Friday, a friend who has quite a few dietary restrictions came over to our house. No gluten, no dairy, no meat, no eggs. Well, she came to the right place. My husband has Celiac Disease, which means he can’t have gluten and I love to experiment.
My favorite cake recipe is a Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake that I adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, “Quick Vegetarian Pleasures.” You only use one bowl and no mixer so it’s quick and easy to make.
The cake is popular around here because it can pass for a cake made with wheat flour. It’s rich, chocolately, and moist. I made it for my brother on his birthday a couple of years ago and he liked it. A high complement coming from a guy who eats like a 5-year-old; no vegetables, no fish, no nuts and the only thing he consumes that’s vegan is beer.
I almost always make this cake with chocolate frosting, but I wanted to do something different so I went with vanilla and coconut milk frosting. It was wonderful with the chocolate cake, sweet and silky. Glad my friend didn’t stop eating sugar, too!
Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
1 ¾ cup gf flour mix
(King Arthur Gluten-Free Multipurpose flour or see below*)
½ cup garbanzo bean flour
1 ½ cup sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons xantham gum
¾ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cup warm water
½ cup canola oil
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ teaspoons white vinegar
Preheat oven to 350
Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, cocoa, xantham gum, baking soda, and salt until the flour is smooth (the garbanzo flour can clump together). Add water, canola oil, vanilla, and white vinegar. Mix well.
Pour evenly into cake pans. Cook for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and transfer to a wire rack. The cake may be a little sticky on top, but it’s still good.
Vanilla and Coconut Milk Frosting
4 cups powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup coconut milk
1½ teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup Earth Balance Vegan Butter Sticks
Beat vegan butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Slowly alternate powdered sugar and coconut milk until combined. Add vanilla and salt and beat for 1 minute. If it’s too thick add more coconut milk. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar. Leftover frosting is great on sugar cookies, or coffee cake.
*Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix from the Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy
6 cups white rice flour
2 cups potato starch
1 cup tapioca flour
Store leftover flour in an airtight container