Vegan Chocolate Cake
It's rich, it's moist, it's everything you want from a chocolate cake!
I've tried this recipe so many times that I can vouch it will work every time!... and it will become your favourite chocolate cake!
This recipe makes two cakes - perfect for making a tall double layered extravagant dessert :-)
2 cups of plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda (Bicarb of soda)
60g of cocoa powder (approx. 3/4 cup will work)
2 cups of white sugar
1 cup of vegetable oil (mild flavoured olive oil works)
1 cup of hot coffee (use 1 teaspoon of instant coffee in a cup of hot water)
1 cup of soy milk ( I prefer VitaSoy)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 serves of egg replacement (or 2 tablespoons of besan (chickpea) flour with two tablespoons of water)
Pre-heat the oven to 160C.
Oil (use a few drops of oil and some baking paper to wipe over the pans with oil) and line with baking paper 2 x 9 inch pans.
Sift all the dry ingredients together
Add the oil and mix with a hand or stand mixer.
Add the oil and coffee slowly while mixing and mix for 2 minutes.
Add the "eggs" and vanilla and mix another 2 minutes.
The mixture should be quite liquid. Pour it into the pre-lined pans.
Bake at 160C for 30 minutes.
Check with a skewer or a fork - it should come out clean.
Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack and cool another 30 minutes.
Coat with your favourite chocolate ganache and enjoy. It tastes better than the photo!
I think the original recipe which I have edited came from taste.com.au
Egg-free Creme Caramel
500ml milk (or soymilk)
200ml of cream
3 tablespoons Sugar
3 teaspoons of corn flour
1 packet of agar-agar powder
1 vanilla bean (or use a teaspoon of vanilla essence)
1 cup Sugar for caramelising
Pinch of salt
a teaspoon of white vinegar
Ramekins or other bakeware to use as a mould.
First check the instructions on your packet of agar. It will tell you how much you need for 700ml of liquid. If you use more than instructed your dessert will be thicker in consistency. I found I could use the whole packet of the "swallow" brand (7grams) without a problem.
Mix this agar powder with some water just to soften it.
First make your caramel. Mix a cup of white sugar and a pinch of salt in a pot with just enough hot water to cover the sugar. Bring to boil and then continue to simmer until the sugar turns golden. Be very careful - molten sugar is extremely hot! and it continues to become darker and darker even after you take it off the heat. Therefore, take if off early, take it off just as it turns golden. Add a teaspoon of vinegar and swirl to mix.
If the sugar turns too dark start again! Better not to have your dessert tasting burnt! (The caramel colour in the ramekin below is too dark!... it should be a golden colour... not brown).
While the sugar is still molten pour it into your mould/s - use ramekins, or other similar bakeware for this. If the caramel hardens, reheat it (either over the stove for the pot or in the microwave for your ramekins), to allow you to coat the base and sides of your moulds. Set the moulds aside to set.
To make the custard mixture -mix the milk, cream, sugar and cornflour in the same pot with whatever is left of caramel and bring to the boil, then leave to simmer.
Split the vanilla bean and scrape it out, place the bean and the scrapings into the simmering liquid.
Add the agar and continue to stir as it simmers, try to keep the mixture smooth by stirring.
After a couple of minutes take a teaspoon of the mixture and place in the fridge to cool. Continue to do this every few minutes until you are certain the mixture will set easily in the fridge. 
Once you are sure it will set, use a strainer to pour through and fill the caramel coated moulds with the custard mixture. Place in the fridge and wait. Ramekins will set in under an hour, larger moulds will require longer.http://www.asiangrocerystore.com.au/swallow-globe-agar-agar-powder.html
To serve, turn them over a plate and tap the bottom.
Pancakes
1 1/2 cups plain flour2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons of butter, melted
-(microwave for 15 seconds and let cool to room temperature)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk - at room temperature
1 egg
Sift the flour into a bowl and mix in the baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the milk, egg and melted butter and mix until smooth.
Lightly butter a non-stick frying pan and pour the mixture in half a cup at a time. There is enough butter in this mixture, that you don't need to re-butter the pan in between each pancake.
Great for breakfast... or dessert. Just vary your toppings.
- the picture shows pancakes drizzled with maple syrup, and sprinkled with icing sugar and blueberries.
- to make an egg-free version, try replacing the egg with a tablespoon of besam flour mixed with a tablespoon of water, or with a mashed banana or with flax seed goo.
Triple Chocolate Brownies (Caroline's recipe)
185g butter
185g dark chocolate, chopped
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
2/3 cups plain flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup white chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup milk chocolate, roughly chopped
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Place butter and dark chocolate in a saucepan
over low heat and stir until just smooth. Allow to cool. Place the eggs and
sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Fold
through the chocolate and butter mixture.
Sift the flour and cocoa over the mixture and mix to combine. Add the white and
milk chocolate, stir and then pour into a 23cm square tin, lined with baking
paper and bake for 35-40 minutes or until set, allow to cool and then cut into
squares.
Check the brownies as usual with a skewer or a knife, but remember if you hit a piece of molten chocolate, the knife will not come out clean! You may have to check a few different spots to be certain.
Have fun baking :-)
Thambili
Creme Caramel - the easy way
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Creme:
1 tin of sweetened condensed milk (Nestle)
1 tin of water (wash out the tin)
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 eggs
Prepare the caramel first. Boil the sugar and water until it turns golden brown, and pour it into a mould or oven-proof dish (1 litre size is good). Leave to cool.
-Getting the perfect colour of caramel takes practice, it is very slow to change colour at first... but it tends to brown and burn very quickly once it starts to change colour so be ready to take it off the heat as soon as it looks golden. Swirl the caramel around the dish while still molten to coat the sides and the base (may need an oven glove, remember that the caramel is very very hot!). I usually microwave it for a few seconds if it cools too quickly to give myself enough time to get a good even coating around the dish.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Beat together the condensed milk, water, vanilla and eggs until all is mixed well, and the condensed milk is not just a thick layer at the bottom. Strain the mixture with a sieve into the dish which was previously coated with the molten caramel. Place the dish into another tray and fill the tray with water to half-way up the sides of the dish. Cover the dish in aluminium foil (but not the tray), and place in the oven for about 60 minutes - depends on the shape/depth of dish you use.
Check by peeking under the foil and rocking the dish to see if the mixture has set or is still moving in fluid-like waves, when it seems set test with a fork.
When it is done, leave to cool and then place in the fridge before serving. To serve, you can run a knife around the topmost part of the edge and turn out upside down onto another dish, or just serve straight from the dish.
See if you can manage to wait for it to cool before digging in... we usually can't!
Thambilii
