Vegan Chocolate Cake

Never again will I take an apartment equipped with an oven for granted. Oh, how I long for the days I can roast some vegetables or bake a vegan chocolate cake again. We’ve been living in Thailand for almost 2 years, and at the moment we’re in a very basic studio apartment, where our only source of running water is in our bathroom.

But wait! We have a rice cooker and patience. Granted, experimenting to find the best vegan chocolate cake recipe didn’t take a lot of patience… even the “bad” results were still gooey and delicious. Of course, if you have an actual oven, this recipe will do just fine baking at 350F for about 30 minutes (depends on the size of your baking pan).

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• ¼ cup non-dairy milk (soy, coconut, almond)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp peanut butter (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Pour in the oils (coconut and vegetable) and the vanilla, and using a whisk or fork, mix together. Add the mashed banana and continue mixing to incorporate as much as possible.
2. In a small bowl, add the non-dairy milk and lemon juice and mix briefly. Then add the baking soda and continue stirring. The mixture will bubble and get foamy. Add mixture to flour mix and stir well. If using, add peanut butter and mix well.
3. Pour batter into rice cooker bowl (or baking pan if you’re lucky enough to have an oven!) and set the rice cooker to “Cook”. Since the rice cooker will automatically switch to its “Keep Warm” setting when it senses a lack of moisture, you will have to set it “Cook” about 3-5 times, depending on the model of cooker you have.

The same rule applies when baking the cake in the oven: when a fork pierces the batter and comes out dry, it’s done!