If you don’t eat cake, I don’t think we can be friends. Kidding! Not really ;) Today I want to share with you the BEST chocolate cake recipe EVER! And it’s vegan.

Cara is allergic to eggs, dairy and peanuts. It sounds a little more hectic than it actually is. Or maybe we’re just so used to it that it’s easy to get around it.

Cake isn’t always that easy though. We often bake muffins and cupcakes and then we substitute the eggs with bananas and use soy milk if the recipes calls for it (read: if it says add milk on the packet).

The BEST chocolate cake EVER! And it’s vegan

A proper cake is a different story. Then I remembered that we used to bake an AMAZING chocolate cake when I was a kid (thanks Tannie Elmari!). And it contained no eggs and no dairy! Yay for being vegan/vegetarian friendly.

I did a little search on the web and found similar recipes (this one is still the best!) and learnt that this cake is also called Depression Cake (the recipe originates from the Great Depression when eggs and dairy were a luxury), Crazy Cake or Wacky Cake. I just call it the yummiest and easiest cake in the world.

Chocolate Crazy Cake

Ingredients:

750 ml flour
20 ml baking powder
500 ml sugar
80 ml cocoa powder
500 ml boiled water
250 ml cooking oil
10 ml vanilla essence
50 ml white vinegar*
5 ml bicarbonate of soda

*Not all white vinegar is vegan! I have seen white vinegar substituted with apple cider vinegar, but I have yet to try it. I’d love some vegan advice!

Pop over here for a handy conversions table from Huletts.

Steps:

Sift and mix the dry ingredients (excluding the bicarb) in a large bowl.

Mix the wet ingredients & bicarb in a separate bowl.

Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk lightly until completely combined and there are no lumps.

Bake in a greased dish at 180º for about 20 min.

The one I use is an approx 33cm x 25cm / 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking dish. It’s the ‘bakpan’ that came with the oven (damn, I think I’m ready for the Great SA Bake Off!). If you know more about baking than I do, and I’m sure you do, you’ll now what to use. Trick: if the toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, it’s perfect.

And there you have the MOST DIVINE CHOCOLATE CAKE! And it contains no eggs and no dairy!

Let me know if you try it.

I’m going to have a piece now …

xoxo