The Welcome Home Cake: Orange and Chocolate Chunk

I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s like an obsession for me. Saturday morning, I woke up with the irresistible desire to make an irresistible cake! I had so much to do, but I was compelled to put everything aside and start creating in my kitchen. I wanted to combine the flavors of orange and chocolate. Even more wild, I conceived of a raw vegan chocolate icing, based on a recipe I invented a while ago for a vegan “Nutella-like” spread.

I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but I put on some tunes, a big smile and got to work!

This cake was so much fun to make. My whole kitchen smelled like oranges for hours and would you believe that my mom, who lives next door, reported smelling oranges too! As you’ll see in the recipe below, the cake itself is sweetened with freshly-squeezed orange juice, which is even sweeter than the icing we will make. The balance of sweet orange and slightly bitter chocolate icing is purely divine.

A while ago, I came up with a vegan cake “template” which was very successful. If I deem it appropriate for my goal, a moist cake which makes a perfect partner for a nice cup of coffee or tea, I use this template and adapt it as my imagination dictates. The basis is 2 cups of flour – a flour appropriate for your likes and needs. This time, I chose to use a gluten-free option: brown rice flour. To that we must add some egg replacer, baking powder and baking soda to make the cake rise. Then we need to choose an appropriate sweetener. For this one, I added a little maple syrup and I juiced 3 oranges. Next, for added moistness, we need a small amount of oil. I chose grapeseed because it is a healthy oil to cook with. That completes the template and then depending on the flavours you’re looking for, certain spices can be added, nuts, zests, you name it!

This is a vegan recipe, so of course we don’t use eggs. Eggs are amongst the cruelest foods on earth. I use Ener G egg replacer and it works like a charm! Why be cruel when we could be kind?

A couple of weeks ago, I used my template to make a very delicious banana chocolate chunk cake, which I will share with you another time. This time, let’s make the orange!

My sister was coming home that day from her vacation and we were having dinner together at my mother’s house that night. I decided to call the cake The “Welcome Home Cake” in her honor. Both my mother and sister loved it so much! They were delighted to keep the left-overs.

Go make a cake and be in the moment! You are sure to smile and make someone else smile with this yumminess! Enjoy, in joy and in health!

Ingredients:

Cake:

Lots of love

2 cups brown rice flour

1 teaspoon “cake spice” or “pumpkin cake spice”

4 teaspoons egg replacer

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup dairy-free chocolate chunks

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup grapeseed oil

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (approximately 3 oranges)

4 tablespoons orange zest

 

Chocolate Icing:

1/3 cup coconut oil, slightly heated until soft

1/3 cup raw agave nectar

1/3 cup raw hazelnuts

1/3 cup hazelnut butter

2 teaspoons agave powder

2/3 cup raw cacao powder

2 tablespoons hazelnut oil

½ cup coconut water

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. For the cake, combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir thoroughly.
3. Combine wet ingredients in separate bowl, including 2 tablespoons of orange zest.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry mixture and stir with spatula.
5. Pour mixture into glass or porcelain baking pan.
6. Bake for 35 minutes.
7. Prepare icing by blending all ingredients in a food processor until creamy. Set aside.
8. Allow at least 2 -3 hours for the cake to cool before adding the chocolate icing. Sprinkle remaining orange zest on top of the icing for garnish.
9. Serve with love.

“Love is not a sentiment or an emotion. It’s the fact that we’re all the same being in different disguises.” ~Deepak Chopra

 

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