Welcome back to another entry for Vegan Month of Food 2014! So far, the recipes I’ve shared have been savory ones. And I know I promised to also share some dessert recipes, so…here you go!
This chocolate applesauce cake is pretty simple and I promise you it doesn’t taste like a “healthy” cake. The original recipe called for eggs and reduced-calorie margarine. Ugh. One thing worse than butter from an animal is a “reduced-calorie margarine,” which is just chemicals (and probably has hydrogenated fats). But, I worked a little vegan magic and swapped out that egg for what I call an “Omega Blend” egg (1 tablespoon Navitas Naturals Omega Blend with 3 tablespoons of warm water) and good ol’ Earth Balance (no hydrogenated fats!).
The original recipe also calls for whipped topping, which I never cared for, so I didn’t factor that into my recipe. And…for all you gluten free people, I didn’t forget you. You’ll be happy to know I used Trader Joe’s Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour instead of regular AP flour. With all those swaps, my Points Plus values still stayed at 6PP per serving. This cake serves 8, but I find it is easier when I prepare baked goods in a square pan to cut out 9 servings instead of 8. I don’t know why–my brain just does better with the symmetry of 9 pieces I guess. Just cut three rows, rotate the pan once, and cut three more rows. Bam. Done. Anywhoo…if you cut 9 pieces, the PPVs are only 5 per slice.
Enough talk; let’s get baking!
Ingredients:
- 1 1/3 cup(s) TJ’s gluten free all-purpose flour (Obviously, you don’t have to use gluten free flour if you don’t want to.)
- 1/2 cup(s) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup(s) sugar
- 1 Omega Blend egg (I am sure a flax egg, or Ener-g egg replacer would be fine)
- 3 TB Earth Balance butter
- 1 1/3 cup(s) unsweetened applesauce
Baking Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.
- Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and sugar. Beat together egg substitute, Earth Balance and applesauce; blend into dry ingredients. (It might seem dry at first, but I promise you this batter comes together.)
- Spoon mixture into pan and smooth top. Bake until cake feels slightly firm in center, about 25 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into 8 pieces.
If you’d like to have a little bit of whipped topping to add to this cake, I know there are both soy and rice-based whipped creams made by a brand called SoyaToo. If you can’t find those options near you, there are also homemade recipes online. Just google “vegan whipped topping” and you’re sure to find one.
Thanks for stopping by the blog today. Enjoy the photos below, and, of course, enjoy the chocolate cake! 🙂
It's Got Vegan In It 