Vegan Chocolate Cake

Vegan Chocolate Cake

This recipe is an adaptation of one that I found in my “vegan bible” Easy Vegan Cooking by Leah Leneman (thornsonselement.com). I stumbled on this book while cooking for a group of around 30 at Mandala Yoga Ashram a couple of years ago. It was one of those serendipitous discoveries that I will always remember with a smile. During the course one of the ashram residents approached me and quietly asked if I felt I had the time to cook a birthday cake; she had just discovered one of the course students had her birthday in a couple of days time and it is very much in the ashram tradition to make a cake to celebrate any birthday.

To be honest, I’m not that enthusiastic about making cakes for various reasons perhaps because living on my own (and not having the luxury of a freezer) it means that I will have to spend the next week eating it. Another reason is that my daughter Sophie excels at baking (perhaps following in the footsteps of her paternal grandmother Nancy?) and so on family events that require a cake we can depend on her to produce something delicious to mark the occasion. I was reassured however, to hear that there were plenty of good cookery books in the ashram kitchen with gluten free, vegan and sugar free recipes.
Looking through the books available I discovered this recipe and immediately took to it because it sounded so simple and had the bonus of all being measured by cups, a method I very much prefer when making cakes. Later that week I went through the book more extensively and realised what a great little recipe book it is – especially the recipe for Masoor Dahl (maybe I will post that another day). This anecdote could go on for at least another two paragraphs but it ends with me finding my own copy of the book in a local junk shop. For now I will be disciplined and give you the recipe.

Ingredients

170g/ 6 oz/ 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour (I use spelt flour which works well)

4 tsps cocoa or carob powder

½ tsp salt

¾ tsp bicarbonate soda

115g/ 4 oz/ 2/3 cup raw cane sugar

90ml/ 3fl oz/ 1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 tsps cider or wine vinegar

200ml / 1/3 pt / ¾ cup cold water
1 small or 1/2 large mashed ripe banana

You will also need two round 6 ½ -7”or 16-17 cm baking tins, greased and bottom lined with parchment paper. If you want a larger cake, double the quantities and use a 7 ½”/ 18cm tin instead  (this size makes a very large cake - enough for around 10/12 people).

Turn the oven on to 350c/180C/ Gas 4 before you start to mix the ingredients.

Sieve the first 4 ingredients together into a large bowl. Add the sugar making sure all large lumps are broken up and mix well.

Mix the oil, essence and vinegar in a jug and add to the dry ingredients in the bowl along with the well mashed banana. Once the ingredients start to incorporate start adding the water slowly to the mixture. At first this seems somewhat counter intuitive but don’t be tempted to leave any of the water out - you will end up with a mixture of soft dropping cosistency.

The recipes states to use a fork to mix but I find a wooden spoon is better just don’t stir too vigourously just enough to mix the ingredients together instead or large air bubbles will mar the finished cake.

Divide the mixture into two and place in the prepared tins – give them quite a strong tap or two to encourage any air bubble to leave the mix and to let the mixture settle in the tins before placing in the oven - I have left the mixture for 15 minutes and found there was no ill effect. Bake for around 30 minutes and test to check if the cake bounces back when lightly pressed - if not leave a little longer. If it is starting to burn round the edges cover with a little bit of foil (shiny side up) to stop the outside cooking any further. Leave to cool thoroughly before removing from the pan.

I didn’t have much success with Leah’s recipe for Chocolate icing so turned to the net for this one:

http://minimalistbaker.com/one-bowl-vegan-chocolate-cake/

This will give you more than enough to ice the smaller cake; if you just want to ice the outside of the cake and use a different filling I recommend using half the quantities. Roughly double the ingredients for the larger cake.

1 cup/ 224gs vegan butter (I use stork margarine) at room temperature

2 – 3cups/ 300-336gs of icing sugar

1/3 or 2/3 cup/ 31/63gs cocoa powder (I used 1/3 as the vegan chocolate* was very dark)

¼ cup/ 30 gs dairy free chocolate* – melted and slightly cooled

2tsps vanilla extract

Optional around ¼ cup unsweetened soya/almond milk**
(**NB you don't need to use this - I used coconut milk last time as I had a carton open and have had success with other things such as soya single cream)

I’ve tweaked this recipe slightly after trying it out myself. While cooling the cake, prepare the frosting by beating together all ingredients (except the icing sugar) using an electric hand whisk if possible, until light and fluffy. Add the sieved sugar in small amounts until you reach your desired consistency and sweetness - I prefer a little less icing sugar than recommended in the above recipe. If it becomes too thick, add more vegan milk. If it's too thin, add more cocoa powder or sugar.

