Chili and Chocolate Cake

When I was in high school, I couldn't wait for chili to be served for lunch because I knew the cooks would also make a delicious chocolate cake for dessert. It was the perfect comfort food and was etched in my memory as my favorite school lunch.

A few years ago when my daughter and I opened the first vegan cafe in our community, we were thinking of familiar foods to add to our menu. Chili and chocolate cake was one of the first meals that came to my mind.

We started with a basic cake recipe and veganized it. I’m convinced you can veganize anything. We spent the next several months tweaking the recipe until it was super moist and oozing with chocolatey yumminess.

The following spring, we updated our menu with lighter fare. We replaced the chocolate cake with a fruit and coconut yogurt parfait.

After the new menu was published and word spread that our “crack cake” (as some customers called it because it was so addictive) was no longer available, we got bombarded with requests to bring our chocolate cake back.

We listened and brought our “famous” chocolate cake back. We were rewarded by steady purchases and a few customers ordering a full sheet cake instead of just a slice!

Things were sailing along. Business was picking up. Word was starting to spread about how vegan food was surprisingly delicious.

Most of our customers weren’t vegan or even vegetarian. A lot of customers were plant-curious and open to trying something new. Many customers had dairy sensitivities and were grateful for a plant-based place to get their favorite desserts like cake and ice cream!

Then out of the blue the unthinkable happened.

I remember when COVID-19 first got on our radar at the cafe. I had just heard about Tom Hanks and his wife having COVID. I remember thinking that it was just some new strain of flu. Who could have ever imagined how devastating the disease would be.

We closed temporarily due to the federal and state mandates. Then reopened with the pandemic restrictions. We struggled to keep afloat and helped feed the frontline workers.

Our community was wonderful in supporting us and other small business shops, but the profit margins were just too small and the overhead too high for our startup to recover from the shutdown and slowdown.

We were heartbroken when we had to close. Our little cafe didn’t survive, but our famous vegan chocolate cake recipe lives on.

I hope you give it a try, especially with chili!

Rabbit Food Cafe Famous Vegan Chocolate Cake

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 Cup Organic Cacao Powder

1 Cup Coconut Oil

1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

1-3/4 Cups Organic Granulated Sugar

1-12 Ounce Package of Jell-O Instant Pudding

1-1/4 Cup Hot Water

2/3 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce

1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract

2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Pinch of Fine Sea Salt

Non-Stick Coconut Oil Spray

Icing Ingredients

1-½ Cups Dutch Process Cocoa Powder

4 Cups Organic Granulated Sugar

4 Tablespoons Cornstarch

¾ Cup Soft Vegan Butter

½ Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

½ Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Prepare Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat 13X9 baking pan with coconut oil spray. Sift flour and cacao powder into mixing bowl. Add baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and dry pudding mixture.

Make a well in the center and add remaining cake ingredients, except water. Slowly add the hot water as you stir mixture together. Whisk until all ingredients are well incorporated, taking care not to overnix.

Pour cake batter into the baking pan. Bake approximately 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool for 10 minutes. Poke holes throughout the top of the cake with a toothpick.

Prepare Icing

Pulse sugar and cornstarch in a blender until it becomes a fine powder like confectioner sugar. Pour into a mixing bowl. Add cacao powder, softened butter, almond milk, and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer to a thick icing consistency.

Spread half of the icing over the cake being sure to fill holes. Cool an additional 10 minutes then spread remaining icing over the cake.

Slice cake to desired thickness. Serve fresh. Enjoy!

NOTE: You can substitute your favorite flour, sugar, milk, and chocolate to make it gluten or sugar free, but it won’t taste the same as using the listed ingredients. Also, be sure to use pure vanilla extract as imitation vanilla will also change the flavor.