Vegan Chocolate Bundt Cake

Vegan Chocolate Bundt
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

We had a wonderful Christmas dinner with friends this year and I was charged with desserts. The crowd included my own sweet-toothed family, two vegans and assorted diabetics. So on my list was a vegan dessert, a sugar-free pumpkin pie and a regular sugared pumpkin pie.

I saw this recipe in the December, 2009 issue of Yoga Journal and knew immediately that I had to try it. I didn't know if this held true in the other family, but I know in ours the standard dessert fare at Thanksgiving and Christmas never includes chocolate. This is simply amazing, considering the rabid choco-holic my mother is, but there you have it.

The bundt turned out as beautifully as the photo in the magazine. This is my own photo, which I'm not absolutely delighted with, but I gave it a shot, anyway (pun fully intended).

And so here is the recipe:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-or10-inch bundt pan.

1 3/4 C freshly brewed coffee
2/3 C unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 C granulated sugar
1/3 C Canola oil
1/3 C applesauce (we made ours out of a pink lady apple simmered in a couple of Tablespoons apple cider)
1/4 C cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 C whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose white flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp confectioners' sugar

Heat the coffee in a saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low and whisk in cocoa powder until it has dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside to bring to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, oil, applesauce, and cornstarch until the sugar and cornstarch dissolve, about 2 minutes. Mix in the extracts. Once the chocolate mixture has cooled a bit, stir that in as well.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Beat until the batter is relatively smooth.

Pour the batter into a prepared pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake's center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 20 minutes. then invert the cake onto a serving plate and cool completely.

Once the cake is cool, sift the confectioners' sugar over top.

We also enjoyed drizzling chocolate syrup over the cake. And whipped cream or soy whip. I'll make this one over and over, for sure. I think the only thing I'd LOVE to change about it is to change out the granulated sugar for something un-refined, like agave.

Thank you, Yoga Journal!

WoYoPracMo Jan 2 Post

Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun

WoYoPracMo

Hello. As if I don't have enough to do online already, I've joing WoYoPracMo, which is an online community of yogis that have committed to practicing more yoga. Specifically during the month of January. WoYoPracMo stands for "World Yoga Practice Month."

When you join the community, you are given a page on which to write about your progress. Here is a link to my first posting.

I have stuff to write about, but will not do it now. It's already 9:50 p.m! Those of you who know me know that this is more than an hour past my bedtime. So I'll get to it tomorrow. I have actually come up with a few initiatives for 2010. Most people call them RESOLUTIONS. But I don't want to. I want to call them INITIATIVES. And so I will.

Stay tuned.

WoYoPracMo Jan 1 Post

I'll post links each day to my WoYoPracMo blog. Do I get credit for posting here each day then?

It may very well be the only blogging I do some days.

Allow

Half Locust Pose

LocustPrep
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

This is one of Bear's Christmas gifts. He started out afraid of it (mostly, I suspect, because the guys were squeaking it madly and loudly in front of him when they showed it to him at first), but now basically just eschews it. We think it's the rubber smell.

I noticed this morning as I walked by it that it appeared to be in half-locust pose. The pose is perfectly executed because the rubber boobs assist the bird in staying up in a wonderfully straight line.

I'm not sure I feel the need for silicone boobage to assist in my locust pose.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

monkeycup
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

So we stopped at the grocery store today and Yogi Liz said, "Good. I'll pick up a lemon for my detox."

Of course I had to ask about that.

She told me she juices half a lemon, stirs in a Tablespoon or so of molasses and a couple of dashes of cayenne pepper. "It kind of flushes out the liver or something," she said. "But mainly, it warms me up. My hands are less cold for a while."

NATURALLY I had to try it. And what better vehicle to use to stir up said concoction than my new, adorable monkey espresso cup that Mensa Boy gave me for Christmas?

I didn't die. And my hands ARE warmer. Uh huh...

Uh. Ew! What is it?

landsfordshootout3
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

We are thinking maybe a fungus was among us at Landsford Canal State Park. Would anyone like to weigh in?

Entertaining Wrap

ChristmasWrap
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

If there were prizes on Christmas Eve for the most imaginative wrapping, Taylor would have taken it. The rest of us just put wrap on the gifts or tossed them into gift bags and called it a day.

Not my boy. He took the time to illustrate some boxes, either outside on the wrap or inside on the box. Here is Riley holding up a gift he unwrapped from Taylor. I have no idea what "kthxbai" means.

Here is one of mine. I guess "FTW" means "For The Win."


Oh! We are never sure if he spells stuff this way because he doesn't know how to spell, or if it's just bug us. We suspect it's the latter more than the former.