Eggless Chocolate Cake, Not Just for Vegans!

Believe me when i say you do not have to be vegan to enjoy this eggless chocolate cake – it’s actually one of my faves. It is super easy and quick to make and always gets plenty of compliments. Can be made into a ‘magic’ cake very easily.

Eggless Chocolate Cake:

150g (1 1/4 cups*) flour
120g (1 cup) sugar
40g  (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
1/2   tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
200ml (1 cup) warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
65ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil
1 tsp white or apple cider vinegar
marg/flour to grease dish/tin

Chocolate Glazing:
60g (1/2 cup) sugar
4 tbsp margerine
2 tbsp soya milk (or regular milk  if you aren’t bothered about vegan-ness)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract

*I have included the measurement of ‘cups’ as one day i made this without scales and used a 200ml cream container as a substitute for a cup and it worked perfectly, so the cups measurements are based on a 200ml container or cup.

Equipment:
Scales
Oven proof dish/tin or cake tin.  I used a square 8″x8″ / 20cm x 20cm pyrex dish.
Spoon/fork

Preparation Time:
15-20 mins for cake
Cooling time min 1-2 hours after cooking
10 mins for glaze
Cooling for a further 1-2 hours (min) for glaze to set

Method:

The cake:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°

2. Grease and flour the dish/tin to prevent sticking

3. Put flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and baking powder into a bowl and blend together thoroughly with a fork.

4. Add water, oil, vanilla and again, mix thoroughly to blend all the ingredients together.

5. Finally add the vinegar +  stir in – you will see the mixture turn a lighter colour, keep mixing until everything looks the same colour.

6. Pour mixture into your greased and floured cake tin/dish, put into oven and bake for 30 minutes.
– DON’T OPEN THE OVEN BEFORE COOKING TIME IS UP, or at least not before 25mins! Don’t be tempted like i was the first couple of times, to check on it, if the oven is the right temperature your cake will be fine. If, however, you open the door to look, the heat will escape and your cake will not rise, and will likely be lower in the middle and not light and fluffy like it should be. If you must check it then at least wait for 25mins.

7. After the minimum of 25 mins you can do the knife test – stick a knife or a toothpick into the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean then out the cake is ready – if not it needs a bit longer. Once it comes out clean take the cake out of the oven and allow it to cool.

8. After a few minutes cooling, gently go around the edges of the cake with a knife, turn the dish upside down while holding a teatowel over the top of the  dish so you can safely catch the cake when it slides out of the dish – it should come out easily.
– If it doesn’t come out easily then you can leave it in the dish to cool – i had this prob before so i just left it in the dish and served it from there! Alternatively you can line the dish with greaseproof paper or aluminium foil.

9. Leave cake on a metal cooling rack to cool for at least one hour.

The Glaze:

1. Put the Margarine, sugar, vanilla, cocoa and water in a pan and melt slowly and mix well. Allow plenty of bubbles to form then take off heat.

2. Stir for 5 mins off heat then pour over cake – add sprinkles or chopped nuts, coconut or any other topping if you want to now.

3. Leave to set for ..as long as you can! ..try at least a couple of hours so the choc glaze has set, or overnight if possible!

I had the best results with this cake when i didn’t open the oven to check it.. i dont have a temperature gauge on my crappy oven so i never know what the temp is – i have to guess and hope! That is why my cakes never rose before, i was worried it was going to burn so i kept checking it.. doh!  DON’T OPEN THE OVEN TO CHECK ON YOUR CAKE – or it will not rise!

This is my best cake so far, extremely rich and chocolatey, you would never know its vegan – well as long as you use margerine and soy milk it is. I personally don’t use soy milk but thats only cos i don’t buy it normally, i’m sure the glaze is just as good with soy milk though.

Now..if you want to make this a magic cake, its pretty easy.
Make sure your herb is clean – remove all the seeds and sticks, then grind it up as finely as possible.

Put the oil in a small frying pan or saucepan and heat gently. Add your herb and cook on a low heat for 30 mins – do not allow it to burn or you will lose the potency. Oil will turn dark brown when ready, filter oil through a sieve to remove all the bits and allow to cool. Follow the recipe as normal and use ‘special’ oil instead of regular oil. Enjoy Magic Eggless Chocolate Cake!

The rather blurry photo below is a Magic Eggless Chocolate Cake I made for a friends birthday, it was super delicious and rather potent, it ws a messy but fun night, just be careful how much you eat, it takes a while to take effect!  By the way, you can cut it up and freeze it for a few months and it will still taste perfect.

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