Simple Chocolate Cake

[christhamrin]

This looks fantastic.  I will have to try it sometime.

[Reenuka]

I use this recipe EVERY time I make chocolate cake and it comes out WONDERFUL every time! thanks! 

[allymeows]

Do I have to use vinegar?  I hate vinegar- gag reflex.

[lynmel]

Do I have to use vinegar?  I hate vinegar- gag reflex.

Don't worry--there is no taste of vinegar in the baked cake.  All you taste is really good chocolate cake. You need to have the vinegar so the acid in it will react with the baking soda to make the cake rise.  I suppose you  could use some other acidic ingredient, but I'm not sure what or how much of what would work and still taste good.

[weelittlebuddy]

This recipe was really easy to make. I only used 1 cup of turbinado sugar and used applesauce instead of the oil.  I also added about a cup of grain sweetened vegan chocolate chips.  It turned out a little dry though, so next time, more applesauce!!  I made a chocolate frosting too and put that in the middle and on top of the cake.  Fabulous recipe. Then, on top of the chocolate icing I used the "Decorative Frosting" recipe from this site and wrote "Happy 19 Joline" on top, for my sisters birthday. They loved it!! 

[snkveg]

In regards to the vinegar, you can use lemon or lime juice because the acid is still there. I just make cupcakes that called for vinegar and I used the same measurement of lemon juice and they turned out great.

[mswings4444]

where do I get the maple syrup/chocolate glaze recipe?  Would love to try it on this cake

[3relefords]

MADE THESE LAST NIGHT WITH MY DAUGHTER, THE BATTER WAS THIN. I WAS KINDA WORRIED  BUT PUSHED ALONG ANYWAY. I'M NEW AT BAKING, BUT WHAT I HAVE NOTICED IS THAT WHEN I SUBSTITUTE APPLESAUCE  FOR OIL, THE FINISHED PRODUCT COMES OUT SPONGY. IT DOESN'T AFFECTTHE FLAVOR, BUT THE TEXTURE IS DIFFERENT. HAS THAT HAPPENED TO ANYONE ELSE? IS THAT COMMON WITH BAKING WITH SUBSTITUTIONS? ANYWAY, THEY WERE TASTY AND MY NON VEGAN CHILDREN ATE THEM THE MINUTE THEY CAME OUT OF THE OVEN. BY THE WAY, I ONLY USED 1 CUP OF BROWN SUGAR, MY SON SUGGESTED THAT THEY BE SWEETER NEXT TIME. THEY WERE JUST THE RIGHT SWEETNESS FOR ME.

[~treehugginghippiefreak~]

Nadown, your picture is awesome and the description of your cake sounds wonderful. I love chocolate and ginger...care to share your recipe modifications?

[nadown]

Nadown, your picture is awesome and the description of your cake sounds wonderful. I love chocolate and ginger...care to share your recipe modifications?

I put about 1/4 cup of chopped crystallized ginger and about 1 tablespoon of powdered ginger in with the cake recipe above (two batches, separated into two 8x8 square pans for my cake).

I got the chocolate mousse recipe from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World."  I'd rather not post their recipe here, you should really get this cook book -- everything I've made out of this book has turned out perfect.

The blueberry compote is just a mixture of 2 cups of blueberries (or any fruit), 1/4 cup of water, 1/3 cup of sugar, and 3 tablespoons of corn starch (or tapioca starch if you have it).  Mix it together and heat it on the stove until it thickens.

The sides of the cake were frosted with the chocolate mousse and the almonds were placed, one by one, on the sides.  Looking back on it, I should have just used shredded coconut for the sides because placing all of those almonds took me 2 and a half hours.

-nathan

[~treehugginghippiefreak~]

Nadown, Thank you!  I am making this cake on Sunday.  I've wanted to pick up "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World"  for a while, now I have an excuse, lol ...and I have blueberries in the freezer. I can't wait.

[angel72]

i really didn't think it was gunna work.. i read the reveiws and everyone said it worked.. but i didn't think it was going to.. but it DID!! it's great.. like a combo of a decadent brownie and a cake.. EVERYONE loved it.. people couldn't believe there were no eggs in it.. i will make this for EVERY birthday.. or just a specail weekend.. thanks again!! )

[andymommy]

I used 1/2 whole wheat flour 1/2 white flour and sweet potatoes baby food instead of oil.  It was really good!

[nadown]

I would like to suggest the following modifications:

1. Use soy milk instead of water.
2. Mix the vinegar (I use unfiltered apple cider vinegar) with the soy milk and let it sit for about 5 minutes to let it curdle slightly (so you get a more acidic "buttermilk" mixture) before mixing with the rest of the wet ingredients.
3. Mix the fats and the sugar together then add it to the wet ingredients, then add to the dry ingredients.  This gives the cake a better crumb. (Ok, I'm lying, this really only holds true with the creaming method (mixing "butter" and sugar to entrap air resulting in a light an fluffy crumb) but it's good practice. And you'd be using cake flour with a lower gluten content, but I digress...)
4. Add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract (adds nicely to the depth of the flavor).
5. Mix the ingredients in a bowl before pouring it into a pan (don't over-mix, little lumps are fine).
6. Buy a digital kitchen scale and start weighing ingredients, it's definitely worth it if you are serious about baking from scratch OR be sure to sift your flour before measuring. 

Note: If you are going to substitute applesauce for oil make sure to add at least 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil to the mix anyway -- a little fat never hurt anyone and it makes a huge difference when it comes to the texture of the cake.