Friday, November 6, 2009

Vegan Chocolate Cake



Sometimes you have guests who are vegans.  Sometimes you just don't have eggs or milk, and you pretend that you always cook vegan.  Either way, this cake did the trick.  I got the recipe from Joy the Baker.  She is so very creative, and although they look delicious which usually means hard and complicated, they are not that bad.



To grease a pan, I always use butter.  I love butter.  When people skip the butter, it baffles me. You are right, butter is not vegan.  So if you want to make this truly vegan, then please grease the pan with something vegan approved. Your choice.




My mom got me these measuring spoons.
She is a librarian, that's how cute she is.



Oh.  Oops. Did I forget to tell you that the thing that makes this cake so moist, and the main ingredient in the frosting was avocado?  Yes, yes I did.  I apologize.  But would you have kept reading?
Probably not. I tricked you.



But if the green is too much for you, just dye the frosting.
You know, season specific.



And I added a bit of garnish with the chocolate chips.  Not to mention the flowers courtesy of my husband, and the vintage cake stand really adds a bit of charm.

Thank you Joy the Baker. This was de.li.cious.




Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake (Via Joy the Baker)


3 cups of flour (called for all purpose, I used wheat)
6 tablespoons of unsweetened coco powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups of granulated sugar
1/4 cup of vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
1/2 cup soft avocado
2 cups water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract










Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch rounds.  Set aside.
Sift together all of the dry ingredients except the sugar.  Set that aside too.
Mix all the wet ingredients together in a bowl, including the super mashed avocado.
Add sugar into the wet mix and stir.
Mix the wet with the dry all at once, and beat with a whisk (by hand) until smooth.
Pour batter into a greased cake tins. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let cakes cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks to cool completely before frosting with avocado buttercream.
Avocado Butter Cream Frosting



8 ounces of avocado meat, about 2 small to medium, very ripe avocados
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 pound powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Peel and pit the soft avocados.  It’s important to use the ripest avocados you can get your hands on.  If the avocados have brown spots in the meat, avoid those spots when you scoop the meat into the bowl.
Place the avocado meat into the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment.  Add lemon juice and whisk the avocado on medium speed, until slightly lightened in color and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the powdered sugar a little at a time and beat.  Add vanilla extract until combined.  If not using right away, store in the refrigerator.  Don’t worry.  It won’t turn brown!


Note: Clearly, butter is not Vegan.  I know this.  I called it Vegan because it is the official title of where I got this from.  As the comments suggest, if you want it purely Vegan, please do not use butter.

7 comments:

  1. I can't wait to eat this! Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ok that is amazing that that cake is made with avocado. I would love to try a slice of that. I'm all about trying new and different things. Good job on such a delicious looking vegan cake :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nutmeg Nanny- I hope you do make this. I did try it. Oh. My. Word. Delicious! Extremly moist and flavorful. I had 2 pieces, that's how much I loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This looks excellent! However, if you would like to classify it as a vegan cake, you would have to grease the pan with either a vegan friendly margarine or crisco shortening. Butter is a dairy product ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. HA! Butter! Not vegan, good try though

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you for your comments. I realize that butter is not vegan. T his is not an original recipe, and maybe it's the student coming out, but I could not alter the title or it would have been plagiarism. So yes, the title of this cake is Vegan, no, butter is not. I apologize. But you, as Sanwichbag said, can make the appropriate adjustments. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. oh the measuring spoons are so cute! and this cake is beautiful ;)

    ReplyDelete