Vegan Chocolate Cake

A Recipe Over Three Days by Mel 

On Tuesday I  was invited over to dinner to my friend Lauren’s house (you should visit her blog). Lauren and Alan recently moved to St Kilda from Bath and I promised them baked goods. It was the perfect opportunity to make one of my favourite cakes, this chocolate cake. The Chocolate Cake is free of lactose and is from an old readers digest recipe book my mother owned.  While I was  always impressed with the recipe, I wanted to improve the cakes texture, and in this particular case ensure it was vegan. I could not have been more happy with how the cake turned out. It was absolutely delicious.

Sunday 

As I mentioned I was having dinner at Lauren’s house on Tuesday. I was working all day Monday and Tuesday. On Monday night, I had a job interview to prepare for as well as play netball. I selected the recipe because I knew it would be simple to make and didn’t require a lot of exertion on my part.

On Sunday, while my delicious ginger and treacle slice was in the oven I measure out the dry  ingredients: flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt and bicarbonate soda (a.k.a baking soda).  I measured the ingredients directly into an airtight Tupperware container.

Monday

On Monday after work, I transferred the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. I added the oil, vanilla essence, and cider vinegar.  The vinegar reacts with the bicarb/baking soda and you can see/hear the chemical reaction occurring. I’m sure a scientist could explain that this assists the cake to rise in the oven.  Add the water, and simply fold the ingredients together to combine and ensure there are no lumps.

I did sift my ingredients when transferring them to the bowl. As the mixture does not involve a lot of mixing or any beating I wanted to ensure the smoothest cake batter. I’m sure it’s not strictly necessary as you might just have to stir the mixture a bit to ensure there are no lumps of flour. 

The mixture is then transferred to a cake pan. As I was going to dinner I used a fancy Bundt tin but it’s not necessary. I would line a square or circle tin with paper.The oil provides enough lubrication and a glossy finish and I don’t think it’s necessary to grease the tin. The cake is cooked in a moderate to hot oven for about 25 minutes. Maybe a bit longer depending on the tin you use.

Once cooled the cake was placed in an airtight container and I left it on my bench overnight.

Tuesday

Cake Day! The cake was safely delivered to Lauren’s house where it was simply garnished with strawberries (because I forgot to dust it with icing sugar) You may also serve with ice-cream which would simply make this cake more tasty.

This cake was simply delicious. It’s quite a spongy cake, that is moist. What I loved most about it (besides the fact it is vegan, quick and so simple to make) was it smelt like the cake my paternal grandmother used to make all the time. She passed away when I was young and I was never able to get the recipe, but the smell transported me back to her kitchen in North Carlton.

Do yourself a favour, next time you have to make a cake within 40 minutes and want to impress someone. Make this cake.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

1 ½ cup Plain Flour
1 Cup Sugar
½ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Tsp Bicarbonate Soda (aka Baking Soda)
½ Tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 tablespoon Cider Vinegar
½ Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Cup Water
1 Tablespoon Icing Sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F.
2. In a bowl sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, bicarbonate Soda and salt.
   Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and stir in the vanilla, cider vinegar and oil.
3. Gradually fold in the water being careful not to over mix.
4. Transfer the mixture to a lines cake tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Once cooked and cooled completed sift the icing sugar on the cake and serve.