So cake. Who doesn't love it?
My love for cake started at a very early age. My parents owned a bakery all throughout my childhood and teenage years. Every day was something sweet: cake, cake slices, cookies, cinnamon buns. And it was so good! So good that people from all over Alberta would travel to Lacombe specifically for my parent's baked goods.
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But let's talk about cake. My parents kept things very simple. They sold three varieties of cake: buttercream, chocolate buttercream and mocha buttercream. The cake was made with a base of either white or chocolate cake and topped with a secret (but unbelievable!) buttercream icing. And when I say secret, I mean there are four people in the entire world who know the recipe. And we aren't sharing it :)
While I was visiting my parents for the weekend, they gave me a bowl of mocha icing and I thought, "what can I make with this?"
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I scoured the internet for some good chocolate cake recipes, and I found this vegan one from Minimalist Baker, adapted slighty. But, really, you can't tell that it's vegan. It's amazing! It's fluffy, moist and super chocolately! Coconut oil replaces the butter. Applesauce reduces the oil.
This recipe only took about 30 minutes to bake. I let it cool in the freezer for approximately 30 minutes before icing.
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Then, the secret sauce! A note on the icing: it is not vegan. It does contain butter.
I slathered the buttery, coffee-y, and sweet mocha icing all over my beautiful two layer chocolate delight. And I thought that I needed to add some festive decorations. What else says Easter dessert like Mini Eggs? I grabbed a few (dozen), studded the outer edge with the little chocolates and added a nest of eggs to the top.
Just look at how pretty that is!
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It taste just as good. Deep chocolate. Velvety icing. Rich taste. Smooth finish.
This cake goes great with a glass of milk or nice cup of coffee. Cut a slice or two and share some cake and stories with a friend this weekend. I'd share this one, but it's gone already.
[recipe title="Chocolate Mocha Cake" servings="10" time="45-60 minutes"]
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) original unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tsp white or apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/4 cups (307 g) unsweetened applesauce*
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) strong brewed coffee (I just used more almond milk)
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) melted coconut oil, or sub grape seed or canola oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups + 2 Tbsp (320 g) whole wheat pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1/3 cups (266 g) organic coconut sugar (or sub granulated sugar)
- 1 cup (96 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176 C) and lightly coat two 8-inch round cake pans or one large rectangular pan with coconut oil.
- Mix the almond milk and vinegar in a large mixing bowl, and let set for a few minutes to activate. Add the oil, coffee, vanilla extract, and applesauce and beat until foamy.
- Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a sifter and slowly sift over the wet ingredients while mixing with a hand-held or standing mixer. If you don’t have a sifter, simply mix dry ingredients in another bowl and add to the wet mixture while beating. Beat until no large lumps remain. It should be creamy and pourable. Taste and adjust sweetness as needed, adding more sugar if desired.
- Divide batter evenly between cake pans.
- Bake approximately minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Throw cake in the freezer to cool quickly.
- Once the cake is cooled, frost generously with frosting of your choice (or contact me, and I'll make you some mocha icing.)
[/recipe]
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Until next time,
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