Chocolate Cake

On Friday night, we managed to fit *eleven* people into our teeny-tiny apartment {750 sq. ft. with two bedrooms, to give you an idea}. Anyway, of those eleven people, two were my best friends that had moved away recently {one to Germany, one to Colorado}. It was absolutely amazing to be able to spend New Year's Eve with my favorite people, and I can't imagine having a better night with better people. 

We had quite a spread of food as well: spiral cut ham, cornbread, black eyed peas, and collard greens {my Southern friend insisted on these last two}. And, of course, chocolate cake!

One of my best friends is vegan, and while it presents a slight challenge at times, I was able to find a delicious {and easy} chocolate cake recipe for everyone to enjoy at Andrea's Easy Vegan Cooking.

Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or unbleached if you must)
3/4 cup sugar (I use an evaporated cane juice, like Sucanot)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon real vanilla
5 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup water

1. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. (Be sure to stir up the flour and add it to the measuring cup rather than scoop it out.)
2. Make three wells and add the vanilla to one, the vinegar to one and the oil to one.
3. Pour the water over all and mix well.
4. Immediately pour into a greased 8 inch pan and bake in a preheated 350˚F oven for 25-30 minutes. (A toothpick should come out with a crumb or two attached.)
5. Let the cake cool in the pan at least five minutes before removing to cool on a rack.

 
Of course, no chocolate cake is complete without a chocolate frosting, so here is the recipe for the absolutely incredible chocolate ganache:

Ingredients: 
11 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
11 tablespoons sugar (sucanot)
3 tablespoons unbleached white flour
3/4 cup non-dairy milk
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons vegan margarine (Earth Balance)
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Sift the cocoa, flour, salt and sugar into a heavy pot. (You don't want any lumps in the cocoa. If you start with lumps, you'll end up with lumps.)
2. Slowly add the milk, a little at a time, and whisk to a smooth consistency.
3. Heat to a very slow boil, stirring CONSTANTLY, reaching into the corners of the pot. This will burn and stick if you look away for a second.
4. Turn the heat down and continue cooking and stirring until thick but still creamy, about five minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and add the margarine and vanilla. Stir to mix in the melted margarine.
6. Let cool a little and spread on a cooled cake. (It thickens as it cools. If it gets too cool, it may become hard to spread. You can add a very small amount of liquid to get it spreadable again.)

I promise, you will not be able to tell that this cake has no eggs or butter in it. And while I found a lot of vegan recipes, this one didn't require me to get any unusual ingredients, like flax seed or tofu {really? tofu in a cake?}. And that frosting is absolutely some of the best frosting you will ever make. It might just be the last chocolate frosting recipe I use. 

Did any of you make something sweet and delicious for the New Year? It seems almost necessary to say goodbye to 2010 and ring in 2011 with something yummy.

Unfortunately, however, I did make this cake on December 31st of 2010, so I can't use it toward my 101 recipes in 1001 days. But it's a good start.

Hope you all try this out {maybe it will rid some of their vegan prejudices}. Enjoy!