Thank You Cake

Sometimes words just are not enough. Sometimes you have to find other ways of expressing gratitude to someone. The solution to this problem is always chocolate cake. Trust me.

I took a train back to school from New York and it was delayed 3 hours and my poor friend was stuck waiting for me at the station, freezing in her car while I called her every five minutes saying “Okay, they said we should be there in 20 minutes. Oh wait, make that an hour. Oh wait, two hours….” The least I could do was bake her a cake.

This cake is fairly basic, so I decided to boost the chocolatey goodness by drizzling homemade chocolate sauce all over it. Mmmm it came out light and fluffy and was so easy to make! It’s the perfect recipe to whip out when you need another way to say “thank you” or “sorry” or “you’re the best.”

Basic Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Sauce (from The Joy of Vegan Baking)

Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 heaping cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp white distilled vinegar

1 cup cold water

1. Preheat oven to 350° and oil a bundt pan or 9″ round cake pan.

2. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined and pour the batter into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 15 minutes and flip onto a plate.

Chocolate Sauce:

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tbsp flour

1/8 tsp salt

3 tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup vanilla soy milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine dry ingredients in a sauce pan and then add the milk and vanilla.

2. Stir over medium heat and let it boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, it will thicken as it cools.

Of course, my kitchen lacks a real sauce pan, so I came up with the genius idea of using a tea kettle instead. It was actually perfect for easy pouring! …Oh college life.

Enjoy!

Saying Goodbye to Summer with Gingerbread Cake

With classes starting on Tuesday, it’s about time to say goodbye to the summer days. Let me tell you, these past months have been a roller-coaster, but overall it was a rich, wonderful time. I love being on campus, but I miss Minneapolis and all the people and places….

friends…

and I dearly miss my cats. I just developed my roll of black and white film from the summer, so the photos above are some of the highlights I wanted to share with you. While digital is more convenient overall, I do love using my dad’s old 1970s pentax for my more artsy-fartsy stuff.

The last night I was in town, my mom (who is also vegan) made the most amazing cake as a sort of sending-off present. She is a great cook, and is a children’s book illustrator with her own blog- artistand3cats– which you should check out if you like art or books! This recipe is not the most summery flavor, but it was one of the most delicious cakes I’ve ever had in my life, so I just had to share the recipe.

Gingerbread Goodbye Cake with Maple Cream-Cheese Frosting

Cake (she adapted the recipe from here):

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2-teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2-teaspoon ground cloves
1/4-teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup canola oil and 1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup pure maple syrup
1/2-cup molasses
1 cup vanilla flavored soy milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit. Oil two 9-inch springform pans or a cake pans. Line it with a parchment circle.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Whisk to combine.
3. In food processor, combine the oil, applesauce, maple syrup, molasses, soy milk, vinegar and vanilla for one minute.
4. Pour liquid ingredients into dry, whisking together just until all liquid ingredients are absorbed. Batter will be quite wet.
5. Pour batter into prepared pans and place on middle rack of oven. Bake about 45 minutes, or until cake is springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Frosting (adapted from here):

1/4 cup vegan butter (I like Earth Balance), softened
1/4 cup vegan cream cheese, softened
approximately 2-3 cups powdered sugar
approximately 2-3 tablespoons vanilla soy milk
1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together first two ingredients on high speed. Add powdered sugar and soy milk with mixer turned off and then slowly bring the speed up to high to completely incorporate it, adding approximately 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1-2 tablespoons of milk at a time until desired consistency is reached. If too thin, add more powdered sugar; if too thick, add more soy milk. Beat in maple extract.

Frost and layer the cake and serve warm!

I don’t think I can even describe how perfect this cake it. It’s rich, moist, gingery… just try it. You have to.

Plum Cake

This is going to have to be a shorter post for now, because I am thick in the middle of packing to go back to school! Leaving for my second year is definitely not as daunting as it was the first time… however the pile of clothes on my bedroom floor is just as terrifying. Time to pull out some bags for the salvation army…

I actually made this cake while I was in Grand Marais last weekend along with these buns. I love baking up there! We have this adorable, cozy little kitchen and since the air off of Lake Superior is usually pretty cool, it’s never too hot to bake.

I had never tried making a yeasted cake before, but this one turned out amazing. The bottom layer had a slightly sweet, bread-like flavor, and the tartness of the plums contrasted perfectly with the crumbly buttery topping. Yum. You can make this cake with overripe plums if you want them sweeter, or just a little under-ripe if you like them more tart. I ended up with a mixture of both. You can get the recipe for this amazing cake here, at one of my favorite vegan blogs. I’ve tried a couple of her other recipes (photos to come!) and each one is so unique and delicious.

And just for fun… this cracks me up. Probably because it’s my life… Prius and all.