Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Ice Cream Pie

My sister Emily and I used to have a pretty good system down for splitting slices of Dairy Queen ice cream cake: she'd eat both of our frosted vanilla ice cream layers, and I'd get the fudge-topped chocolate ice cream layers.  Fellow chocolate-lovers can surely understand why that arrangement worked for me.   

This ice cream pie recipe takes things to the next level, swapping out vanilla for peanut butter.  It starts with a chocolate graham cracker crust. Then, chocolate peanut butter ice cream filling is topped with chocolate peanut butter fudge and garnished with chopped peanuts.

Ice cream pie

Recipe:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Ice Cream Pie

Crust:

• 2.5 cups vegan graham cracker crumbs (I crushed graham crackers in the food processor)
• 1 teaspoon honey (or agave)
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup shortening, softened

Peanut Butter Fudge Topping:

• 1/4 cup agave
• 1/4 cup honey (or more agave)
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup plain organic soymilk
• 5 ounces Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

Filling:

• 1 heaping tablespoon arrowroot powder
• 3/4 cup plain organic soymilk
• 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 5 ounces Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 12 ounces vanilla flavored, coconut milk-based, vegan yogurt
• 3 pints So Delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Coconut Milk Dairy-Free Frozen Dessert, softened

Garnish:

• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

First, make the crust.  Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, honey, cocoa powder, and shortening in a medium bowl until well-combined.  Pour the mixture into a 10-inch springform pan and press onto the bottom and most of the way up the sides of the pan.  Set aside.

Then, make the peanut butter fudge topping. Pour the agave and honey into a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 5-7 minutes.  The mixture should bubble and get a bit darker in color.  Remove from heat and add the peanut butter, soymilk, and chocolate chips.  Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.  Set aside and allow to cool.

Next, make the ice cream filling. In a medium saucepan, heat the arrowroot powder and soymilk on medium-low heat, whisking frequently, until simmering.  Remove from heat, and whisk in the cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and peanut butter until well combined.  Then stir in the yogurt.  Transfer this mixture to a large bowl, and add in the ice cream.  Use an electric mixer to beat the mixture until all ingredients are combined and the mixture appears light and fluffy. 

Now, assemble the pie.  Pour the filling into the crust, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze the pie for one hour.  After an hour, remove the pie from the freezer, remove the plastic wrap, and spread on the peanut butter fudge topping.  Top with chopped peanuts.

Allow the pie to chill in the freezer for another 8 hours (overnight) to set completely.

Remove the pie from the freezer at least 15 minutes before serving.  Run a knife around the inside of the spring form pan to loosen the pie, and then release the spring form ring from the bottom of the pan.  Cut the pie using a knife that has been run under hot water, and serve. 

Comments:

Taste:           

YUM.  This ice cream pie is a chocolate peanut butter lover's dream, even though the peanut butter flavor is somewhat subtle.  The rich, gooey, peanut buttery fudge topping is the star of the pie, in my opinion.  I also enjoyed the variety of textures throughout the pie: the crumbly crust, smooth ice cream filling, and crunchy peanut garnish complement each other well.  The only thing I'd change is the crust -- it was a bit too crumbly, but I think softening the shortening before using it (as I wrote in the recipe above) will help fix that.

Accessibility:         

This is an expensive dish to make.  Unfortunately, vegan ice cream is not yet fully mainstream; so, it's both difficult to find (we went to Whole Foods) and quite expensive.  We also had to get vegan yogurt at Whole Foods.

 Ease of Preparation:        

Each individual step in this recipe isn't too difficult, but it does take a long time to make (freezing overnight will do that to you).  At least you can lick the spoons/bowls used for preparation immediately!

Non-vegan friendliness:            

I haven't had an ice cream cake in years, so it's hard to compare this version to the "real thing." Simon says that it doesn't taste quite like ice cream, but it's still very good. 

Chocolate Oreo Cake

Happy belated birthday, Rachel!  My roommate turned 21+2 last week, so I made her a birthday cake that combines some of her favorite things: chocolate and Oreos.  The result was one scrumptious cake.
 

A slice of cake.

It's scary how quickly a whole cake can disappear...

Recipe:     
Chocolate Oreo Cake

Chocolate Layer Cake

• 3 cups flour
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
• 2 cups water

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lightly oil two 9-inch round cake pans and set aside.

Next, combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a whisk until thoroughly combined.  Create a well in the center of the bowl and add the wet ingredients.  Whisk until just combined and then pour the batter evenly into the two cake pans.

Bake for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each pan comes out clean.  Cool the cakes completely on a wire rack before frosting.  Once the cake is nearly cool, begin making the frosting. 


Chocolate Oreo Frosting

• 1 cup vegan butter (at room temperature)
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 cup soymilk, plus more as needed
• 2/3 package double-stuffed Oreos, crushed

In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter until smooth.  With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the powdered sugar and beat for two minutes.  Then add the cocoa powder, vanilla, and soymilk and beat on high until combined.  Continue to beat, slowly adding more soymilk as needed, until the frosting becomes very smooth and fluffy (since you'll be adding Oreos, you want the frosting to be less stiff at this point than you'd like it to be at the end).  Finally, mix in the Oreos by hand.  

Once the cake is cool, you're ready to frost and assemble the layer cake.  Run a knife around the inside of each pan to loosen the cake.  Then turn one of the cake pans upside-down onto your cake plate or platter and tap the pan until the cake releases.  Remove the pan and frost the top of this layer of cake.  Then invert the second cake pan on another plate and tap the pan until the cake releases.  Re-invert this cake layer on top of the frosted cake layer and frost the top and sides of the cake. 

Yields one 9-inch layer cake.

Comments:
Taste:          

We all loved this cake.  It's incredibly rich and chocolatey, and the Oreos add a really nice, subtle crunch to the frosting.  Simon described the frosting as almost fudge-like.  The cake was a little bit crumbly, but I think that's because I left it in the oven just a minute or two too long.    

Accessibility:        

No fancy ingredients here! 

 Ease of Preparation:         

Making a cake takes a bit of time, but there's no way around that.  The only place I ran into trouble was when I was frosting the cake: my frosting was a bit too thick to spread easily once I added in the Oreos (that's why I stressed making the frosting a bit thinner before adding the Oreos). 

Non-vegan friendliness:         

Seeing as I made this birthday cake for my non-vegan roommate, I'd say it's quite non-vegan friendly.  Plus, it's customizable!  You could use peanut butter Oreos, or birthday cake Oreos, or mint Oreos, or......

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

I had my first whoopie pie at an extended family gathering in rural Pennsylvania.  I can't tell you why a whoopie pie is called a whoopie pie (it's more like a mix between a cake and a cookie) and I can't tell you where whoopie pies come from (apparently Pennsylvania, Maine, and New Hampshire all claim to be the original creators of this dessert); all I can tell you is that whoopie pies are big, sweet, delicious desserts.

Whoopie!  It's so big and sweet and good!  (And yes, it's blurry. And a little uneven.)

Recipe:     
Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Chocolate "Pie" Halves

• 1 cup organic soymilk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegan butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer powder
• 2 tablespoons water

Vanilla Filling

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegan shortening
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• 1.5 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon soymilk, as needed

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit to make the pie halves.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the soymilk and vinegar and allow to sit for five minutes to curdle.  Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Set aside.  Then, using a stand or hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about two to three minutes). Scrape down the side of the bowl and mix for one more minute.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg replacer and water.  Add this to the sugar mixture and stir.  Then add the dry ingredients and the curdled soymilk to the wet ingredients and stir together until just combined.

Scoop mounds of dough about 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets.  For large pies, create 24 mounds; for small pies, create 48.  Then bake the pie halves, rotating the pans once during baking, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean (about 8 to 10 minutes).  Once out of the oven, let cool completely on the pans.

While the pie halves are cooling, make the vanilla filling.  Using a stand or hand mixer, mix together the butter and shortening until well combined, scraping the side of the bowl at least once during mixing.  Then, while mixing on low speed, slowly add the powdered sugar.  Finally, add the vanilla and soymilk and mix on low until a smooth, spreadable filling is formed. 

Now it's time to assemble the whoopie pies.  Fill a pastry bag (or use a ziplock bag with the corner cut off) with filling and pipe a dollop of filling onto half of the pie halves.  Top those with the remaining pie halves and press down slightly. 

Yields 12 large or 24 small whoopie pies.

Comments:
Taste:          

This is a fun and delicious recipe.  The pie halves are rich and chocolatey, while the filling is light and sweet.  There were two issues with the pies we made, though.  First, the pie halves were a bit crumbly.  Be sure not to over-bake them.  Second, the filling was a bit stiff and difficult to work with.  I usually like my frosting to be thick, but this filling needs to be malleable and easy to work with.  With those two changes, they'd surely earn a four-carrot rating.

Accessibility:      

I recommend Earth Balance shortening and butter, but those aren't sold everywhere (try Whole Foods). 

 Ease of Preparation:        

If you have a spring-loaded ice cream scoop, now is the time to get it out!  An ice cream scoop would have been really helpful to use when forming each half of the pie, making them flat on the bottom and round on top—and symmetrical.  If you're like me and you don't have one of those, a small measuring cup will do! 

Non-vegan friendliness:        

It's always a good sign when people go back for seconds.  There was a lot of that going on when we brought these over to a friend's house for dinner.  Whoopie!

Chocolate Chip Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy belated birthday, Simon!  In honor of his twenty-second year of life, I made a Chocolate Chip Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.  The big news here is that I've finally settled on the perfect vegan cream cheese frosting recipe, so I encourage all cream cheese lovers to read on!

Birthday cake!

Recipe:     
Chocolate Chip Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Chip Cake:

Make two 9-inch round cakes by doubling the chocolate chip cake recipe in this blog post: http://dinnerisvegan.blogspot.com/2011/11/mint-chocolate-chip-cake.html.  Once the cakes are out of the oven and cooling, make the frosting. 

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 6 ounces vegan butter, softened
• 6 ounces vegan cream cheese (I recommend Tofutti brand), softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter and cream cheese for about 1.5 minutes, or until well combined and fluffy.  Then add the powdered sugar to the bowl and turn the mixer on to the lowest speed.  Slowly beat the frosting until well combined; then, increase the speed and whip the frosting until smooth and creamy.  Finally, beat in the vanilla extract.

Once the cakes are completely cool to the touch, you're ready for frosting.  First, invert one cake pan onto whichever platter you will use for serving.  Tap the pan with your fingers until the cake releases from the pan, and then slowly remove the pan.  This upside-down cake will be the bottom layer of your layer cake. 

To frost the bottom layer, first transfer a small amount of frosting (about 1/3 cup, but feel free to use more) into a small bowl.  (Since this layer of the cake will probably be a bit crumbly on top, I like to do this to prevent getting any cake crumbs in the rest of the frosting.)  Using a rubber spatula, spread that frosting across the top of the cake.  It's ok if the frosting picks up some crumbs since the frosting will soon be covered by the top layer of cake.

Next, invert the second cake pan onto a plate.  Again, tap the pan until the cake releases from the pan onto the plate, and remove the pan.  Then, invert the plate onto the frosted bottom layer of cake, taking care to stack the two in line with one another.  Your layer cake is now assembled!

The next step is to frost the top of the cake.  Again, transfer a small amount of frosting into a small bowl and use your rubber spatula to spread a thin later of frosting over the cake.  Once the top of the cake is covered, re-frost the top of the cake with a thicker layer of frosting.

Finally, frost the sides of the cake by holding your frosting-filled rubber spatula vertically and pulling it along the side of the cake, getting more frosting as needed. 

Feel free to decorate the cake as you see fit.  You could adorn the top with extra chocolate chips, or color some icing and use a small plastic bag to pipe it onto the cake, as I did. 

Yields one 9-inch layer cake.

Comments:

Taste:       

As I mentioned above, the frosting on this cake is incredible.  It's thick, smooth, fluffy, and sweet.  Simon noted that it's a bit less tangy than non-vegan cream cheese frosting, but I still find it completely satisfying.  Unfortunately, the chocolate chip cake was a little dry this time: I forgot to double the cake recipe, so I ended up over-cooking it a bit.  But, without that mistake, I'm confident this cake would earn four carrots. 

Accessibility:   

The only ingredient in this recipe that might be difficult to find is the vegan cream cheese.  Luckily, while buying it at Whole Foods yesterday, I noticed that it has a very long shelf life (when unopened), so I stocked up. 

 Ease of Preparation:       

As with any cake, this recipe takes a while and requires several specific tools (electric mixer, rubber spatula, cake pan).

Non-vegan friendliness:       

Without question, this is a tasty cake; but, as I mentioned above, Simon felt that the cream cheese frosting didn't quite live up to non-vegan cream cheese frosting.  The taste is just a bit different.   

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Cookie Crust

Yesterday I went out and bought a springform pan.  And what does one do with a springform pan?  Bake a cheesecake, of course!

I've tasted both good and mediocre vegan cheesecakes, so I thought I'd take a stab at my own.

Recipe:
Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Cookie Crust

For the crust

• 1.5 cups vegan chocolate-covered graham cracker cookies
• 4 tablespoons sugar
  
• 4 tablespoons vegan butter

For the cheesecake

• 24 ounces silken tofu (the vacuum-sealed variety works best here: it isn't as grainy as refrigerated tofu) 
• 1 cup sugar
• 16 ounces (2 containers) vegan cream cheese (Tofutti "Better than Cream Cheese" is the best brand by far)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon vanilla pudding mix (I used Jello instant pudding mix -- surprisingly, it's vegan!)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

For the chocolate swirl

• 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips/bars

First, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly oil a 9-inch springform pan.  Then, combine all
crust ingredients in a food processor and blend well.  Pour the crust mixture into the pan and use your fingers to press the crust down evenly onto the bottom of the pan.

Next, prepare the cheesecake filling.  First blend the silken tofu and sugar in a food processor until well blended.  Then add the remaining cheesecake ingredients to the food processor and process until very smooth.  Pour the cheesecake filling into pan.

To create the chocolate swirl, melt the chocolate (I microwaved chocolate chips for about 3 minutes at 50% power) and gently swirl it into the top of the cheesecake with a knife.

Bake the cheesecake for 75 minutes.  Cool completely, cover, and refrigerate overnight if possible.  Run a knife around the perimeter of the cake before unclasping the springform pan and removing the sides from the base.

Comments:
Taste:       

Unfortunately, we had a lot of difficulty finding the right ingredients for this cheesecake.  First, we couldn't find Tofutti cream cheese anywhere, so we used another brand which doesn't taste nearly as good.  I think this change significantly altered the taste of the cheesecake.  Second, we could not find enough silken tofu so we used a bit of soft tofu.  This probably affected the overall texture, but I actually thought the texture was quite nice.  In the end, the cheesecake tasted pretty good, but it just didn't taste a lot like cheesecake and it could have tasted much better.  The moral of this story: ingredients are important!

Accessibility:        

As I said above, we had SO much trouble finding the correct ingredients.  We did make the mistake of shopping late on Sunday evening when ingredients are surely most likely to be out of stock, but still, you would think that one of three grocery stores would have the correct brand of cream cheese!  For the record, we have purchased Tofutti cream cheese at Giant before, so it is available at large grocery stores, in theory.  We also had trouble finding the vacuum-packed variety of silken tofu, so we just used refrigerated tofu.  I have never tried to find vacuum-packed tofu before, though, so I'm not sure whether the stores ran out of it or just don't carry it.

 Ease of Preparation:   

This cheesecake is incredibly easy to prepare (though it does require a food processor or blender).  It takes a long time to bake and should be refrigerated overnight, though, so it doesn't quite earn a four-carrot rating.  

Non-vegan friendliness:   

I wouldn't be comfortable serving this to a non-vegan and calling it "cheesecake."  It didn't have the taste that would be expected, even though the texture was good.  I'll be sure to use the correct ingredients the next time I make this, as I'm confident that it would be much better that way.  I'll keep you updated. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I consumed quite a few cupcakes over the weekend, and these Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes are the reason why.  On Saturday, Rachel and I went to a "cupcakes and cocktails"-themed party, to which we brought version one of these cupcakes.  They were good enough, but we decided we should alter the frosting recipe next time.  "Next time" turned out to be the next day--we brought version two of these cupcakes to a Super Bowl party on Sunday.  (Don't worry, we also brought guacamole!)  

Cupcake topped with crushed peanuts.

Recipe:
Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 cup soymilk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup vegan butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 tbsp soy milk

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin cups. 

Next, prepare the cupcake batter.  Whisk together the soymilk and vinegar in a large bowl for 30 seconds and set aside for a few minutes to allow the milk to curdle.  Then add the sugar, oil, and vanilla to the bowl and whisk until foamy (about 1-2 minutes).  In a separate bowl, combine the remaining cake ingredients and mix well.  Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in two batches, stirring well between batches.  Mix until no large lumps remain.  Pour the batter into the cups, filling the cups evenly about 3/4 of the way up (I use a 1/4-cup measuring cup to measure out the batter into each cup).  Bake the cupcakes for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Allow the cupcakes to cool  completely before frosting. 

To prepare the frosting, add all of the ingredients to a medium bowl and beat using an electric mixer for 3 or 4 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add more soymilk, if needed, to achieve the desired consistency.
 
Pipe or spread the frosting onto the cool cupcakes, garnish with crushed peanuts (optional) and enjoy!  Yields 12 cupcakes. 

Comments:

Taste:     

These cupcakes do justice to the wonder that is the chocolate-peanut butter flavor combination.  The cake and frosting go really well together, creating a moist yet light cupcake.   

Accessibility:        

If you bake, you probably have most of these ingredients; if not, they're easy to find.  While I usually use natural peanut butter, I've found that it can be a bit too grainy for good frosting; so, I recommend a truly smooth and creamy peanut butter for this recipe.

Ease of Preparation:   

This is a pretty standard cupcake recipe.  One caveat: measure carefully when adding the soymilk to the frosting.  Too much soymilk will result in a liquidy frosting.       

Non-vegan friendliness:   

Everyone at the party enjoyed these cupcakes, even though I was the only vegan in attendance.  I made sure to tell everyone that the cupcakes were vegan only after they had tasted them :)     

(Red) Velvet Cake

I've always been confused by the appeal of red velvet cake.  It's not chocolate cake, it's not vanilla cake, and it's not strawberry/raspberry/some other "red" flavored cake; no, it's just cake with a hint of chocolate flavor and red food coloring.  Nonetheless, I decided to try out a recipe for red velvet cake with buttercream frosting tonight.  I left out the red food coloring so it's more of just a velvet cake, but I'll still include the coloring in the recipe for those who don't want to part with it.

(Red) Velvet Cake with Buttercream Frosting--it's surprisingly red!

Recipe:
(Red) Velvet Cake

• 2.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or, more all-purpose flour)
• 1.5 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
• 2 cups organic soymilk
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 3 tablespoons red food coloring, if desired
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Buttercream Frosting

• 1/2 cup vegan butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1.5-2 tablespoons organic soymilk or water 

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly oil two 8-inch cake pans.

To prepare the cake batter, combine the first six (dry) cake ingredients in a large bowl.  Then create a well in the center, add the remaining (wet) cake ingredients, and mix until thoroughly combined.  Divide the cake batter between the two prepared pans and bake for about 35 minutes, rotating the pans 45 degrees halfway through.  The cakes are ready when the cake pulls away from the side of the pans and a toothpick comes cleanly out of the center of the cakes.  Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pans.  Then run a knife around the edges to loosen the cakes, flip each cake over onto a plate to remove from the pans, and revert each cake onto a cooling rack.  Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.

To prepare the frosting, first beat the butter until smooth and fluffy with an electric mixer.  Add the powdered sugar, beat on low to combine, and beat on high for another minute or two.  Then add the vanilla and soymilk, mix on low until combined, and beat on high until frosting is light and fluffy (at least 4 minutes).  Cover the frosting until ready to use, and re-whip before using. 

Once the cakes are cool, frost one of the cakes first.  Then place the other cake on top of the first and frost the rest of the cake with the rest of the frosting. 

Cover and store in the refrigerator.  Yields 8-10 servings.  

Comments:

Taste:      

While this cake had a good springy texture, I would make two major changes to the recipe.  First, I would replace the whole wheat pastry flour with all-purpose flour, meaning that the only flour in the recipe would be 3.5 cups all-purpose flour.  The whole wheat pastry flour was noticeable in the cake, adding an overpowering, wheaty flavor that I wasn't looking for in a cake.  Second, the frosting was a bit too liquidy upon adding a full 2 tablespoons soymilk.  I would recommend starting with 1.5 tablespoons soymilk in the frosting and then adding more, if necessary, to achieve a good consistency.  I think these two changes would bring this mediocre cake up to par. 

Accessibility:       

The ingredients in this cake are reasonably priced and easy to find.  If you aren't a regular baker you'll need to make a few purchases, but I was able to make this without any special purchases.  

Ease of Preparation:   

This is a pretty simple cake recipe.  It takes a fair amount of time to make from start to finish, including baking and cooling time, but that's true of all cakes.     

Non-vegan friendliness:   

This cake was fine for a Sunday night treat at home, but I would be hesitant to serve this cake to a group of non-vegans as a representative vegan baked good.  I do believe that this recipe could be a lot better with the above changes, though, so I'll definitely try it again.  For the record, Simon was disappointed by the cake's flavor (probably due to the whole wheat flavor) while Rachel liked it.   

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

Happy Birthday David!  My brother turns 25 this week so he and his girlfriend were home to celebrate today.  I made his birthday cake at the last minute.  Here's what I made:

Recipe:
Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

Chocolate Chip Cake:

• 1.5 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 cup cold water
• 8oz. (2/3 bag) vegan chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli semi-sweet chips)

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lightly grease a round 9-inch cake pan or muffin tins, and set aside. 

Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Create a well in the center of the dry mixture and add the wet ingredients.  Mix until just combined.  Then, mix in the chocolate chips. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  (Check cupcakes after about 15 minutes.)  Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack. 

Yield: one 9-inch cake.  (Note: If you're making a layer cake, double the recipe.)

Chocolate-Mint Frosting:

• 1/2 cup vegan margarine
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1.5 teaspoons peppermint extract
• 3-4 tablespoons water or soymilk

Cream the margarine in a stand mixer until smooth.  Add the powdered sugar and cream for 2 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix on high until well combined and smooth (about 3 minutes).  Once the cake is cool, frost and enjoy!

Comments:
This cake has a lot going for it.  The chocolate chips provide extra-chocolatey bites throughout the cake and the chocolate-mint frosting has a really fresh taste.  The cake tastes (and looks) a lot like a Thin Mint--remember those Girl Scout cookies? 

The cake was a hit.  David thought it was one of the best vegan baked goods I've served him--very exciting!  He thought it was a satisfying dessert.  The cake was about room temperature when we ate it, but it's also great a day later once it has been refrigerated.  I am generally partial to day-old cake so I'm looking forward to the leftovers.