chocolate cake, with kick.

I don't normally agree with posting other people's recipes directly from their cookbooks, but since this was also posted on the PPK blog the other day, I don't have a problem with it.

CHOCOLATE CAKE!

1 cup almond milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular (or a mix of both)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla and almond extract and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are OK).

Lightly grease an 8 inch springform pan. Pour in the batter and bake for 32 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted through the center comes out clean.

I didn't have a springform pan on hand, which turned out to be mildly problematic... but it turned out alright in the end.
Also, modifications!!!!
To the above recipe, I added one teaspoon each of cinnamon and cayenne, along with a handful of chopped up dried sour cherries.
Cayenne adds a bit of spicy kick, and the cherries add little sweet and sour pockets of goodness. Cinnamon is lovely in just about anything baked, as far as I am concerned.
Sadly, almond milk cost a whopping $3.50 at my local Safeway (not my usual grocery store), so I stuck with soy. Thankfully, SO NICE now makes an unsweetened version that is still fortified. Who knew?!

GANACHE:
Also modified from the PPK recipe, my chocolate ganache contained:
2/3 cup unsweetened soy milk
100g of dark chocolate (An entire large, lindt bar. The one that I used was 55% cacao)
4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat the soy milk in a saucepan, then break the chocolate into bits and mix it in, until melted. Add all other ingredients and whisk everything around until it's nice and smooth. Let cool at least 15 minutes before using.

Before pouring the ganache all over the cake, allow the cake to cool. I tossed mine in the freezer for a bit, because I was impatient.

That's all great, but where are the photos!?!?!

Right here.



YUM!