VEGAN MOCHA CAKE...A strange but delicious New Year Resolution...;-)

“I want to bake a layered Mocha Cake”-this was part of my 2011 NY resolution..sounds tad strange doesn’t it? People normally make New Year resolutions to quit desserts and here I was, making a resolution to bake oodles of calories!! :-p

Well what can I say other than that I see things in a different light..i had resolved to try out whatever my heart desires since life’s too unpredictable to keep wondering about what ifs and what not’s!. So when my dear heart started singing out for a layered Chocolate Cake, I had to follow the instructions before the mind gave a different ruling..after all it is governed by my weighing machine most of the days! (Traitor can’t stick with the heart ever!!!Grrr...}

Early this morning, as I sat sipping filter coffee and reminiscing about my baking attempts for past year or so, i rifled through my little repertoire of edible foods experiments and I realised I had yet to share my recipe of a Vegan Mocha cake that I had baked last january. Guess I never got around to posting it on my blog because I hadn’t started my blog when I attempted this slightly lopsided double layered cake  J .

I remember the sheer fear of it being a complete failure as it was my first attempt at making a (i)Vegan Cake..no eggs, no milk & (ii) layered one so I wasn’t sure about the outcome.
Would the cake turn out to be moist and delicious or would I be using it as a lethal weapon to hit anyone who annoys me? How would I frost the cake so that it looks like a cake and not something indefinable? With doubts crowding my mind but the desire to give it a shot, I set out to gather the ingredients and my wits around me! J

For a first time attempt at a Vegan cake, it turned out to be edible and since my food critics, my bhai and my best friends, survived without resorting to any medicines post consumption, I felt I had managed to keep one NY resolution atleast! :-D

Here goes the recipe for Vegan Mocha Cake....Do give it a shot and let me know how it turned out! J

VEGAN MOCHA CAKE

Ingredients for Chocolate CakeDry2 1/2 cups of sifted whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar [doesn’t make any difference if its granular or caster]
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt

Wet
1 cup of apple sauce/maple syrup/golden syrup
2 cups of warm water
2/3 cup of vegetable oil
2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 teaspoon of white or apple cider vinegar

Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
Half a 350 g package of firm tofu
4 tablespoons maple/golden syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup of soy or almond milk
100 g to 200 g 70% dark chocolate bar (melted in a double boiler) [i used few pieces of baileys liquor chocolate to give that extra kick]
1 teaspoon of Coffee Powder

Topping-
Fresh Strawberries

Putting It All Together-

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Grease baking pans with oil
3. To ensure the cakes don't stick, place a handful of flour in each pan and shake pan until covered. Or, with a pencil, trace the bottom of the baking pan on the wax paper, cut out circles, and line pans.
4. Sift flour into a large bowl, adding flakes of bran back into the flour if sifted out.
5. Mix in the rest of the dry ingredients.
6. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients and whisk.
7. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until smooth.
8. Pour vegan chocolate cake mixture equally into baking pans.
9. Place pans in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a fork comes out clean.
10. Allow chocolate cake to cool before removing from pans.

How to Make the Frosting
1. Add all ingredients, except the chocolate and coffee powder, into a food processor.
2. Melt dark chocolate bar in a double boiler.
3. Blend ingredients until smooth and then slowly add melted chocolate and coffee powder.
4. Once blended, let cool in the refrigerator for a few hours so that the tofu has time to absorb the flavours. Frosting will also thicken as it sits.
5. If not chocolately  enough for you, melt and add more dark chocolate.

FROSTING YOUR VEGAN MOCHA CAKE
1. Place one cake flat side up on a plate and spread with icing.
2. Place other cake flat side down on top of icing.
3. Spread the remainder of the icing over the entire double-layered cake.

4. Decorate all over with halved strawberries and serve.

A quick note: the texture and flavour of the cake with vary slightly depending on whether maple syrup or apple sauce is used. If you prefer a cake less moist, simply use two cups of sugar instead of apple sauce and maple/golden syrup.

Baker's Advice: A cup of Hot Coffee is a perfect accompaniment to this moist and delicious vegan cake! :)