If you took a peek at last week’s Les Vendredis Francophones then you saw this delicious chocolate cake I made for my mother-in-law’s birthday last week. This is one of those cakes that will give your guests the impression that you’re a master pastry chef, and it is so crazy-easy that you’ll find yourself making it again and again. I know that vegan cakes can sometimes run on the “heavy” side, but this one has a light, tight crumb that will leave people doubting it’s really vegan…
After a little trial and a bit of error, I bring you this low-fat delight with but a mere 40g (about 3 tbsp) of butter – apple sauce replacing the initial 3/4 cups the original artery-clogging recipe called for. Tasty and modest in the fat department? Who would have thought?
Serve this rich chocolate cake with a cup of espresso, or with your favourite non-dairy ice cream for extra-special birthday (or any day) fun!
low-fat vegan chocolate cake
2 tbsp Ener-G (or egg replacer of your choice for 2 eggs)
4 tbsp water
180 g brown sugar
40 g non-dairy butter, softened
225 ml apple sauce
60 ml soy milk
100 g unsweetened cocoa powder
200 g AP flour
1 tbsp corn starch
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1) Pre-heat your oven to 180°c and butter and flour a 25cm bunt pan.
2) Using an electric mixer, beat the Ener-G and water until frothy, then add the butter and sugar and continue mixing for about 5 minutes. Next, add the soy milk and apple sauce and blend until smooth.
3) Sift in the cocoa powder, corn starch, flour and baking powder, and blend with a wooden spoon until “just mixed”. If you stir too much you’ll have a chewy cake, and that would be sad.
4) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 or 15 minutes, then gently reverse it onto a cooling rack.
5 ) This cake is quite lovely naked, but you could of course get fancy-pants with some chocolate ganache or lemony powdered sugar icing...and don’t forget the sprinkles!
bon appétit!
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