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Vegan Chocolate Cake

sweet and kind

By Michele CuomoPublished 3 years ago 5 min read
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Vegan Chocolate Cake
Photo by Kaffee Meister on Unsplash

I was so excited when my sister Lisa's husband Mitch asked me to bake her birthday cake. After over 20 years living in different states, she and I now live close by each other. I have been so grateful to see her more often, and was so glad to be there for her birthday. We had always been emotionally close, but our physical closeness filled me with joy and contentment. Our mother always used to bake our birthday cakes, (we lost her many years ago to lymphoma) and I felt as though a torch had been passed.

Mitch's three children are vegan, and I am veganish, (as in, if I went to a party and someone handed me a piece of cake--I wouldn't ask) but I had never attempted a vegan cake. I began my veganish-ism in the 1990s in Mississippi, where you couldn't find nut milks, and the substitute cheeses all had casein in them. I ate a lot of peanut butter back then. It was disheartening. I found for awhile that the Mediterranean diet worked well for me, tried hard to find cage free and pasture raised products but I kept longing for a truly kind diet that didn't involve animals, and eventually, greatly reduced my reliance on them.

I pored over recipes on the internet--I wasn't even sure what flavor cake I wanted to tackle at first--and found "the most delicious chocolate cake"--sounded promising, right? The unusual ingredients included Earth Balance sticks for the frosting(I had only seen Earth Balance in tubs--I couldn't find it in and sticks, and used another brand of margarine), and for the cake, apple cider vinegar, applesauce as an egg substitute and a decadent looking cocoa powder that I was unable to find (I ended up using Organic Cocoa on a Mission).

I mixed the cake in one bowl with slight variations on the recipe based on my own pantry: 1 cup almond milk ( I used unsweetened vanilla), 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 3/4 cup granulated unbleached sugar, 3/4 cups cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce, and a tablespoon of Mexican vanilla extract my sister brought back from a destination wedding. I mixed this all by hand. The final ingredient was a cup of boiling water (some kind of alchemy here--I don't know what it is! I should consult SALT, FAT, ACID, HEAT by Samin Nosrat, which is my favorite cookbook. But a little part of me just enjoys it as magic)

The mixture was thinner than other cakes, and the aroma and taste of the applesauce was prominent at that stage as I poured the mixture into two greased and floured round 9" tins for layering--I love applesauce, so I was pleased. After baking at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (my convention oven is hot), the applesauce seemed to disappear into a light spongy, very chocolatey cake.

What made this cake really delicious and special was the frosting. More cocoa (a cup) than in the cake! 1 1/2 cup of margarine sticks, 4 cups of powdered sugar and a 1/4 cup of almond milk. I beat it with a hand mixer, that reminded me of my mom--I remembered standing on tip-toe so I could look out over the counter and see the beater smoothing and unifying all the ingredients, impatient for the time I would be invited to lick the bowl!

After the cake cooled, I took a butter knife and swirled the frosting over the two layers of cake. I did it just the way my mother would, creating little peaks all over the cake, smothering it in super sweet frosting. I topped it off with some pretty candles and a Happy Birthday in a red gel script.

Mitch had prepared a delicious light dinner of couscous, various roasted vegetables and a salad. I found time to make a honey wheat bread. But the cake sitting on the table had caught everyone's attention as soon as I brought it in. I could feel the excitement as we sang happy birthday and then Lisa cut us all generous slices. Everyone groaned after the first rich bite. The cake and the frosting complemented each other perfectly, the cake had an almost airy texture, a gentle flavor, the frosting was indulgent and sugary.

The next day, we had a family Zoom with my dad and brothers. When asked about her birthday, Lisa held up a slice of the cake by way of reply, and we all sang happy birthday one more time.

CHOCOLATE CAKE (bake at 350 for 30-35 minute in 2 9” rounds)

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 cups all purpose flour

1 3/4 cups granulated unbleached sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING (beat until smooth- add sugar and almond milk to a consistency that pleases you)

1 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups margarine, softened, baking sticks preferred

4-5 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

vegan
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About the Creator

Michele Cuomo

seeking. writing.

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