I thought I would start with a bang, a big 'ole chocolate bang.
Our family attended the birthday party of our very good friends recently. We'll call the host, my friend, A-funk. I volunteered to bring a cake because poor A-funk had already purchased one cake for her youngest daughter, who specifically requested a cake "with gluten". It WAS a celebration of her birthday after all. Ah, but it was also a party to celebrate her sister's birthday. Her sister does not eat gluten so her mom also made a cake for her and for any other gluten-free guests, my daughter included. But then there were little Lu, Little Ni, and little 'ole me. Like me, little Lu eats no sugar, gluten, or dairy; Little Ni eats no dairy. If I had been the only problem guest, I would have just sucked it up and not eaten cake. But little Lu and Little Ni are, well, little, and that's just mean.
I came up with this cake by varying the ingredients of a very popular brownie recipe that has been traveling the web and playdates all over the place. You can find a version of it here. I knew it would be dense without the addition of real eggs and I was concerned that it might not be sweet enough for little Lu. It did turn out to be dense, much like a flourless chocolate cake. This is a good thing really. It is more like a fudge cake than the traditional fluffy sort of cake gluten creates. It was plenty sweet. I made up the frosting recipe on the fly. The frosting was so good that A-funk forced me to make another batch for the two of us to snack on while playing cards the night before the party.
Little Lu LOVED this cake and requested and ate a second piece. Little Ni seemed equally pleased. In fact, several people who normally eat all the ingredients I eliminated sang its praises (even after stuffing their faces with the store bought concoction of deadly purple dyes and insulin spurting white flours). The greatest compliment, however, came from A-funk's mother-in-law, a true foodie and incredible cook with a few of her own dietary limitations, who made some pleasant oohs and aaahs upon eating her piece.
Chocolate Fudge Cake
Ingredients:
2 c. white cannellini beans, rinsed extremely well to eliminate post-party flatulence
1 c. agave
1 1/2 c. chopped unsweetened chocolate (I used the bar from Trader Joe's)
1 T. plus 1 t. egg replacer without added water (I used Ener-G brand)
1 t. baking powder
Prepare an 8 inch cake pan with a little vegan spread (I used the Soy-free Earth Balance) and some brown rice flour or corn meal. I used a cheesecake pan so it would be easier to get the cake out. Preheat the over to 350 degrees.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. You can melt it in the microwave too. Just melt it on a lower power so that it doesn't burn. While chocolate is melting, add all other ingredients to a food processor or a really good blender (and I mean a REALLY good blender!). Process ingredients until there are no more bean chunks. Add the melted chocolate and process again until it is well blended. Pour into cake pan. Bake for about 30 minutes. You will want to test it at 30 minutes to make sure it is cooked. Tester will come out more moist than crumby, but not mushy.
Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients:
1/2 c. vegan spread (I use Soy-free Earth Balance)
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
a scant 1/2 c. agave
Mix together in a mixer or with a hand mixer. You can use a whisk if you first melt the spread. You will just have to refrigerate the frosting for an hour or so before frosting the cake. Frost cake once very cool.
Our family attended the birthday party of our very good friends recently. We'll call the host, my friend, A-funk. I volunteered to bring a cake because poor A-funk had already purchased one cake for her youngest daughter, who specifically requested a cake "with gluten". It WAS a celebration of her birthday after all. Ah, but it was also a party to celebrate her sister's birthday. Her sister does not eat gluten so her mom also made a cake for her and for any other gluten-free guests, my daughter included. But then there were little Lu, Little Ni, and little 'ole me. Like me, little Lu eats no sugar, gluten, or dairy; Little Ni eats no dairy. If I had been the only problem guest, I would have just sucked it up and not eaten cake. But little Lu and Little Ni are, well, little, and that's just mean.
I came up with this cake by varying the ingredients of a very popular brownie recipe that has been traveling the web and playdates all over the place. You can find a version of it here. I knew it would be dense without the addition of real eggs and I was concerned that it might not be sweet enough for little Lu. It did turn out to be dense, much like a flourless chocolate cake. This is a good thing really. It is more like a fudge cake than the traditional fluffy sort of cake gluten creates. It was plenty sweet. I made up the frosting recipe on the fly. The frosting was so good that A-funk forced me to make another batch for the two of us to snack on while playing cards the night before the party.
Little Lu LOVED this cake and requested and ate a second piece. Little Ni seemed equally pleased. In fact, several people who normally eat all the ingredients I eliminated sang its praises (even after stuffing their faces with the store bought concoction of deadly purple dyes and insulin spurting white flours). The greatest compliment, however, came from A-funk's mother-in-law, a true foodie and incredible cook with a few of her own dietary limitations, who made some pleasant oohs and aaahs upon eating her piece.
Chocolate Fudge Cake
Ingredients:
2 c. white cannellini beans, rinsed extremely well to eliminate post-party flatulence
1 c. agave
1 1/2 c. chopped unsweetened chocolate (I used the bar from Trader Joe's)
1 T. plus 1 t. egg replacer without added water (I used Ener-G brand)
1 t. baking powder
Prepare an 8 inch cake pan with a little vegan spread (I used the Soy-free Earth Balance) and some brown rice flour or corn meal. I used a cheesecake pan so it would be easier to get the cake out. Preheat the over to 350 degrees.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. You can melt it in the microwave too. Just melt it on a lower power so that it doesn't burn. While chocolate is melting, add all other ingredients to a food processor or a really good blender (and I mean a REALLY good blender!). Process ingredients until there are no more bean chunks. Add the melted chocolate and process again until it is well blended. Pour into cake pan. Bake for about 30 minutes. You will want to test it at 30 minutes to make sure it is cooked. Tester will come out more moist than crumby, but not mushy.
Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients:
1/2 c. vegan spread (I use Soy-free Earth Balance)
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
a scant 1/2 c. agave
Mix together in a mixer or with a hand mixer. You can use a whisk if you first melt the spread. You will just have to refrigerate the frosting for an hour or so before frosting the cake. Frost cake once very cool.
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| The shadow on the cake is a very happy little Lu looking over it. |
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