Eggless Chocolate Cake

Name: Eggless Chocolate Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ cup Flour; ½ cup Castor sugar; ½ cup Brown sugar; ¼ cup Cocoa powder; 1 tsp Baking soda; 1 tsp Baking powder; ½ tsp Salt; 1/3 cup Vegetable oil; 1/3 cup Hot coffee; 1 cup Water; 1 tsp Vanilla; 1 tsp Vinegar

This is a go to chocolate cake recipe that you MUST have in your books. It is fluffy, moist and spongy. Great as a tea cake or get creative and make it a layer cake. It is a versatile recipe that happens to be secretly vegan.

When I made this recipe for the first time I didn’t have high expectations as it had no eggs, butter, yogurt or milk. I was skeptical about the flavor and thought it would be as bland as paper. This is one of the few cake recipes that I made and it worked out in the first go not to mention that I loved it immediately.

With pantry staple ingredients, a bowl and a whisk it does not expect much from you. All you need to do to make this cake is whisk everything together; it is actually difficult to ruin this recipe. There are multiple ways to bake this cake, it can be made in the oven, microwave, over the stove or steamed. It truly is a Quarantine friendly recipe fit for anyone who loves Chocolate cake. This cake doesn’t miss any of the usual chocolate cake ingredient suspects. You wouldn’t, be able to tell that this cake was Vegan unless it was pointed out, as it should be.

The ingredients here aren’t a lot hence using good quality products make for an even better tasting cake. I would recommend using good cocoa powder as that intense chocolate taste you get in the cake is based on the inherent flavor of the cocoa powder. This is a basic recipe but one of those that anyone and everyone can make regardless of your background in baking.

A Few Substitutes:

Flour – The recipe calls for All Purpose flour however Self Raising flour, Cake flour, Spelt flour, Gluten Free flour mix and 50% Whole wheat flour with 50% All purpose flour works well in this recipe. Ideally you could use almond flour as well however it would be a little stickier as a cake than spongy.

Sugar – The recipe calls for White & Soft Brown sugar however Coconut sugar, Jaggery, Light/Dark brown sugar, Granulated sugar, or all white sugar also works in this recipe.

Baking soda – This ingredient can be left out however I would recommend trying to add it as it ensures a spongy baked outcome. If you are leaving the baking soda out you must add the baking powder. Either or helps with the rising of the cake as there aren’t any other leavening agents here. Ideally you want to use both.

Oil – The recipe calls for regular vegetable oil and that’s because we don’t want to hinder the intense chocolate flavor in the cake with another contrasting ingredient. However you could use coconut oil, olive oil, canola oil etc. Just keep in mind the flavor of the oil will impact the flavor of the cake. I would stay away from thick and heavily flavored oils such as castor/sesame/almond etc.

Hot Coffee – The recipe calls for hot water and instant coffee. The coffee here doesn’t flavor the cake as much as it enhances the chocolate flavor. You could use hot water as without the coffee if you like or hot milk would also work. A great addition would also include beer/coke however you wont heat them before using; it would be used straight out of the can.

Baking –

Oven: To bake this cake in an oven you need to ensure your oven is preheated for 10 mins at 180°C before baking as this will ensure your cake is baked evenly.

Microwave (heating): To bake this cake in a microwave place the baking dish in the microwave and bake for 5 mins. Keep baking the cake with 2 min intervals until the cake is done. The time here can vary as every microwave has a different calibration, the size of dish to bake will vary, etc. I baked my cake in a 9×5 inch microwave proof tin for 8 mins.

Microwave (oven): To bake this cake in a microwave that is an oven preheat the microwave for 5 mins at 170°C and bake immediately for 6-7 mins.

Stove (dry heat): The cake can be baked over the stove with indirect heat, use a large stockpot covered with a lid and heat for 10 mins on medium heat, place a small wire rack in the bottom of the stockpot and put the smaller cake tin into the stockpot and cover with a lid. Bake for 30 mins until risen and toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cooker: The cake can be baked in the cooker; it is always best to remove the rubber insulation on the cooker lid while baking it. Dry baking in the cooker is the best method. It should take 35 mins

Stove (steaming): The cake can be steamed in a stockpot, filled with water 1/4^th of the way with a wire rack at the bottom. The cake tin should be sealed with foil to ensure no liquid enters the batter while steaming. Cover the stockpot with a lid and leave to cook for 45 mins.

There should be nothing stopping you from making this cake as it is simple to make and most likely you would have all the ingredients needed to make this beauty. You can make this into a loaf cake or turn it into a layered cake with some buttercream or whipped cream. But I personally love having it with some coffee so I can do dip dip.

With a cake so straight forward it is actually difficult to not make it multiple times once you’ve made it, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Happy Baking!