Don’t worry, I’m not giving up on butter and cream – this vegan chocolate cake cake was born after I accepted a challenge and despite being a butter kind of girl, I have to admit that I quite like its texture and taste (well, I just has 2 portions of cake so I guess I can say I like it a lot 😛 ). It’s incredibly moist and loaded with chocolate and in my book that can only mean one thing – delicious! You can barely say that it doesn’t have eggs, milk, butter or heavy cream. In addition to this, it is also diabetic-friendly as I used a special sugar called Green Sugar made of natural Stevia extract. I do have a diabetic in my family – my grandmother – and she’s going to be happy to have such a healthy and tasty alternative to the sweetener she uses at the moment.

The product I used is made of Stevia extract and erytrithol and looks just like regular, granulated sugar. It melts easily and tastes great and it is slightly sweeter than normal sugar. But the great thing about it is that it has just as many uses as regular sugar does and that is so important for cakes, cupcakes or other desserts! The manufacturer also says it has zero calories and zero glycemic index . I even tried to make caramel out of it and to my surprise, although it caramelizes differently, it worked!

{Vegan Chocolate Cake} - Tort de post cu ciocolata si Green Sugar Print Author: Olguta - Pastry Workshop Ingredients: Cake: 420g all-purpose flour

200g Green Sugar (or 300g regular white sugar)

40g dark cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teapsoon salt

150ml vegetable oil (coconut oil if you wish)

480ml warm water (or coffee)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon juice Chocolate and coconut whipped cream: 1 can full fat coconut milk (no additives or emulsifiers)

280g dark chocolate (vegan)

30g Green Sugar (50g white sugar)

1 pinch of salt

Cocoa powder as needed Chocolate glaze: 70g dark chocolate (vegan)

2 teaspoons coconut oil Directions: Cake: Preheat your oven to 170C (340F) and line two round cake pans with baking paper. My pans had 18cm diameter, but larger pans can be used, keeping in mind that you won't end up with 4 layers of cake, but two. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients and give it a good mix. Pour the batter equally into the two prepared pans and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. When the cakes are done, remove from the oven and let them cool down then level them up and cut in half lengthwise (again, it depends on the size of your pan - if you used a larger pan you might not have enough height to cut the cake in half) Chocolate and coconut whipped cream: Place the coconut can in the fridge the night before. The next day, open the can and carefully drain out the liquid. What's left is the fat of the coconut milk and that's what we will be using for the whipped cream. It is important to use a pure, organic full-fat coconut milk because some brands add guar gum into the milk - guar gum is an emulsifier that doesn't allow the milk to separate properly so you won't be able to whip the cream well enough. Transfer the coconut milk fat in a heatproof bowl and stir in the sugar and chocolate. Place the bowl over a hot water bath and melt the ingredients together until smooth. Remove from heat and place the bowl in the fridge for 3-4 hours or until properly set. Using an electric mixer, whip up the coconut cream until fluffy and lighter in color. If you find the mixture to be too runny, add 1-2 teaspoons of cocoa powder. Layer the cakes with whipped coconut cream on a plate, making sure to leave enough cream to cover the cake once filled. Cover the cake in a thin layer of whipped cream and refrigerate until the glaze is ready. Chocolate glaze: Melt the chocolate over a hot water bath or in the microwave then stir in the coconut oil. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature then spread it over the cake, allowing it to drip off the edges slightly. Decorate as you wish and serve the cake chilled. Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe 3.2.2802

ROMANIAN!

Nu va faceti griji, nu renunt la oua si lapte ori frisca! Niciodata! Insa am primit si am acceptat o provocare din partea Green Sugar si Gustos.ro, constand in a gati retete de post folosind un nou produs dedicat diabeticilor – Green Sugar. Desi am un diabetic in familie, bunica mea, nu am folosit indulcitori in deserturi pana acum si nu stiam la ce sa ma astept. Auzisem ca nu ar avea cel mai bun gust si ma asteptam ca si Green Sugar sa fie cel putin ciudat. Dar nu mica mi-a fost surpriza sa constat ca are exact acelasi gust ca si zaharul. Iata ce spun ei despre produs: Green Sugar este un îndulcitor 100% natural, cu zero calorii și zero indice glicemic, pe baza de extract uscat din frunze de Stevia Rebaudiana și eritritol, obținut din porumb, prin procesul natural de fermentație, în prezența drojdiei Moniella pollinis.

