[Vegan Chocolate and Almond Cake]
...I wanted to make a really special cake for The Airman's Wife's Birthday...
...Julia says this is an
extremely good chocolate cake...baked so that it's center remains slightly underdone...covered with chocolate butter-icing and decorated with almonds...
...so that sounded perfect...and it only makes an 8 inch cake which is perfect for our small party...
...start off by buttering and flouring the cake pan...
...then break up 4 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate...I used Baker's...
...and add 2 T. of rum or coffee...I chose rum...
...and set that in a larger pan of almost simmering water...and let it melt...
...since I will need my mixing bowl for the batter...I went ahead and whipped my aqua faba...
...added sugar and a pinch of salt...and whipped to soft peaks...then I put it on a plate and set it aside for later...
...cream together the butter (Earth Balance) and sugar...
...and then add your egg-replacer...
...then you blend in the melted chocolate mixture...Julia says that we add things in this order because the chocolate and the almonds make the batter too stiff to fold in the egg whites...
...and you'll need 1/3 cup of pulverized almonds...I ground mine in my old coffee grinder...
...this batter is so creamy...
...and delicious...
...I thought it would be darker...but it's still delicious...
...add the almond extract...
...and fold in the aqua faba...
...turn the batter into the cake pan, pushing the patter up to the rim with a rubber spatula...
...bake in the middle of a preheated oven for about 25 minutes...Cake is done when it has puffed and 2 1/2 to 3 inches around the circumference are set so that a needle plunged into that area comes out clean; but the center should move slightly if the pan is shake and a needle comes out oily...
...I was amazed at how high this cake rose...and I took it out while the center was still slightly jiggly...maybe a little longer than 25 minutes...I didn't want a huge lava cake...haha...
...let it cool 10 minutes in the pan...
...and then a couple of hours on the rack...Julia says it must be thoroughly cool to ice...
Substitutions:
Vegan Butter - we used Earth Balance
EnerG Egg replacer...for the Vegan Egg
Aqua Faba for the egg whites...
...recipe at
Mastering the Art of French Cooking....(pp. 677-679)
