Here you have the ultimate chocolate cake - Triple Layer Chocolate Cream Cake from TEV.Vegan is not even an issue here, this cake gets rave reviews from vegans and non-vegans alike whenever I serve it... and I've had people ask to buy my cookbook on the spot just for this recipe alone!
(Just be sure to use SILKEN extra-firm tofu for the frosting... and use a food processor to puree it, please!)
Cake Batter:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups unrefined sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 3/4 cups water
2 tbsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp mocha extract (or more vanilla)
1/4 cup organic canola oil
Frosting:
2 pckgs (349-g) SILKEN extra-firm tofu, patted dry
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (generous) non-dairy chocolate chips
For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda, then add in sugar and salt and mix well. In another bowl, combine water, vinegar, extracts, and oil. Add wet mixture to the dry, and stir until well combined. Pour into 3 lightly oiled round cake pans, distributing batter as evenly as possible. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a cooling rack.
For the frosting:
In a food processor (don't use a mixer, it won't smooth out the tofu), combine tofu with maple syrup and vanilla, and puree until very, very smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Meanwhile, melt chocolate in a bowl fitted over a pot with simmering (not boiling) water. Pour melted chocolate into food processor with tofu mixture, and puree again until well incorporated (again, scraping down sides of bowl). Transfer to a container and refrigerate until cool (will thicken as it cools). Once cool, spread frosting on cake layers, then refrigerate cake for at least a couple of hours to set (preferably overnight).
