Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce
I wanted to make a cake for my roommate’s birthday party and got the whole chocolate raspberry idea in my head. Found the recipe linked below. Came out really yummy, even though I only had a square glass baking dish. I mixed a little water in sugar to sub for the corn syrup in the glaze, and we got ice cream to go with instead of whip cream. It was a big hit! (I also made the balloon bouquet out of water balloons and green glitter pipe cleaners.)
Cake1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)1/2 cup butter or margarine1/2 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour4 eggs, separated1/2 cup sugarSauce1 box (10 oz) frozen raspberries, thawed, drained and juice reserved1/4 cup sugar2 tablespoons cornstarch1 to 2 tablespoons orange- or raspberry-flavored liqueur, if desiredGlaze1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips2 tablespoons butter or margarine2 tablespoons light corn syrupGarnish1/2 cup whipped creamFresh raspberries, if desired
- Heat oven to 325°F. Grease bottom and side of 8-inch springform pan or 9-inch round cake pan with shortening. In 2-quart heavy saucepan, melt 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cool 5 minutes. Stir in flour until smooth. Stir in egg yolks until well blended; set aside.
- In large bowl, beat egg whites with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Beat in 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until soft peaks form. Using rubber spatula, fold chocolate mixture into egg whites. Spread in pan.
- Bake springform pan 35 to 40 minutes, round cake pan 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (top will appear dry and cracked). Cool 10 minutes. Run knife along side of cake to loosen; remove side of springform pan. Place cooling rack upside down over cake; turn rack and cake over. Remove bottom of springform pan or round cake pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, add enough water to reserved raspberry juice to measure 1 cup. In 1-quart saucepan, mix 1/4 cup sugar and the cornstarch. Stir in juice and thawed raspberries. Heat to boiling over medium heat. Boil and stir 1 minute. Place small strainer over small bowl. Pour mixture through strainer to remove seeds; discard seeds. Stir liqueur into mixture; set aside.
- Place cake on serving plate. In 1-quart saucepan, heat glaze ingredients over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until chips are melted. Spread over top of cake, allowing some to drizzle down side. Place whipped cream in decorating bag fitted with star tip. Pipe a rosette on each serving. Serve cake with sauce. Garnish with fresh raspberries.
Makes 12 servings
(almost) Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Starting out with this recipe for vegan chocolate cake, which I modified using 1/2 c of white sugar 1/2 cup turbinado, apple cider vinegar and 1 cup of coffee instead of the water, I made some cupcakes for my friend’s birthday. She is aiming to be vegan & gluten-free, and I pretty much managed to get the vegan part down, but I don’t know enough yet about alternative flours to feel comfortable experimenting at the last minute.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 cup water
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x5 inch loaf pan.
- Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add the oil, vanilla, vinegar and water. Mix together until smooth.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Then I used this recipe as a basis for the frosting:
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- 1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- ½ cups Vegan Margarine
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ cups Powdered Sugar
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Now the thing is, I didn’t have actual vegan margarine, and looking at the margarine I had, turns out there was a little bit of whey in it, as one of the last ingredients, which is why I’m calling these “almost vegan”. But you can see how they are easily vegan if you have the right ingredients! (On a side note, margarine kind of freaks me out, is the vegan stuff better than the non-vegan? Not something I have much experience with…)
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I also didn’t have a food processor like the recipe called for, so I did my best with egg beaters and the frosting came out kind of lumpy. I was going to try and pipe it on the cupcakes with a sandwich bag, but it was just coming out in blobs. So I decided to go for flowers on top.
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I think overall they came out pretty good for some first time winging it! Well, not totally true, I’ve made many eggless cakes before. Just maybe not cupcakes, and this was the first time of this combo of ingredients & frosting. :-)
Chocolate Pudding
Needed some comfort food tonight and was happy to find some cornstarch in the cupboard so I could make pudding!
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Got the proportions here: http://www.food.com/recipe/thick-chocolate-pudding-76491
but I prefer to make my pudding on the stovetop, so I sifted the dry ingredients together and then added a little milk at a time whisking away. I love that magic moment when it starts to thicken, especially after it seems like it’s just not going to work. That’s also when I added the vanilla.
Yum.
I’ve sorta had cheesecake on my mind since posting my mom’s recipe.
Then I ended up with two packs of unused cream cheese after my last house concert.
Finally got around to making this. Hubby is not a huge fan of chocolate so I made half vanilla, half chocolate. I used raw cacao powder and a touch of instant coffee powder in the chocolate side, did a little bit of marbling to blend the two halves together. It is rich and fluffy and OMG. Seriously. Wow.
I think I made too much crust, it’s really thick and doesn’t stick together. maybe that means not enough butter? I think it really just means there is too much. Next time.
Homemade Raw Vegan Ice Cream Bars!
From Veggie Wedgie
