My blog has taken the back burner the past few weeks, this week wasn’t entirely my fault. A huge windstorm tore through our city, leaving 200,000+ without any power and a city in ruins. The mess around my house is devastating. We only lost some shingles and the carport almost blew away, but that was about it. Others had the houses split in half, and trees totally uprooted, cars smashed, houses smashed, roadways blocked by power lines or trees, roofs blown off, and so much more.
With the weather dipping into the 20s, it’s so cold for so many who still don’t have power. Some have almost gone a week with no power. We were lucky to be one of the first to receive power back, even with thousands within a few miles of us with no power still, and others within only a few blocks. With no power, obviously updating social media and doing blog posts wasn’t an option. Our wifi is finally working.
It was killing me going without power. It was a glimpse into the reality for many Americans. I felt what it was like going without something, something of a necessity. Talk about stir crazy. There was nothing to do, and it was dark and cold. It was almost sad to see how much I have relied on technology. Almost so much I didn’t know how to function without it. Constantly asking my hubby “What am I going to do?” I was going to start wrapping those Christmas gifts, but I ran out of wrapping paper.
While eating cold and dry foods for a few meals, I started to crave chocolate, and remembered I never shared R’s birthday cake recipe. I love baking, so of course I couldn’t wait to bake her cakes. I made sure there was an option for everyone. I have made this numerous times before, and finally perfected it to my liking. There’s never much for leftovers either, which I guess is a good thing, because I would devour every last bit of it.
It’s vegan, but has simple ingredients. I use a vegan based yogurt, or you can use a dairy based yogurt and a nondairy milk. Otherwise the ingredients are very similar to what you would see in any other cake. I try to keep the sugar lower than what other recipes may call for. I think that with the frosting there’s more than enough sugar, and no taste is compromised.
Personally I find it’s best baked the day before and stored in a cool place, covered tightly such as the refrigerator. Also, best with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. You can use a white frosting, a cream cheese frosting, a chocolate frosting or a little bit of both. I did a chocolate frosting for R’s first party, and for the second party it was a chocolate frosting with some vegan cream cheese. Feel free to use regular cream cheese, it will work the same.
Pair this cake with some warm coffee or matcha green tea for other celebrations. Just doesn’t have to be for birthdays. It’s perfect for those chocolate lovers in the family.
- 2¼ c All Purpose Flour or whole wheat white flour
- 1 c sugar
- ¾ c cocoa powder
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 c nondairy plain yogurt
- ½ c almond milk
- ½ c grapeseed oil (or non GMO canola oil)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- Frosting:
- ½ c chocolate chips (vegan)
- ½ c vegan butter
- 1 - 1½ c powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 Tbs milk
- ¼ c vegan cream cheese (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 9 inch round cake pans or a 9x13 inch baking dish.
- In large mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients.
- Add in the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Divide batter between the 2 prepared cake pans or add all to the 9x13 inch pan.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let cool 5 minutes, then use a knife around the edges and tip upside down to remove from round pans. (if using square pan, let remain in pan).
- Once completely cool, frost the entire cake. *There's enough frosting for frosting layers.
- Frosting;
- Melt chocolate chips and butter in small sauce pan over medium heat. Once completely melted, remove from heat and pour into medium mixing bowl.
- Once cooled a little bit, stir in powdered sugar, vanilla, milk and optional cream cheese. *May need to add a little extra milk.
- Frost your cake!!
Here are some pictures of the wreckage this past week, just to show a little of what is left to pickup. There’s still so much work to do. This was only a mile or so from our house. It’s amazing more people weren’t hurt. Thank you Jesus. I am continue to pray for the lineman working tirelessly to restore power and clean up the rubble.
Hope you all enjoy your Monday and week. Thanksgiving is already here and we could have some snow for the holiday. I love Thanksgiving because of the history behind it. I love remembering what it was like for those first pilgrims in America, and how much we have to be grateful for. So much thanks to them for their courage, faith and bravery.
Until Next Time Be Whole and Be Fit