Super Simple Chocolate Cake
So this is my go-to cake that is both perfect for any occasion and that no occaision chocolate craving. Without fait it consistently gets rave reviews. It’s both dense and moist. I’ll often add chocolate chips or a chocolate spread between layers in addition to frosting. The more chocolate the better I say. You can also get “adventurous” by adding jam or cherry filling to the layers. This cake just seems to be a hit no matter what you do!
Ingredients
1 ½ cups original unsweetened non dairy milk (I use almond)
2 tsp white or apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup coconut oil, melted (or sub avocado oil)
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee (or sub more almond milk)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups unsweetened applesauce*
2 heaping cups whole-wheat pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour (heaping implies 1 cup + roughly 2 Tbsp)
1 ⅓ cups organic cane sugar (or sub granulated sugar)
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease two 8-inch round cake pans or 1 large rectangular pan, then dust with cocoa powder.
Mix the almond milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and allow to set for a few minutes. Add melted coconut oil, coffee, vanilla extract, and applesauce then beat until foamy.
Add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a sifter and slowly sift over the wet ingredients while mixing with a hand-held or standing mixer. If you don’t have a sifter, simply mix dry ingredients in another bowl and add to the wet mixture while beating. Beat until no large lumps remain.
Divide batter evenly between your cake pans.
Bake 25-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
*This recipe is credited to the Minimalist Baker.
