Why Every Parent Should Have a Vegan Cake Recipe

There’s been some debate lately over whether a vegan diet is good for children. I’ll leave the answer to that in the hands of those with better nutritional expertise than I have. Still, I believe every parent, even those of us who aren’t vegan, should have at least one vegan cake recipe in her or his repertoire, for three reasons:

• Who hasn’t run out of eggs at least once when you’ve needed them?
• Kids love to lick batter from cake bowls, and this way you don’t have to worry about them ingesting raw egg;
• Even if your children are allergy-free, they may have friends allergic to eggs or dairy. (If your own children have allergies, you’re probably way ahead of me in the egg-free, dairy-free recipe collection.)

Here’s a recipe I like for vegan chocolate cake. It’s a slight tweak on one in the new Joy of Cooking. You might also want to check out Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, both the blog and the book. (Thanks to Rachel at ParentDish.)

Sift or whisk together in a large bowl:

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar (white or brown)
• 6 TBS unsweetened nonalkalized cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt

In a separate bowl, blend:

• 1 cup cold water or coffee
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (Canola is a good choice; don’t use a fruity olive oil for this)
• 1 TBS white vinegar
• 2 tsp vanilla

Mix the wet ingredients with the dry, and whisk until smooth.

Pour into a greased and floured 8 x 8″ pan. Bake in a 350° oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve in the pan like brownies or turn out onto a rack after cooling for a few minutes. I like to dust it with a bit of powdered sugar when fully cool; you can of course frost it if you prefer. (Google “vegan frosting” and you’ll get a lot of options.)