Spre deosebire de alți îndulcitori pe bază de stevie, Green Sugar este singurul de pe piață al cărui gust a fost stabilizat, ceea ce face ca el să nu modifice (cu amăreala specifică șteviei) gustul alimentelor în care este folosit, nici măcar în urma procesului de gătire la temperaturi înalte. Astfel puteți continua să preparați prăjiturile și sucurile preferate, fără teama de a compromite gustul original.

Provocarea consta in a provoca retete de post – fara oua, fara lapte sau alte produse lactate si folosind Green Sugar in loc de zahar. Si a iesit ce se vede – un tort ciocolatos, cremos, umed, deloc inecacios. Toti cei care au gustat au fost de acord ca e delicios si nu se simte vreo diferenta in comparatie cu un tort cu zahar si oua/lapte/frisca. Am indraznit chiar sa caramelizez acest zahar din pura curiozitate si pot spune ca am obtinut un caramel intr-un final, insa se comporta diferit in comparatie cu zaharul, adica e mult mai lichid si se arde foarte repede, cu un fel de fum care inunda casa pur si simplu (15 minute cu geamurile deschise mi-au trebuie sa aerisesc complet ). In fine, asta e asa ca fapt divers, fara a avea vreo legatura cu reteta de azi 😛

Inainte de a va da reteta as vrea sa fac cateva precizari in legatura cu ciocolata folosita – am folosit ciocolata cu procent mare de cacao (72%), insa va sfatuiesc sa cititi eticheta si sa fiti sigure ca nu are trecute la ingrediente lapte sau unt.

Ingrediente:

Blat:

420g faina

200g Green Sugar (300g zahar normal)

40g cacao neagra

2 lingurite bicarbonat

1 lingurita praf de copt

1/2 lingurita sare

150ml ulei vegetal

1 lingurita extract de vanilie

1 lingurita zeama de lamaie

480ml apa calda (sau cafea)

Crema:

1 conserva de lapte de cocos (400ml) – lapte de cocos pur, organic, fara aditivi sau emulsificatori

30g Green Sugar (50g zahar normal)

280g ciocolata neagra (sau ciocolata de post – vegana daca gasiti)

1 praf de sare

Cacao pudra daca e nevoie

Glazura:

70g ciocolata neagra, tocata

2 lingurite ulei de cocos (sau alt ulei vegetal dar nu cel de masline)

Mod de preparare:

Blat:

Preincalziti cuptorul la 170C si tapetati doua tavi cu hartie de copt – 18cm diametru au avut tavile mele, insa ar merge si tavi cu diametrul mai mare, cu mentiunea ca nu veti mai obtine 4 straturi, ci cel mai probabil doua si mai multa crema la mijloc. Cerneti faina, cacaoa, bicarbonatul, praful de copt si sarea intr-un bol. Adaugati restul ingredientelor si amestcati bine. Turnati blatul in mod egal in cele doua tavi si coaceti pana trece testul scobitorii, in jur de 30-35 minute, insa cel mai sigur e sa verificati cu o scobitoare. Nu vreti un blat necopt, dar nici nu vreti sa-l coaceti prea mult pentru ca se usuca. Cand blatul e copt, scoateti din cuptor, lasati sa se raceasca, nivelati si taiati fiecare blat in jumatate.

Crema de ciocolata si cocos:

Puneti conserva de lapte de cocos la frigider peste noapte. A doua zi, desfaceti conserva si cu grija scurgeti tot lichidul. Atentie! Conservele cu eumulsificatori, in special guar gum s-ar putea sa nu se separe si sa nu se bata cum trebuie! Ce va ramane in conserva este grasimea laptelui de cocos, partea ce mai bogata si ceea ce veti folosi pentru aceasta crema. Puneti acest amestec intr-un vas, apoi adaugati ciocolata si zaharul. Puneti vasul pe baie de aburi si topiti ingredientele impreuna. Luati vasul de pe baie de aburi si dati la rece pentru 3-4 ore. Cu un mixer electric, mixati pana amestecul devine pufos, aerat. Daca vi se pare ca nu e suficient de teapan, mai adaugati 1-2 lingurite de cacao. Umpleti tortul cu aceasta crema, insa pastrati suficienta crema pentru a-l acoperi in strat subtire. Odata tortul umplut si acoperit cu crema, dati la rece.

Glazura de ciocolata: