Cheers!: Gluten-Free Vegan Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake

Where it all "Vegan"

I can't believe it has been a year since my first successful Vegan cake!  I've learned so much through this journey and have received such wonderful support.  Regretfully, I must announce that this will be the last recipe I will post on this blog.  I will continue the fantastic hobby of baking and cake decorating, and plan to post future blog entries of cakes I've made and the wonderful people in my life, but they will be sans recipes.  I started this blog because I had a difficult time successfully baking the Vegan cake recipes I've found online and hope my recipes have been helpful to other Vegan bakers.  I also plan to revisit some of the recipes I wasn't content with and will update them for you.  As for the final recipe, we're going out with a big BANG!

Last weekend, my friends and I had our annual excursion to wine country.  Kelly and Serena had recently celebrated their 10 year wedding anniversary, and he wanted to surprise Serena with a heartfelt renewal of their vows.  It was incredible to see everyone work efficiently and harmoniously together to prepare the ceremony in such a short time.  The amount of talent within the group was remarkable.  From the flower arranging to the bridal makeup to the staging, seating and photography, every aspect was covered effortlessly.

As for the cake, I wanted to center it around the bride.  Serena, alongside many of my friends, enjoys very spicy foods.  We do all of our own cooking at the house in wine country, and there is rarely a meal served without a bowl of super spicy homemade salsa or a bottle of habanero sauce.

A few years ago, I had an interesting scoop of chocolate jalapeno gelato at a dessert shop in San Francisco.  Sounds bizarre, but it was exquisite, especially for a spice lover.  The flavor of jalapeno wasn't noticeable in the chocolate, but the kick of heat at the end surely was.  I wanted to somehow replicate this in a cake.  So I did some research into Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake recipes, and found they utilized cayenne pepper.  The amount used in the recipes ranged from a 1/4 teaspoon to 2 full teaspoons!  I went for the middle-of-the-road, feeling that 1/4 teaspoon just wouldn't make an impression on the crowd I was baking it for and 2 teaspoons might be too much for a dessert.  One teaspoon of cayenne pepper was definitely enough to give us a jolt of heat, but feel free to put less or more to your liking.

Kelly and Serena's ceremony was beautiful, and I am delighted to have contributed to their special occasion.  Watching the elated couple cut into the cake, and the compliments the cake received couldn't have made this amateur baker any happier.  

For those reading or following my blog, I wish you all well on your baking endeavors, and hope that you will try out these recipes and let me know how they turned out in your kitchen.  Cheers!

Gluten-Free Vegan Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake

Dry Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup (240g) Superfine Rice Flour 1/2 cup (60g) Potato Starch 1/4 cup (30g) Tapioca Starch 1/2 tsp Guar Gum 3/4 cup (60g) Cocoa Powder 2 tbs (15g) Corn Starch 1 tsp Baking Powder 2 tsp Baking Soda 1 tsp Sea Salt 1 tbs Cinnamon 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Wet Ingredients: 1/4 cup Soy Milk + 1 tbs Raw Apple Cider Vinegar 3 tsp Energ Egg + 4 tbs Water 2/3 cup Canola Oil 1 cup (8oz) Sugar 1/2 cup (4oz) Brown Sugar 1 3/4 cup Water 1/4 cup Unsweetened Applesauce 2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 320ºF.  Add vinegar to 1/4 cup soy milk and reserve.  Stir egg replacer and 4 tbs water, reserve.  Sift together dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl.

Pour oil and sugars into a large bowl and beat with a wire whisk until well incorporated.  Whisk in egg replacer mixture, water, applesauce, and vanilla to combine.  Fold in dry ingredients.  Lastly, fold in soy milk and vinegar mixture.  Pour into two 9-inch cake pans and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Allow cakes to cool.

Chocolate Mousse Filling

6 oz (1/2 box) Firm Silken Tofu
5 oz Vegan Chocolate Chips, melted in double boiler
1 tbs Agave Nectar

1/4 cup Soy Milk

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Pour into a medium sized bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Chill in the refrigerator until set (1-2 hours).  After chilling, beat with an electric mixer to loosen and to fluff until paler in color (4-5 minutes).

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup Earth Balance Vegan Margarine

1/2 cup Earth Balance Natural Shortening

3 cups Powdered Sugar

3 tbs Soy Milk
2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Using an electric hand mixer, cream margarine and shortening until light and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar in stages.  Lastly, mix in soymilk and vanilla.