a showstopper this holiday season! Rich dark chocolate layers are stuffed with fig butter, covered in a fig and vanilla buttercream, and crowned with bittersweet chocolate ganache and fresh figs. 

Happy FRIDAY! I know, I know, it's December 1st so where is the Christmas stuff?! Worry not my friends, it's coming... soon. But not today. Today, I am sharing my latest obsession! This Vegan Fig Dark Chocolate Layer Cake is seriously what dreams are made of! Soft and rich dark chocolate cake layers are sandwiched with fig butter, covered in a creamy vanilla-fig buttercream, and crowned with dark chocolate ganache and pretty fresh figs. TOO MUCH PRETTY FOR ONE PICTURE. I am just going to change my profile picture on all social media to this cake, that's how much I love it. Just kidding. Maybe. Let's make it!

So... big news! I mean, for me. If you care. 2018 is going to be TOTALLY MEAT FREE! I have been limiting my meat intake as much as possible for months, but next year... I'm officially done. My mom ain't guilt-tripping me into eating it anymore {isn't that funny how she is guilt-tripping me about not eating meat? hmmm}. I will continue to try to incorporate more and more vegan recipes on here too, as honestly my day-to-day life is basically vegan anyway. I just don't stress if I eat a brownie and it happens to have some butter and eggs in it. But I also don't go out of my way to eat cheese and eggs either, if that makes sense. So - all veggies, all da timeeee.

The point of all this being... this fig dark chocolate layer cake is vegan, and it's EASY vegan! I'm not asking for any egg substitutes or anything too crazy, just some nondairy milk and some shortening and vegan butter. The rest should be stuff you already have in your house, like flour and sugar and cocoa! The way this cake happened is that I found some fresh figs at Central Market, which is literally unheard of in Texas {where are all the figs?!}, so I picked them up with no real plan in mind. I was maybe just gonna shove them in my mouth. But then I also found fig butter at Trader Joe's, and I was like HMMM CAKE TIME. And here she is, my beautiful child. She's amazing.

I hope you'll make this delicious vegan fig dark chocolate layer cake this holiday season! Or really just at some point in your life. The combination of rich chocolate, sweet fig butter, and creamy frosting is seriously ta-die-for. The bittersweet ganache on top just seals the deal. And.. it's veeeeegan!

Looking for more cute & fancy cakes? I got chu. Check out my Peanut Butter & Jelly Layer Cake, Gender Reveal Piñata Cake, Layered Tres Leches Cake, Halloween Cookies & Cream Layer Cake, and Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake! Happy baking!!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

vegan fig dark chocolate layer cake

Prep Time40 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course: Cakes

Servings: 8

Author: Valentina | The Baking Fairy

Ingredients

• *for the cakes*
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white granulated sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsweetened nondairy milk
• 1 cup water
• ⅔ cup vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• *for the frosting*
• ½ cup shortening
• ¼ cup EarthBalance
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 2-3 tablespoon fig jam to mix into frosting
• ½ cup fig jam for filling
• *for the ganache*
• 3 oz dark chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoon corn syrup
• 1-2 tablespoon unsweetened nondairy milk
• 4-5 fresh figs for decoration

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Spray two 6" round cake pans with baking spray, and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
• Add in the nondairy milk, water, and oil, and mix vigorously. Add in the vinegar and vanilla, and mix until well combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Let cakes cool completely before removing from the pan.
• When ready to assemble, cut each cake in half to create 4 thinner cake layers.
• Make the frosting - in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the shortening and vegan butter and beat until creamy. Add in 2-3 tablespoon of fig jam, vanilla, and sprinkle of salt, then add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time until frosting is fluffy but stiff.
• To assemble, place one of the cake layers on a serving platter or cake circle.
• Pipe a circle of frosting on top of the cake, close to the edge, then spoon in some of the fig jam and spread into an even layer. Repeat with the remaining cake layers.
• Using an offset spatula, smooth the rest of the frosting on top and outside of the cake. For the naked cake look, I use a bench scraper and scrape off all the excess so that some of the cake layers show through the frosting. Otherwise, you can keep the frosting thicker for full coverage. You should have more than enough!
• Place the cake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before putting on the ganache.
• When ready to decorate, combine the chocolate chips, corn syrup, and milk in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 15 second increments until smooth and melted. I like to pour my ganache into a squeeze bottle to get the drips! Go around the edge of the cake to make the drips first, then go back and fill the center with the remaining ganache. You'll more than likely have some left.
• While the ganache is still wet, arrange the figs on top as desired.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve!

*Disclosure: I am part of the Amazon Associates Program, and there may be affiliate links on this page. If you buy anything through my website, I will receive a small percentage of the profit at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!*

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