Pastry chefs LOVE their butter and cream. It seems almost impossible to get a French style dessert if your a vegan. As a lover of fine food, it became a personal mission of mine to bake the kind of cake you might get in a nice restaurant-while remaining completely vegan. To further complicate the issue, I decided I wanted it to be wheat free as well. It took some time, and I was forced to sample a lot of cake. But it was worth it.
I give you-
Chocolate Raspberry Cake with Chocolate Ganache
Berries and chocolate are a heavenly combination that makes this cake a truly special indulgence. This makes one eight inch cake or one bundt cake.
The ingredients:
1/4 Cup of canola oil
1/4 Cup of maple syrup
1 Cup soymilk
1 teaspoon raspberry extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup maple sugar or sucanat
1 1/4 Cups barley flour
1/4 cup Plus one tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups fresh or frozen raspberries, roughly chopped(if frozen, do not thaw)
1 batch Chocolate Ganache(Recipe follows)
Preheat the oven to 350. Oil an 8 inch cake pan or bundt pan and set aside. Mix the first 8 ingredients(the liquids) in a small bowl. Place the sugar in a second, larger bowl and sift in the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until well incorporated. Don’t overwork. Use a spatula to scrape down the bowl and fully mix. Fold in the raspberries, and pour into your prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, and rotate a half turn. Bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan, then let cool completely. Pour ganache evenly over the cake.
Vegan Chocolate Ganache
Makes about 12 servings
1/4 cup coffee substitute granules, dissolved into two tablespoons of hot water.
2 Cups of dairy free dark chocolate chips
1/2 Cup of soymilk
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Melt the chips in a double boiler, being careful to keep any moisture out of the chocolate. Process everything except the vanilla in a blender for two minutes, then add the vanilla and process very briefly. The ganache will thicken as it cools, so you will want to use it quickly, while it remains pourable.
