Two-tone

This is a really simple, one-bowl-ish cake that you don’t have to break out the mixer for. Not super sweet, but rich in vanilla, chocolate, and super moist and fluffy.

INGREDIENTS:

• 210 g ( about 1 1/2 C + 3 T ) all-purpose flour

• 1 3/4 tsp. baking powder

• 1/4 tsp. baking soda

• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal, use half if you use Morton or table salt or using salted butter)

• 185 g ( about 3/4 C + 3 T) granulated sugar (vegan-friendly)

• 3 T neutral oil (I use grapeseed)

• 6 T water (room temp)

• 85 g (6 T ) vegan butter (melted- I use Miyoko’s unsalted)

• 2/3 C plant milk (room temp- I like oat )

• 1 T white vinegar

• 1 T vanilla extract (pure)

• 1/4 tsp. almond extract

• 15 g cocoa powder (unsweetened, dutch processed)

• 1/4 C brewed coffee (hot, can sub with water)

You will need:

• 8” x 4” Loaf pan

• Parchment paper

• Large bowl ( for mixing)

• 2 small bowls ( one for water and oil and one for cocoa powder and coffee)

• Spatula/whisk

• Liquid measuring cup or small bowl (for milk)

• Small offset spatula, knife, or skewer to swirl the batters

• Cooling rack

Prep :

• Melt butter

• Bring milk to room temp (can zap in the microwave for 15-30 seconds) and add vinegar to make vegan buttermilk-let sit at least 10 minutes

• Blend oil and water (this isn’t totally necessary, but I like to do it)

• Heat coffee and mix with cocoa until smooth and no dry spots

NOTES + SUBS :

1. Butter- I used unsalted, but if you don’t have or can’t find, just reduce the salt by a 1/4 ( you would use 1/2 teaspoon instead).

2. Salt- I always use Diamond Kosher Crystal Salt, it is just what I prefer. However, if you are using a sea salt, Morton, or table salt, your salt will probably have a saltier taste. Typically, when you use Morton in a recipe that uses Diamond, you need to reduce the salt by half (3/8 teaspoon in this recipe).

3. Sugar- For your sugar to be guaranteed vegan, you need to by organic. Organic sugar tends to be very chunky, so I like to blend mine in a high-speed blender to make a superfine or caster-like sugar that I can sift in my recipes. This is not necessary, but I believe the a superfine sugar lends itself to a lighter, airy-er crumb.

4. Oil + Water- I like to use oil and water for my egg replacement in many of my recipes. I tend to like the results the best. Eggs are basically fat and water, so the oil is stepping in as the yoke. You can sub with aquafaba if you prefer. 3 tablespoons = 1 egg, so you would need 9 tablespoons of aquafaba in this recipe.

5. Milk + Vinegar- We use milk and vinegar a lot in vegan baking as it acts like a vegan “buttermilk”, adding moisture and helping with the rise of cakes. Make sure you let your vegan butter milk stand at least 10 minutes before using, although, I have let mine sit for an hour from time to time.

6. Blooming the Cocoa- This recipe calls for mixing hot coffee with Dutch-processed cocoa. The reason for this is so that the cocoa blooms- blooming cocoa basically deepens the flavor and mixing coffee with cocoa somehow makes chocolate taste more chocolate-y. However, if you don’t have or want to use coffee, hot water will work just fine.

7. Raising agents- This recipe uses both baking powder (which helps things rise) and baking soda (which helps them to expand) and typically, you will find that these are added along with the flour portion of the recipe. That’s fine, but I have started adding these (along with salt and any extracts) to my milk and vinegar mixture. I wait until just before I add to the dry mix so that I can take advantage of the chemical reaction between the vinegar and the baking powder and soda. Besides, it’s fun to watch the milk bubble up, kind of like making the lava erupt on a volcano project when I was a kid.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°

1. Sift flour and sugar (if using fine) into a large bowl. Use a whisk to make sure well combined.

2. Add melted butter, oil, and water- mix with a spatula until there are no dry spots.

3. To the milk and vinegar mixture, add- extracts, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix all the ingredients together with a whisk or a fork until it starts to foam. Slowly add to the flour mixture until well incorporated- you are mixing by hand, so it is a bit harder to over mix (that being said), we still only want to mix just until the batter comes together.

4. Add about 1/3 of the cake batter to the small bowl of cocoa and coffee- combine until mixed and no yellow streaks.

5. Pour, scoop, or pipe the batters into an 8”x 4” pan, alternating between the vanilla and chocolate.

6. Take a skewer, knife, or spatula and gently swirl the batters together - the more you swirl, the less definition you will get.

7. Place loaf pan on the middle rack of an oven set to 350°, then bake for 35- 45 minutes or until a toothpick or fork comes out clean.

8. When the cake is done, let it cool in the tin for 10 minutes.  Then remove it from the tin using the overhanging parchment paper. Let it finish cooling for 20-30 minutes on a wire baking rack before slicing.

9. Enjoy!

I hope you give this quick and simple recipe a try. If you do, let me know how it turned out!

Thanks for spending some time,

xxx Debbie xxx