COCONUT VANILLA CAKE (NUDIE SNACKS REVIEW)

Just in time for valentine's day! Who will you be spoiling this year? Whoever it is (and, hey, you might want to spoil yourself too!), this cake makes a perfect gift with that added personal touch. Ditch the conventional flowers and chocolate; bake a cake instead!

I couldn't resist buying the heart-shaped cake tin I used for this recipe. More importantly, I couldn't resist buying some coconut flour to test out in a cake recipe. I ended up making two versions. One that is completely gluten-free and uses a large amount of coconut flour. Another that has coconut flour as a smaller component. I wasn't happy with the first one and I think I'll need time to tweak the recipe before sharing it on here (bear with me my gluten-free friends!). I do have a picture of it though (the two below) and if you reaaallyyy want me to share what I've attempted this time around, then shoot me an email at vegannigerian@gmail.com and I'll send it to you directly. Maybe you'll have better luck or maybe you just might like the texture as it is!

The one I'm sharing today is the second attempt that is NOT gluten-free. It came out amazingly well - spongy, light and held together nicely.

The product I'm simultaneously reviewing is Nudie Snacks Coconut Chips, sent to me by the company. The coconut chips are great as a snack on their own, but I've decided to use them in this coconut vanilla cake recipe as a garnish, to provide that extra crunch and texture with every forkful of melt-in-the mouth vanillery-coconutty goodness.

The premium toasted snack has a slightly sweet flavour and contains all natural ingredients, making it the ideal alternative to oil-laden potato crisps. It's the perfect snack for any coconut lover or any health-conscious person who wants to grab a bite while on the move. I sent a packet to one of my readers as part of her 7 Day Vegan Challenge giveaway snack hamper and she said it was her favourite snack in the bunch!

If you're tempted to give it a try, you can get it on Amazon! Don't forget to follow Nudie Snacks on Twitter!

Okay, let's get on to the recipe.

Ingredients
Dry:
- 1.5 cups self-raising flour
- 2 tbsp corn flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar or raw cane sugar
Wet:
- 1.5 cups coconut milk
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil or sunflower oil
- 1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
To decorate:
- 1 tin coconut milk (refrigerated upside down)
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
- Raspberry jam
- Fresh raspberries
- Coconut chips (Nudie Snacks Nudie Snacks original 40g)

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Grab a second bowl and whisk all the wet ingredients together. Pour the mixture into a lightly greased tin that's also dusted with coconut flour.

Bake in a pre-heated oven, gas mark 5, for about 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned on top and firm to the touch. There may be a few cracks on the top - don't worry about that! Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 20 minutes.

Turn the cake out carefully onto a flat surface. Allow to cool for a further 30 minutes before decorating.

Spread a layer of raspberry jam over the top of the cake.

Make the coconut cream topping by opening a refrigerated can of coconut milk and scooping out the solid coconut 'fat' into a bowl. Add a tablespoon of the coconut liquid that has settled at the bottom of the tin then discard the rest of the liquid. Add 2 tbsp icing sugar and a 1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste to the coconut fat. Combine well to form your coconut 'cream'. Place the cream in a piping bag and start to decorate the top of the cake. I just created little mounds of cream over the top of the cake.

Garnish with fresh raspberries and toasted coconut chips. Serve and enjoy!