The Chocolate Cake To Live For

[Guest guest]

Courtesy of Veggie Jews

 

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

 

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.