24/04/2011

Barefoot Contessa Chocolate Cake Veganized

I saw an episode of The Barefoot Contessa where Ina Garten made this awesome looking Chocolate Cake. This particular recipe really shouted out to me because one of her ingredients was coffee. That and the fact that it's cake!
Hello!
I really like the idea of using coffee with chocolate. They are a perfect combo on the taste bud scale so I was really eager to try and veganise her recipe. I'm so glad I did. This is IT as far as I'm concerned, I will never use another chocolate cake recipe.

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
2 cups self raising flour (or plain flour)
half a teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
half a cup light brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup hot coffee –  (made with 1 teaspoon of instant coffee powder)
1 cup soya milk
1/2 cup silken tofu (whizz it up first to make it nice and smooth)
1 teaspoon of good vanilla extract

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees (360 Fahrenheit)
Grease two 9 inch sandwich cake pans with margarine and line the base with greaseproof (parchment) paper. Sprinkle some flour into the pans to coat the sides and shake off excess flour.
In a big mixing bowl sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, granulated sugar and light brown sugar.
In a separate mixing bowl mix together the oil, coffee, milk, tofu and vanilla extract and then add these to the bowl with the flour and things.
Mix really well.
Divide the mixture equally into the two sandwich pans and bake in the middle of the oven for about 40 mins. Check the cakes are cooked by inserting a clean cocktail stick into the centre - if the stick comes out clean your cakes are cooked.
Leave to cool completely before turning them out.

I sandwiched mine together using buttercream which is a delicious mixture of marg and icing sugar.
To cover the cake I melted 100 grams of 85% dark chocolate and added this to more buttercream.
This cake is a winner.
MAKE IT NOW!


One I made for my son's 18th birthday - I grated dark chocolate on this one.

 One I made for my mum's friend's birthday - it's omni approved!