Chocolate Vegan Mega Cake with Blueberries

by Lacey Dumler

Hey people, it’s chocolate cake time. I must say that I haven’t exactly been on a roll in the kitchen lately, but this cake stands out as an exceptional experimental success, and it happened on the first try.  Go figure.  It’s moist, spongey, rich, chocolatey, and surprisingly low in sugar and oil.  How is this possible, you ask?  Peach applesauce, my friends. The applesauce adds moisture and sweetness (and fibre) while reducing the amount of oil typically used.  

I asked a couple of the folks who partook in the cake to help me name it and was given suggestions such as “Mouth Festival,” “Chocolate Mouth Festival,” and “Heaven’s Delight.”  Heavenly Chocolate Mouth Festival?  

I hope that neither of them will be too disappointed when I disregard their suggestions and call it Chocolate Vegan Mega Cake with Blueberries and Agave Chocolate Frosting.  

Here’s to wishing you as much success with it as I had, and may it make someone’s delicious-but-not-too-naughty birthday cake wishes come true.



CAKE INGREDIENTS

DRY:
1 cup unbleached white flour
3/4 whole wheat flour (“pastry” if you have it)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T ground flax
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
WET:
1 cup hemp, almond, soy, oat, or rice milk
1/2 cup coconut oil – warm enough to be in its liquid state
1 cup raw cane sugar (go Fairtrade!)
2 t vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened peach applesauce – or just regular unsweetened applesauce
1 cup boiling water 


TO FINISH:
1 pint blueberries
  • Preheat oven to 350 and prepare baking pans
    • I used one 9″ and one 10″ springform pan. I’m sure you could use two 9″ pans, or rectangular cake pans.  If you want ideas of pan size substitutions, you can look at Ellen’s Kitchen.
    • Prep pans by covering with a light layer of coconut oil, and a light dusting of flour.
  • Whisk together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  • Mix together the wet ingredients and the sugar in a smaller bowl until well incorporated
  • Pour wet into dry and mix until you have a smooth batter.  I do this with a spatula, no mixer necessary.  Try to avoid over mixing.
  • Pour batter into prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
  • Cake baking times can vary based on humidity, altitude, and your karma 🙂  So just pay attention.  Try not to open the oven unless absolutely necessary, and don’t do any jumping jacks in the oven’s general vicinity or the cakes may fall.  My oven is small and doesn’t bake evenly, so I baked the cakes on two different racks and rotated them after about 25 minutes.
  • When the cakes are done, allow them to cool completely in the pans before removing.

Assembly is simple:  Cake – Frosting – Blueberries – Cake – Frosting – Blueberries.  Cherries on top and let the heavenly mouth festival begin!

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