Vegan cake introduction!

So the first thing my mum (who recently went mainly vegan) was: "But how do I bake without egg and milk?" I totally get that. One of my first thoughts as well and with zero experience in the field. Which is understandable as all the older recipes usually includes these. Thanks to vegans and milk/egg intolerant people thousands of new recipes are now found both online and in books!

I want to share two with you today. Both recipes belong to "Veganmannen". Take a look at his awesome blog! (in Norwegian). Thank you for inspiring us!

Chocolate!

Both cakes have a chocolate theme. I have been so cheeky that I have given them my own name based on their awesomeness:

One is a chocolate-berry-symphony! And the other is a Chocolate-painted-cheese-cake! Oh yeah! We can still make cheese cake, thank God!

Chocolate & Berry Symphony

This is a easy and sinfully tasty cake. You can make it as a normal chocolate cake or you can make it with several layers with strawberries. If you want to do

the last, double both recipes and bake them in two greased (or non-stick) pans. (about 20cm) Spread frosting and one layer of sliced strawberries on each layer.  Spread the rest of the frosting on the outside of the cake. Decorate with strawberries, raspberries etc. 

* 160 gram flour

* 40 gram Cacao powder

* 130 gram sugar

* 1 ts baking soda (natron)

* 1/2 ts salt

* 1 ts vanilla extract (vanilla powder)

* 2,5 dl warm water/coffee 

* 1 ts apple vinegar

* 0,8 dl sunflower oil

Sprinkle (with a sieve) all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Then add the liquid ingredients with the dry. Pour it in a greased pan (or non-stick) and put in a preheated oven (180 celcius) for 30 minutes. Let the cake be cooled off completely before frosting the cake. 

Frosting

* 100 gram vegan butter

* 250 gram powdered sugar

* 2 tbs cacao powder

* 2-3 tbs strong coffee

* One box of strawberries

Take the butter out of the fridge aprox. 1 hour before you use it. Use a food blender to mix butter and powdered sugar in a bowl. Sprinkle in the cacao with a sieve. Then add the vanilla extract/powder and coffee. Let it become soft and smooth. Add some more powdered sugar if you want a thicker frosting. 

Let the cake cool down in the fridge before serving.

Chocolate-painted-cheese-cake!

* 200 gram graham crackers (or gluten-free ones).

* 80 gram vegan butter

* 3 tbs cacao

Make the graham cracker pay by smashing it into bits and mix it with the naughty cacao and the butter. (You can use a food blender for the cracker and then add the rest as mentioned). Put it into a pan (aprox. 22 cm) and press down to make a firm base for your cake. Bake this part for 5-10 minutes at 180 celsius. 

* 2 boxes of vegan cream cheese (about 500 gram)

* 1/2 dl maple syrup

* 2 ts vanilla extract or vanilla powder

* 300 gram neutral tofu (squeeze the water out of it with some paper)

* 1/2 dl maizena (corn starch)

* 1 1/2 dl chocolate button (or cut some chocolate. This ingredient is optional.)

*100 gram vegan chocolate (to be melted)

* 1,5 dl sugar

Mix everything together exept the chocolate in a food blender. Mix in the chocolate buttons (if you want it) and pour in the pan. Melt the chocolate. Then add the melted chocolate, with a spoon, on the cake. Use a knife to make patterns. Carefully move the knife back and forth. You now have a beautiful pattern!

Then bake the whole thing on 200 celsius for 30 minutes, and turn down the temperature to 150 celsius for another 30 minutes. Let the cake cool down completely, perhaps even over night. It is awesome with raspberries or a homemade rasperry coulis!