Chocolate Cake - Vegan

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
3/4 Tsp Sea Salt
1 1/2 Tsp Espresso Powder
3/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
1 1/2 Cups Dark Brown Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Hot Water
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
6 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1 1/2 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a springform baking pan (bottom and sides) with parchment paper. I used a 9" pan. * I ball up the parchment paper and then unfold and mold to fit the pan. Not the smoothest for the sides, but also not a big deal if you're not entering it into a contest. Spray parchment with cooking spray.

In a bowl, add the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine.

In another bowl, pour in the hot water.  Add the coconut oil, espresso powder, cocoa, and cinnamon.  Stir to combine and melt the coconut oil and bloom the espresso, cocoa and cinnamon.  Let sit for about 1 minute, then add in the brown sugar, cider vinegar & vanilla and mix to combine.

Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet.

Pour into baking pan and bake in oven for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

This is a very wet batter and produces a very fudgy cake.

Let cool in the baking pan for about 1 hour on a wire rack. At this point I like to put it in the fridge for at least an hour to set up.

Remove from baking pan and serve.  You can serve as is (which is great) or you can top with a frosting. I like to melt 1/3 cup of peanut butter in the microwave and pour over cake, then place back in the fridge to continue to set up for about an hour.  You could also frost with a ganache or powdered sugar, sea salt, coconut, etc.

* You can play around with this recipe a bit as far as flavors, for example, you can spice it up by adding in cayenne pepper to the batter or substituting some of the water with cherry juice or another flavor.

This is a single layer, very fudgy cake, yet also quite light. You will want to slice it on the smaller side for a slice.

Enjoy.
#Cheftainment