the eggless wonder

finding recipes that work really well and do not use or include traditional ingredient conventions has always been of great interest to me. these days with so many different kinds of allergies rampant, people following the latest diet which usually omits some ingredient or groups of them, or even those people, like myself, who have culturally different eating habits, it is useful to have a variety of options from which to choose. it's no fun not to be able to enjoy the same kinds of foods as everyone else.

the other day while going through my things in my cleaning frenzy, i luckily found a whole bunch of missing files. in one of these was this recipe which i used to make [mostly for a friend who is allergic to many things], until i lost it. a fortuitous reunion for me since i am trying to use up excess amounts of flour before passover arrives in 3 weeks.

this is a basic all purpose chocolate cake which surprisingly has no eggs in it and can be made either dairy or parve [non-dairy]. despite being egg-less, it is just as good as a regular chocolate cake. admittedly, the texture is somewhat drier than your standard one but this can be balanced by using a moist frosting. sometimes i will use a plain strong coffee solution and, with a large pastry brush, moisten each of the two cakes prior to icing them. it is great for a birthday cake or just an everyday one. it makes terrific cupcakes, too, which can be brought to work for that single serving .... frosted, of course :)

the cake can be made with either cake flour or all purpose, however the cake flour must be sifted first, along with the cocoa. it also uses buttermilk, or soured milk, which you can make yourself. it will not work without this, as the acidity of the liquid is essential to activate the rising agent which, in this case, is baking soda. the cake is successfully made parve by using soymilk and souring it with plain white vinegar.

baker beware: for those of you who do not follow recipes, i suggest you give in and do it the way i show here. baking is an exact science. you need the buttermilk or soured [soy] milk and you need the baking soda [not powder] for the necessary leavening reaction to take place, both while mixing the batter and baking it. remember: sift, sift, sift — this ensures there are no small lumps which always seem present in both cake flour and cocoa.

eggless all purpose chocolate cake

ingredients:

1 2/3 c. cake flour or all purpose
1 c. sugar
1 tsp baking SODA
1/2 tsp salt
8 tbsp cocoa powder (dark is better)

1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 c. buttermilk or soured milk*
3 1/2 - 4 tbsp prune baking paste or applesauce**
2 tsp vanilla extract

*to make soured milk/soymilk: measure 1 c of the liquid and add 1 tbsp white vinegar. stir and wait about 10 minutes until it sets; it will become thicker. do not skip doing this.

**this is optional but highly recommended. i have found it helps to add extra moisture content due to the absence of the egg. the prune baking paste goes extremely well with chocolate and is not noticeable.

method:

preheat oven to 350F.

butter or grease two 8 inch round cake pans (if you go larger, it will not work). you can make cupcakes too but remember to cook them for less time. test after 12 - 15 minutes.

measure out the flour and then sift it to remove any small lumps. this is required if you are using cake flour. i usually aerate the cake flour with a whisk before measuring. you do not need to sift first to measure out the flour as in other recipes.

sift the cocoa into the flour and then add the other ingredients. if you can, use the dark dutch processed cocoa or something like valrhona. it makes a big difference colour wise and taste wise.

mix them together well. you can resift everything at this point if you think there are any lumps.

mix together the wet ingredients: the oil, buttermilk or soured milk, applesauce or prune baking paste and the vanilla extract.

add this to the dry ingredients and mix well. you can do this by hand or with a beater. make sure there are no dry spots in the batter. it must be completely smooth.

divide these equally into the two pans. it will not look like there is enough but there is.

bake the cakes for only 20 minutes. do NOT open the oven before or they may fall. test after 20 minutes, you may need to bake a few minutes longer.

let them cool for 5 minutes in the pan. remove them to a rack and cool them completely.

they can be iced with your favourite frosting or served with confectioners sugar dusted over them, or even better — whipped cream.

enjoy!