Jessie's first blog went down so well I thought I would let her do another! I have tried this chocolate cake and can certify it tastes so good - I don't even usually like chocolate cake but this one turns out so fudgey and yummy - Elsa
Vegan Chocolate Cheat Cake Hack. A Guest Blog by Jessie Trueman
So, it looks like I needn’t have worried about emerging from the house with my ever worsening roots as I am currently sprawled on my sofa, totally unrecognisable from my Instagram pictures, laptop on knee and, like almost every other 20 something female in the UK, living my life through the character of Daphne Bridgerton (I have at this point accepted dating is impossible in lockdown, instead filling this hole by binging the entire Bridgerton Netflix series twice and as a result have convinced myself that a whirlwind romance is just round the corner for me. Although seeing as I rarely leave the house my chances of this happening are low to none, unless my version of the duke is one of the middle aged Indian men working in my local convenience store..) Anyway my point being we are now in our third lockdown, therefore all hopes of leaving the house in my previous blog have sadly been dashed. After a somewhat minor melt down, which involved losing my house mate in the vast expanse of dominos boxes accumulating in our kitchen, I have been on a mission to find new fun recipe hacks to spice up my lockdown life and put an end to the dominos addiction. I wanted to find weird yet wonderful recipes that I could enjoy cooking as much as I enjoyed eating them!
The first hack I discovered was through one of the numerous Youtubers I follow and is a quick cheat vegan chocolate cake. I was very dubious when I first saw this as 1. The only ingredients needed for this cake is a can of coke (I hate fizzy drinks) and a Betty Crocker Devil Cake Mix, and 2. Using a cake mix is unheard of in our family house, unless you want our mum to give you one of her disapproving side eye looks. However my intrigue got the better of me and I decided to head out of the house on an exciting trip to the promise land – Waitrose - in search of a Betty Crocker Devil Cake Mix (I should mention here shopping at Waitrose is a rarity for me, but seeing as I can’t treat myself to a new set of lashes an outing to Waitrose was the next best thing I could think of). And yes I did fake tan the night before to avoid the embarrassment of my potential Duke mistaking me for a dead white walker and whacking me over the head. Let’s hope summer comes around soon!
So after making it back to the house, combining the cake mix and can of coke in a bowl and baking in the oven at 180C I can confirm that this is one of the nicest chocolate cakes I’ve had in a long time and it’s totally vegan! The coke flavour is completely undetectable once baked and the air bubbles from the fizz give the texture a light fluffy bounce. I did actually add half a teaspoon of baking powder but I think it would work just as well without. Using my family as guinea pigs they all agreed they loved the flavour - even my judgemental mother! I’ve now made this cake several times and each time it’s just as nice, although I may be taking a slight break after baking it for my flat mates... I stupidly forgot one of them doesn’t like chocolate cake and the other doesn’t eat chocolate full stop. So after eating a whole cake to myself I decided to move on and search for my next hack, but if unlike me you live with chocolate cake fanatics who you can share with I’ve added the recipe below. J
Ingredients:
· 1 packet of Betty Crocker Devil Cake Mix
· 330ml original can of coke
· Half teaspoon baking soda (optional)
· Betty Crocker chocolate icing (this is also vegan!)
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease a round baking tin.
2. Sift the Betty Crocker Devil Cake Mix and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and add the coke. Use a large spoon to fold in the mixture.
3. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and place in the oven for 25 minutes.
4. Once the cake is cooked remove from the oven allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
5. Once fully cooled spread the Betty Crocker chocolate icing on the top and enjoy!