Superbly Chocolatey Cake

Ingredients*:

Cake:

2 cups white sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Frosting:

3/4 cup Earth Balance

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

5 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar

2/3 cup coconut milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Optional topping:

1 Ghirardelli Chocolate Intense Dark: Twilight Delight bar, shaved (using a potato peeler)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.

In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, coconut milk, oil, and vanilla, mixing with an electric mixer for appx. 3 minutes. Stir in the boiling water by hand. Pour evenly into the two prepared pans.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely (an additional 30mins - 1 hr). I recommend using a soft spatula to help ease the cakes out without breaking them.

For frosting, cream Earth Balance until light and fluffy. Sit in cocoa and confectioners' sugar alternately with coconut milk and vanilla. Beat to a spreading consistency, appx. 3 - 5 minutes.

Split the layers of cooled cake horizontally and cover the top of each layer with frosting, stacking them on a serving plate. Frost outside of cake, and serve!

*Altered version of All Recipes' Extreme Chocolate Cake.

Dairy-Free Living: Day 7

Daiya's meltability = 100% !

I made quesadillas last night using Daiya's mozzarella style shreds, and it melts! It doesn't taste bad, either. It doesn't taste like your standard mozzarella, but it does taste like cheese.

My mother went to Whole Foods last night, which, like our nutritionist, carries Daiya, Amande, Earth Balance, and the like. She also brought home SO Delicious's Coconut Milk yogurt.

I found that I don't like SO Delicious yogurt. I think it tastes too sweet, and it lacks the between-solid-and-liquid texture one expects in yogurt. I found it more like a lassi than yogurt. I would recommend using their yogurt if you are, in fact, trying to make a lassi, but for just yogurt, stick with Amande.

Too each their own, though. My brother loves SO Delicious's Coconut Milk yogurt, but then again, Seiji has always had a sweet tooth.

Happy Dairy-Free Living!