Crazy Chocolate Cake with a Vegan Option!

Crazy Cakes are amazingly delicious cakes that are made without eggs. They may or not include butter or milk, but all Crazy Cakes are made without eggs. In my version, the cake itself is fully Vegan and the frosting can be made vegan, or butter may be included. Whichever way you decide to make the frosting, the cake by itself is oh so YUMMY! And then add frosting and raspberries to take it completely “over the top.”

The Inside Scoop:

This is a very simple cake to make. Just a few notes:

When both volumetric and weight measures are provided, the volumetric measures should be considered approximations. The standard measure for a cup of flour is 120 grams, as indicated on the package of flour. The “scoop and fill” method of filling the measuring cup will add too much flour to the cake. To get the correct amount of flour, it is very simple to weigh the flour so that the cake is not dry due to too much flour. However, if you do not have a food scale, sift the flour 3 times, then gently spoon it into a measuring cup and use the flat side of a knife to level the measuring cup.

This is a very moist cake and tends to stick to the cake pans. To prevent this, line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper. To do so, place the cake pans on the parchment paper. Use a permanent marker to trace around the bottom of the cake pans. Cut out the circles by cutting inside the pens marks. Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray and then place the parchment paper on the bottom of the cake pan. If you prefer to make cupcakes, cupcake liners should also be sprayed so that the cake doesn’t stick to the liners.

Although domed cupcakes are nice, it is important that the layers of a layer cake be level, so that they do not split or slide apart once they are stacked. If your cake layers have a slight dome, level the top of each layer. To do this, either use a cake leveler, or use a ruler to measure up from the bottom how much of the dome needs to be removed. Use toothpicks to mark where the domed part of the cake is to be removed. Be sure to measure both layers the same way. Then use a long knife to slice off the excess dome, using the toothpicks as guides for where to slice. Be sure to keep the part you removed- this is the “baker’s treat!”

Most cake recipes suggest to use only 1/2 cup of frosting between the layers. However, I like to keep the thickness of the frosting in-between layers and on the top fairly similar. So I use 3/4 cup of frosting between the layers. This amount of frosting also makes it easy to “bury” the raspberries into the frosting.

You may be wondering, ” Why should I add a pinch of salt to the frosting?” A pinch of salt will decrease the extreme sweetness and make for a better tasting frosting.

Of course, you will want to add a pretty flourish to your frosting on the outside of the cake. And if you have extra raspberries left, cluster the raspberries in the middle on top of the cake.

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Crazy Chocolate Cake with a Vegan Option!

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Loading...

By Connie Teunis – Serves: 12

A chocolate cake bursting with chocolate flavor, enhance with raspberries, and finished with a vanilla frosting. And no eggs means it's CRAZY! The cake is also vegan and the frosting can also be made vegan, or it can be made a vanilla buttercream.

Ingredients

• For the Cake:
• 405 g./ 3 1/3 c. All-Purpose Flour
• 432g./ 2 ¼ c. Granulated or Vegan Sugar
• 60 g./ ¾ c. Unsweetened Cocoa
• 2 ¼ t. Baking Soda
• 1 ¼ t. Salt
• 2 ¼ c. COLD Water
• 14 T. (1 cup minus 2 Tablespoons) Unflavored Vegetable Oil
• 2 T. + ¾ t. White Vinegar
• 2 ½ t. Vanilla
• For the Icing:
• 1 c./ 2 sticks Butter, softened + 192 c./ 1 c. All-Vegetable Shortening
• OR
• 384 g./ 2 c. All-Vegetable Shortening
• 480 g./ 4 c. Powdered Sugar
• 2 t. Vanilla
• Pinch of Salt
• Approximately 12 ounces of fresh raspberries

Instructions

1

To Make the Cake:

2

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

3

Spray two 9” cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.

4

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the middle of the flour.

5

Pour the cold water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla into the well. Mix by hand to moisten the flour mix. Then use an electric mixer on medium-low speed and beat for about 30 seconds, until well mixed.

6

Distribute the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes. Use a metal cake tester to test for doneness. (Metal cake testers work better than toothpicks.)

7

Once done, place the cake pans on cooling racks for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, use the flat side of a knife to loosen the sides of the cake from the pan. Place each cake layer, with parchment paper still attached, onto the cooling rack. Cool completely.

8

To Make the Icing:

9

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup each of butter and shortening, or for a vegan frosting, 2 cups of shortening, in a medium bowl. With an electric mixer, cream together. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt; beat on lowest speed until there is no dry powdered sugar, then increase speed to medium high and beat until smooth.

10

To Assemble:

11

If cake domed excessively, evenly trim off the tops of each layer.

12

Place one cake layer, top side down, onto a cake plate. Remove the parchment paper. Spread ¾ cup of frosting onto the bottom layer. Cover with raspberries.

13

Remove the parchment paper from the second layer of cake. Place the second layer of cake, top side up, on top of the raspberries. Use the remaining frosting to frost the cake completely. Place any remaining raspberries in a cluster on top of the cake.

14

Enjoy!