Once the cake is cooled, frost generously with butter cream frosting, adding a thick layer between the top and bottom layers (if doing a 2-layer cake). Alternatively, omit the frosting and dust with cocoa powder. 

FILLINGS  
Although the above recipe is good for a filling I've had some success using different fillings and my most recent version had a filling of cooked prunes which is very easy to make and relies less heavily on sugar. You will need:

75gms pitted prunes (stones prunes can also be used but make sure to take the stones out once cooked)

enough orange juice to cover

Place the prunes in a small bowl and cover with orange juice – leave to soak overnight if possible or for several hours. Place the prunes and juice in a small saucepan and add enough water to cover the fruit. Place on a low heat, cover and allow the fruit to come to the boil slowly – leave to simmer until the fruit is cooked. Check from time to time that there is enough liquid. Once cooked strain any remaining juice and blitz the fruit or mash till soft with a fork. Allow to cool completely - you can use the remaining juice to drizzle over the cake after pricking each layer a few times with a toothpick or skewer. Before icing the cake spread some apricot jam over the bottom layer of the cake -then  spread the cooked prunes over the entire surface. Leave the prunes to sink into the cake for a while before placing the upper layer on top.

 

Eco Friendly Breakfast Cereal

One of my bugbears is the amount of packaging that comes with shop bought products. Along with this I noticed that many of the prepackaged breakfast cereals that I had bought in the past were staying the same price but the pack sizes were shrinking - and an increasing number were using wheat to bulk out the product (thereby making it cheaper to produce). Although I don't have a problem with wheat I learned many years ago to limit the amount I eat and instead to include as many other grains as possible. Besides being very much in keeping with Macrobiotic principles this also ensures a more varied diet.
About a year ago I stated to explore making my own breakfast cereal and it wasn't that difficult to find this recipe more or less verbatim on Google. I've made a few changes to the original method and varied the ingredients slightly so  feel justified in posting this in my blog.
Although I keep meaning to work out the costings on the contents, so I can see if I am saving money, I haven't as yet done so. For me it the reward is knowing that I'm getting a delicious breakfast cereal (with no wheat added) and there is no pesky packing to sort and recycle.
This takes about 45 minutes to prepare and cook and it's a great way to use up any nuts and seeds that are knocking about in your store cupboard approaching their sell by date.

Eco Warriors Breakfast Cereal (vegan and sugar free version)

400 g porridge oats (I prefer the large type) - you can use any grain you like: barley, rice or millet or a mixture of all.
100g oatbran

50 g sunflower seeds

100g mixed copped nuts

75g desiccated coconut (if you like coconut the larger flakes make an interesting change)

25g sesame seeds

100ml of carob syrup

150ml of any unsweetened fruit juice of your choice (or you can use water)

150ml good cooking oil (I use grape seed or rice bran oil)

2.5ml (1/2 tsp) vanilla essence

2.5ml salt

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together juice and oil, vanilla essence, carob syrup and salt – stir into dry ingredients and mix well to combine. Spread approximately half to one third  the mixture onto a large shallow baking tray and bake at 190c Gas mark 5 for 20-30 mins or till crisp and golden. Set the timer for 4 mins. Repeat 3 or 4 times or until the cereal looks golden brown (not burnt).
NB be sure to remove from oven to turn the mixture thoroughly to prevent the edges burning and to check the temperature of the oven throughout as it may need lowering if the cereal seems to be browning too fast. Repeat with the remainder.

You can do 2 trays together on separate shelves if you have the space and enough trays – be sure to stir or the edges will catch and burn. Once golden and toasted remove from tray and leave spread out in a cool place, a plate or another cold baking tray are ideal places to cool the cereal. Once cooled store in an airtight container. It keeps for at least 6 months.

You could use any grain that you like in this cereal - barley, buckwheat, millet or rye or a combination. I used roughly double the amount of seeds called for as I love them and sesame seeds are a great way to get calcium if you are vegan. I've used other seeds such as pumpkin and poppy seeds - just use what is in your cupboard - it will be yummy. Serve with your favourite topping but especially good with natural yoghourt and fresh fruit for added sweetness.

