It was a big day around here yesterday. My husband’s birthday – so what better time to make chocolate cake! One more year ’til the “big”one! Luckily, I am far, far away from that number… ha ha… not really. 😉
It was a tradition in my family growing up that my mom would always make an amazing birthday cake for us. Usually I requested chocolate – so delish. I continued that tradition with my own family once I got married, making everyone a cake on their birthday. Now that I am plant based, I have been on the hunt for the perfect, easy chocolate cake recipe that rises and doesn’t disappoint. One that is ‘reasonably’ healthy (without the eggs, dairy and copious amounts of icing sugar).
Well, it has been found! Once again, the recipe comes from Angela Liddon’s “Oh She Glows” recipe book. I made it for the first time last January for our nephew’s 21st birthday. He loved it and had no idea there were two avocados in the icing. 😉 I love doing that- sneaking healthy into special treats! We enjoy mint chocolate in this house so I also added in a little peppermint oil to flavour the icing.
This recipe is nut and soy free in case that is an issue in your family. It also freezes well. Yup, I already froze what didn’t get eaten last night… no sense leaving that tempting goodness out for my fork to dip into! There was 2/3 of the cake left so I cut it into 2 separate pieces to freeze. Just the right amount to take out for a family dessert.
This is a special occasion cake and of course I wouldn’t suggest that one have a slice of cake a day, but every once in a while it is nice to indulge. In regular baking, like muffins and cookies, where you are not worried about having a perfect consistency, it is nice to try out different sugars. We all know that sugar is bad for us: it promotes cancer growth, is highly addictive, can overload your liver, has no essential nutrients and is bad for our teeth… but we all love it. It is good to know that there are a couple of forms of sugar out there that are less harmful than others! Like everyone else, I had preconceived notions of which sugars those were. As it turns out I was mostly wrong.
I came across this short video by Dr. Greger that keeps you guessing as to which sugars out of 12 types are the healthier sugars. See if you can guess! It’s trickier than you think! Then, once you find out, use them in your baking and enjoy the birthday cake when it’s your turn! Until then, I promise to post more recipes that include those ‘more’ healthy sugars!
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 2 cups non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups natural cane sugar (for best results, do not substitute a different type of sugar)
- 2/3 cup melted coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract (you are reading it right!)
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (do not use whole wheat flour)
- 2 cups non-bleached all purpose flour
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder (sifted)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- Icing:
- Chocolate Avocado frosting: This is the healthiest option, but really, it's cake... Go for this version if you don't mind a very slight avocado flavour. This makes the perfect amount for a two layer cake.
- 2 large ripe avocados, pitted
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 6 tablespoons agave nectar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- pinch of fine-grain sea salt
- a few drops of peppermint flavouring, or even less of pure peppermint essential oil to taste (optional)
- Chocolate 'buttercream' frosting: (Here's the option with all of the icing sugar in case you are craving the traditional style icing!)
- 2 1/2 cups icing sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, (Earth Balance)
- pinch of fine-grain sea salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 1/2-4 tablespoons of non-dairy milk, as needed
- a few drops of peppermint flavouring, or even less of pure peppermint essential oil to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease two 8 or 9" round cake pans and line with a circle of parchment paper. You can also make this into cupcakes or a rectangular cake.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the milk and vinegar. This will make vegan buttermilk.
- Add the sugar, oil and vanilla to the bowl with the milk and combine.
- In a large bowl, mix together the pastry flour, all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.
- Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixture and beat with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
- Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Place the pans on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Then slide a butter knife around the edges to loosen the cake. Gently invert the cakes onto a cooling rack. Let cool for 40 minutes more. Once cooled completely, cut the raised part off of one cake to make it flat, saving the cut off piece of cake for dipping into any extra icing. 😉
- Place two pieces of parchment paper on top of the cake stand, slightly overlapping in the centre. Place the sliced off cake on the stand. Spread icing on the top of the cake. Next, place the second layer on top and continue to ice the top and sides of the cake. Once completed, carefully slide out the two layers of parchment paper, and voila, you have a clean cake stand!
- Garnish the cake with grated chocolate.
