Happy St. Patrick's

Anyone in the mood for green beer? :)

Today is just the most perfect day for lounging around. After the thin fog in the morning, the sun finally set in. I opened up the house around 12 to let the cool breeze in.

I wonder what to do today since I don't drink...well, there's nothing else to do...but...bake!

I'm sure that no one will mind my sharing this delectable recipe to celebrate the glorious St. Patrick's day.

The Vegan Chocolate Cake To Live For
courtesy: Sara Snow from Discovery Health

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
1/2 cup light organic cane sugar
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup pure maple syrup, Grade A Dark Amber
*2 cups chocolate or vanilla soymilk* (see tips)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Position one rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Oil the sides and bottoms of two 9 x 3-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper cut to fit. Place a wire mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Add the pastry flour, white flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon to the strainer. Tap the strainer against the palm of your hand to sift the ingredients.

Stir with a wire whisk to distribute the ingredients. Whisk the oil, maple syrup, soymilk, vanilla and almond extracts and vinegar in a separate medium bowl until well blended. Pour into the dry mixture and stir with a wire whisk until the batter is smooth. This batter is meant to be thin; don't worry.

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Tap the pans lightly on the counter to eliminate air bubbles.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are set, the sides have started to pull away from the pan, and a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs.

Cool the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife between the cake and inside of the pan, and invert each layer onto a rack. Remove the pans and carefully peel off the parchment paper. Invert again topside up on a rack to cool completely.

To protect the layers from cracking or breaking, slide a cardboard circle (or another flat surface) under each one. Wrap the layers with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold before filling and frosting.

Assemble the cake

While a cake-decorating turntable is nice to have, it is not essential for this cake. To assemble the cake, place one of the layers bottom-side up on a serving plate. Tuck strips of parchment or waxed paper under the outside edge of the cake to catch any frosting that drips.

Use an icing spatula to spread about 1 1/2 cups of the cream frosting on the layer. (If the layer is uneven, spread more cream on the thinner areas.) Set the second layer on it topside up, and press down lightly. Spread about 1 1/2 cups of the frosting on top of the cake covering one section at a time. Push excess frosting off the top onto the sides adding more frosting as needed to cover the sides. Smooth or swirl the frosting as you like.

The cake is ready to serve immediately, but can be refrigerated up to 2 days. Use a long, sharp knife to cut the cake, wiping the blade as needed after each slice.

*Tips & Variations:1 1/2 cups of rice milk can replace the 2 cups of soymilk.*


The recipe seems a little long and complicated, but it's WORTH it. A healthful, delicious chocolate cake...the combination just can't be beat. And Chris totally loves this cake, which really motivates me to bake it more often. Although it's not always good to feed your kids chocolate cake, but from time to time, you can relax and indulge. Especially when the cake is oh-so-good for you.

Cheerio!