A Hearty Meal and a New Friend

About 3 weeks ago I decided to join a lunch club that was started by one of the Friends at Redland Quaker Meeting. This is a completely new experience for me but the idea appealed as it meant I would meet some new people and have a good meal once a week. Unfortunately I've not been able to attend any of the lunches to date but this week it was my turn to cook.
As the weather has been so chilly and unpredictable I thought about cooking something hearty such as Shepherds Beany Pie (Rose Elliot's recipe) which I made last week while cooking at the Ashram in Wales as it went down very well and it is certainly very hearty and warming. By Wednesday evening I realised that only one person was going to attend the meal and she mentioned that she was recovering from a virus so wasn't feeling too wonderful. Reconsidering my options I did a quick mental check. I knew I had about 1/4 of a pumpkin in the fridge, some butternut squash and a tin of aduki beans so made a complete U-turn and decided to cook an old favourite of mine:

Pumpkin and Aduki Mash with short grain brown rice.

This recipe was taught to me by an old friend, Andy Harrop, who had lived in Japan and studied the Macrobiotic approach to eating. What appealed to me is that the dish is very good for people recuperating from illness or anyone who is struggling with energy levels (to be honest that is me at the moment). According to the Macrobiotic principals the aduki bean's nourish the kidneys which are the source of our fundamental energy and the natural sweetness of the pumpkin and squash are very satisfying for the spleen and stomach energy (our fundamental ability to stand up comes from here - the Upright Energy).
Now the decision was made the cooking was easy as there is very little preparation. You can serve this with any type of rice but the Macrobiotics prefer to use short grain as it is thought to contain more fundamental energy (to be honest I just prefer the taste of it).
It was the first time I had spent any time with Hemmy so I had no idea what to expect but we had the most fascinating conversation over our aduki bean mash and she loved the meal.

 1 Softening the vegetables by sweating

Turn the heat down to a low setting and cover - leave to sweat for around ten minutes checking every 4 or 5 minutes to stir and ensure there is enough liquid to stop the contents catching.

2 Vegetables are softened but not mushy

3 The aduki mash prior to cooking through

The vegetables  breakdown and soften - keep an eye on the pan because just at the point when it is starting to cook through you need to add the drained aduki beans and mix well.



Ingredients (Serves 3/4)
1/4 of a large pumpkin and around the same amount of any kind of squash (use one or the other or both)
1 med onion
1-2 tblsns cooking oil (I use Grape Seed)
Around 250 mls of vegetable stock (I used some of the juice from the tin of bean to make mine with)
1 tin of aduki beans (drain and save the juice) or soak around 1/2 cup dried beans the night before and cook until al dente - strain and save the cooking liquid
1 teaspoon of dried mint or peppermint / 1 tablespoon fresh mint chopped
Soya Sauce - 1 tblspn
Miso past (optional) 1/2 to 1 tspn
Approx 1 cup of rice

Method
Peel and remove the seeds from the pumpkin and or squash. Cut into medium sized cubes. Peel and chop the onion roughly. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan to a moderate heat then gently fry the onions - you can let them brown a little but don't let them burn. Although I like to cook with garlic I never add it to this dish. Once the onions have a good colour add the pumpkin and or squash and mix well with the onions so they are coated with the oil. Add a little more if needed. Turn the heat down to a low setting and cover - leave to sweat for around ten minutes checking every 4 or 5 minutes to stir and ensure there is enough liquid to stop the contents catching. The vegetable will start to breakdown and soften so keep an eye on the pan because just at the point when it is starting to cook through you need to add the drained aduki beans and mix well.
You can add the mint/peppermint now if you like but if you are using fresh add it at near the end of cooking as it will maintain it's flavour more. You can also add pepper and salt at this point but be very sparing with the salt as you are going to add the soya sauce near the end. Add the stock (made with some of the juice from the can of beans) - you can leave the mash at this stage and continue to cook it later but this is probably a good point to start cooking the rice. I will hopefully blog on cooking rice at some point but for now just follow the method you normally use to cook it. You can let the aduki mash simmer on a very low heat while the rice is cooking - keep checking the liquid levels and add more if the mash is getting too dry - you can add the soya sauce about 10 minutes before the end of cooking. 
Once cooked add the miso paste* diluted with a little water or stock to encourage it to mix well serve the beans with the rice and a green salad.

* Miso - do not cook the miso but add at the end of cooking (cooking it destroys the natural enzymes in the paste).