Effortless Chocolate Cake

As if you need a reason to make chocolate cake. Oh you do? Well let’s see there are: Anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, Date nights/Romantic dinners at home, Weddings, Bridal or Baby Showers, Promotions, Retirement, Holidays, Potlucks, Birthdays and your Unbirthdays for every other day of the year. See that…now you can make this cake any time and it’s a celebration! [Public Service Announcement] I do advocate healthy eating habits; even some vegan treats should be enjoyed sparingly.

Desserts and vegan baking are an artistry that I LOVE to explore. The expressions of non-vegans are the best. I take great pleasure in watching their eyes enlarge nearly falling out of their sockets, followed by, ‘this has no eggs or dairy in it?!’ as they talk with food in their mouths sloshing about – the one time that doesn’t seem to bother me as much. I grin baleful yet benevolent. This cake is incredibly easy to make and has all the characteristics of being the best chocolate cake I ever created: it is moist, decadent, rich and delectable.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Non-Dairy Milk (I use almond/coconut milk blend)
1 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
¾ Cup Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp Baking Powder
½ Tsp Baking Soda
¼ Tsp Sea Salt (Ok to use reg. Salt)
¾ Cup light Brown Sugar, packed
½ Cup organic cane Sugar
1 Tsp pure Vanilla Extract
¾ Cup Earth Balance (Vegan Butter), softened
½ Cup natural Applesauce

Directions:
-Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Grease pan – Earth Balance/Flour or vegan cooking spray if you prefer.
-Stir the apple cider vinegar into the milk and let the mixture sit while you prepare the remaining ingredients. – The milk will curdle slightly to create a vegan buttermilk.
-In a large bowl combine dry ingredients: Flour, Cocoa Powder, Baking Powder, Baking soda, salt and sugar(s).
-Whisk dry ingredients together to incorporate.

-Add wet ingredients: Vanilla Extract, Earth Balance, Applesauce and vegan buttermilk.
-Ditch the whisk and combine wet/dry ingredients with a large Spoon.
-Pour/smooth into your baking vessel and pop it in the preheated oven, then bake.
-Be sure to check that your cake is baked completely. The center should spring back and not be loose. – Insert a toothpick or butter knife and be sure it comes out clean with no batter or streaks of batter.

-Below are notes about cooking times and variations.
(1) 15×10 Pan: 20 Minutes
(1) Bundt cake: 40 Minutes
(2) 9-inch Rounds: 25 Minutes

Notes:
I first made this using a large cookie pan – similar to a jellyroll pan: 15x10x1. Just make sure the pan has a lip – 1 inch at least. –This bakes for 20 minutes only! – I use large cookie cutters or food rings (stacking-ring molds) to cut out pieces. You can cut larger pieces and leave one layer to top or cut out smaller pieces and stack up.

Variations:
-I’ve made this cake with just a simple chocolate ganache over top.
(4oz Semi-Sweet chocolate, melted over a double boiler with ½ Cup non-dairy milk).

-Try with Chocolate ganache then topped with Candied Walnuts.
(Toss shelled walnuts about a cup in a pan with a Tbsp Earth Balance and ¼ Cup Light brown sugar).
-You can also top with above-mentioned ganache and walnuts then sprinkle with Sea Salt – my favorite version.

-On Valentine’s Day I made this cake with a Raspberry sauce, ganache and walnuts.
(2 Cups Frozen Raspberries-thawed, 1 Cup of Water, 3 Tbsp Ground Chia Seeds and 3 Tbsp Agave nectar. Blend ingredients in food processor then strain).

-Honestly, this cake is perfect with even just a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
-Seth loves just the cake alone too without the extras, paired with a good cup of coffee.
Whichever version you try – Enjoy!