Vegan Chocolate Cake - #Easy #DairyFree #EggFree

I must have mentioned several times that my family's dietary needs vary with the seasons. We are borderline vegan for half of the year. This has encouraged me to be open to various forms of cooking. I also have dairy induced allergies, although I can get away with some dairy-based dessert once in a while. Finally baking my own vegan chocolate cake gives me hope that I can get to enjoy food, without exposing myself to allergic reactions. Throw in our fasting from animal products, and everybody wins!

Is vegan chocolate cake healthy?

These days, "healthy" is an ambiguous word. A simple example..... I switched to vegan baking because of allergies, and to be able to entertain guests during our fasting days. In this case, the cake is a healthier option because it is free from eggs and milk (a bad combination for me).

I did not use milk substitutes, so the cake is naturally lower in calories than a dairy and egg-based cake. The chocolate flavor is made from unsweetened cocoa powder.

Overall, a vegan chocolate cake should be lower in fat, and calories.

How to make a vegan chocolate cake

Recipes vary, but I found this one to be much easier.  We love to bake, so it became easy to workout substitutes for the eggs and milk - including in the frosting. The ingredients are quite simple:

Dry ingredients.......

2 cups of self-raising flour
1 cup of sugar 1/2 cup of cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients......

1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
2 cups cold water
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1,5 teaspoon vanilla

For the frosting, I used:

• Canola margarine (free of animal ingredients) - vegan butter is much more suitable, but I used what I had.
• Powdered sugar - I refined mine in the blender
• Cocoa powder

Let's get started....(scroll down to print the recipe)

For the cake batter and baking

1. Preheat oven to 180°C ( 356°F) and grease your baking pan (you can also insert parchment paper in the pan)
2. Mix all the dry ingredients.
3. Mix the vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla together, add and combine to the dry mix.
4. Add water and whisk to a batter.
5. Transfer to the baking cake tin and bake in the oven.
6. Test cake readiness by sticking a toothpick, or knife at the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, your cake is properly baked.
7. Transfer to a cooling rack.

The vegan chocolate cake icing

The cake is, after all, fancy bread. Eggs and milk are not always necessary. I have postponed vegan baking for a while now because I couldn't figure out how to make the icing.  It is much easier than you think.

1.  In a separate bowl, add vegan butter, or margarine (make sure it is at room temperature).  The amount will depend on the size of your cake, as well as your desired icing thickness.  I used 6 tablespoons for this recipe.

2.  Add 1 cup of powder sugar, and 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the margarine/vegan butter and mix until smooth, and chocolate brown.

You may struggle with getting the icing to be smooth and consistent, but once you ice your cake and store in a cool place, the vegan chocolate cake icing will harden nicely and be like any other icing.

Making your own powder sugar

It is as easy as ABC.....take your granulated sugar and blends into a fine powder. Some people also add some cornstarch to it:

Once your cake has cooled off, and the icing ready - apply the chocolate icing to your cake, and decorate with sprinkles, or any cake decorating of your choice. Store in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours before serving.

Vegan chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting

You can also make the vegan chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, instead of the margarine based icing. It is a healthier option and loaded with protein. It is easy to make......

Replace the margarine, or vegan butter with peanut butter, add the powdered sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla and mix into a smooth batter. If you prefer your peanut butter frosting to be softer, add very little almond milk and mix into a creamy batter.

Can you freeze the chocolate vegan cake?

Definitely!

A friend had sent one over for my birthday last year, but we decided to keep it because we had a lot of the sweet stuff already.  We froze it for two weeks with no damage at all.

Ensure that you do not use artificial defrosting methods like the microwave. Simply transfer your frozen cake to the upper shelf of your fridge and let it defrost overnight.

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