For when your sweet tooth is acting up, this delicious vegan chocolate cake will hit the spot. No milk, butter or eggs, but lots of great flavor.
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
1 ½ cup sugar
1 tbsp baking soda
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup almond milk
½ cup coconut oil
⅔ cup applesauce
1 cup boiling water
Frosting
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup vegan butter
4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup almond milk
Directions
Mix flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, almond milk, coconut oil and applesauce together. Add baking powder and vinegar to the top - Yes, there will be bubbling. Mix thoroughly. Add 1 cup hot water. The batter will seem runny - this is okay. Pour into a 9X12 pan and bake for 1 hour.
How to make Carrot Cake Frosting
Mix all ingredients. If dry add milk until good consistency. If wet add, powdered sugar until good consistency. Frost cake when cool.
About Our Recipes
Our recipes are family recipes that we eat on a daily basis. With health issues in our family and family history like autoimmune disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, our focus is plant based, low sodium, low sugar, 100% whole grains and the least amount of processed products as possible. The shining stars of our recipes are usually beans, potatoes or mushrooms. We eat beans almost every day whether in a bean salad, taco or pie. Yes, a pie!
As a multi-racial family, we try to incorporate cultural diversity in our cooking whether reflecting African American culture in dishes like sweet potato pie and grits or the culinary traditions of Mexico, India, Thailand, and China in dishes like pad thai or semolina.
In the videos, one may notice that many hands cook in the kitchen together. Our family comes together in the kitchen and enjoys our time together. Therefore, the people stirring, mixing or chopping represent the diversity of our family, young and old, of many races. We want our recipes to be simple and accessible and to help the families that are trying to move towards a healthier lifestyle through veganism or vegetarianism. We are not professional chefs. We are a family who cares about the health of children and about creating a healthy planet.
Notes on Ingredients:
For salt, we try to use the least amount possible in a recipe. We use regular table salt which is most available or accessible. We avoid soy sauce and use coconut aminos as a substitute (if necessary) as it is half the sodium. Try to keep your total daily intake of sodium to less than 1200 mg.
For sugar, we try to use the least amount possible in a recipe. We use white or light brown sugar as it is the least expensive and most available. For our recipes, you might find that they are not sweet enough. Your palette will change as you reduce your sugar intake. Almost all baked goods may be substituted with another form of sugar like maple syrup or agave. If you are trying for zero added sugar in your diet, we would recommend substituting sugar with unsweetened applesauce or a banana. Since your body actually requires absolutely no sugar, try to keep your total daily intake to no more than 20 grams of added sugars per day.
For oil, we understand that many people are avoiding all types of oil. For pan frying, we use olive oil, but it may be substituted with vegetable broth. For baking, we use coconut oil, but you might try applesauce or a banana as a non-oil replacement. We know that coconut oil is expensive, the Dollar Tree sells smaller containers of coconut oil for $1.00.
For canned beans and other canned vegetables, we try to purchase all cans with the label, “no sodium added.” In our society of processed foods, Americans ingest three times the recommended amount of sodium which causes high blood pressure and heart disease. Always check the label for sodium. We buy canned beans to avoid the soaking process, but dried beans are just as good and cost approximately four times less per serving than a can.
For grains, we use 100% whole grain for flour, noodles, rice, cereals, breads and all other grains. Whole grains have 60% more nutrients than their white counterpart. On the label, look for 100% whole grain, but check the ingredients on the label. If it says “enriched” on the ingredients, it is NOT whole grain. Typically, there is only one ingredient like durham or wheat or brown rice which indicates that it is a whole grain.
For frozen fruit in smoothies, we either freeze our leftover fresh fruit or we buy frozen fruit at the Dollar Tree. They sell frozen mango, pineapple, mixed berries, strawberries, and blueberries. Not all Dollar Trees have a freezer section so try all of them in your area for the best selection.