It Must Be Magic!

Magic Chocolate Cake, that is.

I had it for breakfast this morning, dessert and midnight snack last night; I took it to work to share with my co-workers yesterday; I had it for dessert the night before last; and, I snacked on it last weekend. I am in seventh heaven.

I have been seeing this recipe around for awhile, but I never tried it until last week. This is a decadent, sinful, moist chocolate cake, and it's completely vegan. This cake recipe is the easiest you'll find, whether your are a vegan or not. Notice that it has only 9 ingredients, all of which (with the possible exception of cocoa powder) are in your kitchen right now. This is the perfect recipe to bake with kids. Supervise them closely, of course.

I am going to post the recipe here, but I urge you to check out the demo at Mercy for Animals. If you have QuickTime, you may also be able to view the demo at CompassionateCooks.com.

This is the recipe for a single layer cake that you cook and serve from a square pan--like a snack cake, or it should also yield 12 cupcakes (use liners). Double the recipe and bake in two greased and floured 8"-9" round pans, or one Bundt pan. I had some difficulty with sticking with each of the last two methods, so be careful and patient when removing from the pans.

Magic Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven to °350

1 1/2 C. Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3/4 C. Sugar
1 t. Baking soda
1/4 t. Salt
3 T. Cocoa powder
1 C. Cold water
1 t. Vanilla extract
1/3 C. Vegetable Oil
1 T. White vinegar

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl (large, if you double the recipe). Mix well, using a fork.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

Combine the water, vegetable oil and vanilla. Pour into the well in the dry ingredients. Add the vinegar, and mix well with a fork.

Pour into (greased and floured, if desired) pan. Bake for 25- 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cool completely and frost with this simple chocolate icing recipe:

Simple Chocolate Icing

2 T. Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1/2 t. Vanilla extract
1 1/3 C. Powdered sugar
1/3 C. Cocoa powder
Soy milk

Soften Buttery Spread in a mixing bowl. Beat in vanilla extract. Mix in powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add just enough soy milk to achieve desired spreading consistency. Be careful not to add too much, only a tablespoon at a time.

This is enough icing for the top of a snack cake. I would triple (or even quadruple) the recipe for a two-layer cake.

Notes:

I used (King Arthur Flour brand) White Whole Wheat Flour, Organic Sugar and Pure Bourbon Vanilla Extract, all from Trader Joe's. My cocoa is Chatfield's Premium Cocoa Powder; it's alkaline free (or "non-Dutched").

For the icing, I purchase the organic version of Earth Balance Buttery Spread at Trader Joe's, as well as their organic powdered sugar. Of course, I used the same vanilla and cocoa.

Vegan Cooking

For the most part, I am a vegan, though on occasion I turn a blind eye to egg and/or milk ingredients in sweets that I get out. That's rare. Being veg* provides an incredible opportunity to experiment with foods, though I usually refer to myself as "a vegetarian who doesn't eat vegetables." I'm into carbs. Trust me; it's something I am working on.

Whenever I cook, I usually have to play around with ingredients to find workable substitutions for things like milk and eggs. Even when I find a vegan recipe, I usually end up making some changes anyway.

I am by no means a gourmet, but I do enjoy cooking. I would like it even more, except I am usually cooking for one. Recently, I tried out a recipe for a "mock meatloaf" made with "meatless ground" that I found at Black Vegetarians. With the adjustments that I made, it didn't hold together and was a little too catsupy. That left me wanting to give a lentil loaf a try. I am always happy to find one on a veg* menu at a restaurant. And, an ex's mother used to make a good one, though probably not vegan.

I began to put the ingredients together in my head, and here's the easy, super-healthy version I came up with:

Lentil Loaf

2 1/2 C. lentils, cooked
1/2 med. onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 C. carrots, chopped
1/2 C. mushrooms, chopped
1 C. whole oats
1/3 C. sunflower seeds, unsalted raw
1/3 C. flaxseed meal
2 T. olive oil
2 T. catsup
2 tsp. vegan worsteshire sauce
1 tsp. Bragg's liquid aminos (optional)
1 T. vegetable broth base (or 1 vegetable bouillon cube + 1 T. water)
pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to °350 F.

In large mixing bowl, mash lentils with potato masher.

Saute vegetables in olive oil untils onion begin to become transparent.

Add vegetables to mashed lentils.

Blend in (with a spoon) remaining ingredients.

Oil 1 lb. loaf pan and press in lentil mixture. Cover pan with foil.

Bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 5 minutes.

Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

This is really tasty, so I'm going to stick with this recipe for all my future Lentil Loaf needs.

Notes:

I didn't use any topping because I served my loaf with gravy and mashed potatoes.

If you click on the links in the recipe, they will take you to The World's Healthiest Foods website. It's not a veg* site, but if you are interested in eating healthy foods, this is the spot. Whfoods.org has wonderful information on some of the healthiest foods you can include in your diet. Check it out. You may want to look into their "healthy saute" method and use vegetable broth in place of the olive oil. I did not try out my recipe that way, so I don't know what effect this method would have on the outcome. If you are counting calories, or if you are concerned about heating oil, it may be worth a try.

I purchased a package of "steamed lentils", from Trader Joes. Perfect, since I know little about actually cooking legumes. Every time I try to cook lentils, the skins come off. The lentils from TJs were cooked, firm, and still retained their shape. When you mash them, don't worry about every little lentil. The effect is better when people see that the loaf is made from lentils. That way they don't have to worry that they are eating something really strange.

I also chopped carrots from the package of shredded carrots that I purchased there. Easy. Red Mill Flaxseed Meal? Organic Catsup? Virgin Olive Oil? Mushrooms? Raw sunflower seeds? All from TJs, as well.

The vegan worsteshire sauce was Annie's brand. If your local grocery stores don't carry it, check the local health food stores. I bought the Superior Touch Better Than Bouillon vegetable base from my local grocery store. I was planning to use a bouillon cube, but when I was in the grocery store, I was sold by the "V" for "vegan certified by vegan. org" on the Better Than Bouillon label.

And, if your are not a veg*, use whatever you have that works for you.