Vegan Chocolate Cake with Jam Filling

I haven’t done a Great British Bake Off Bakealong challenge for quite some time. It seems the last one I participated in was for Jaffa Cakes – the delicious little filled cookie/cakes. As the work is starting on the house tomorrow I decided to bake one last thing before I lost my kitchen to the contractor so I joined for this week and made a vegan chocolate cake.

I will admit that vegan baking is not my strong suit but after searching I found that I have made several vegan desserts that tasted pretty yummy including a Pavlova, Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies and Vegan Shortbread Bites. This chocolate cake was probably the most challenging of all of the recipes I have attempted because with a cake you need so many things to go right; flavor, texture, rise. I am happy to report that this was indeed a mighty fine cake.

A What Cake?

When the challenge first went out the recipe offered was for a Wacky Cake. Huh? What in the world is that all about? Well the origins are drawn from the Depression when ingredients like eggs, butter and milk were hard to come by and/or very expensive but people still wanted to bake sweets. After paying just short of $10 for a pound of organic unsalted butter at the grocery store the other day I think I understand how some of these recipes came about.

I am telling you, if someone put a slice of this in front of me I would never have guessed it was vegan. You do not notice the lack of the traditional cake ingredients.

Layer Cake or Sheet Cake

The recipe allows for one 9 x13 or 2, 9″ rounds. As I chose to make a layer cake I needed something for in between the layers. This is where I improvised and chose to use some jam. I had some of my homemade peach blackberry jam on hand but any flavor that complements chocolate would work. Think strawberry, blueberry, cherry …

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Vegan Chocolate Cake with Jam Filling

(Wacky Cake from the Depression sourced by Laura from Little House Big Alaska)

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups cane sugar
• 6 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup vegetable shortening or coconut oil
• 2 cups water
• 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
• 1 TBSP instant coffee
• 1 cup jam
• powdered sugar for dusting

• pre-heat oven to 350˚

• grease pans and line with parchment (2 8″ layer cake pans)

• sift the dry ingredients together into a large mixing bowl
• warm the shortening, vinegar and water together
• once the shortening has melted pour the liquids in with the dry ingredients and stir to combine
• pour in pans and bake 22-25 minutes 
• Cool on wire rack for about 10 minutes and carefully remove cakes from pans to cool completely

• When the layers are cool place the first layer top side down on a plate. Spread the jam evenly over the top coming just to the edge.

• Place the second layer top side down on the first. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar just before serving

How Was the Vegan Chocolate Cake with Jam Filling?

You can forever serve me this cake anytime you want to have chocolate cake and I would be a happy woman. It is that good. And trust me, I surprise myself in writing that. It is moist, rich and full of flavor.

I am rather shocked that a cake without butter, eggs, milk and chocolate can put forth such a rich profile but it does. The cocoa really packs a punch in this recipe.

Now I did cheat when I had a piece with my husband to celebrate his birthday. I had made him a Key Lime Pie as that is his preferred treat and I had made whipped cream to serve with it so I had a bit of that on my vegan cake which immediately make it not so vegan any more. BUT one can make vegan whipped cream with coconut milk if one so desires. I have not done it so I cannot speak to how it tastes (coconutty I would expect) or the process but there are recipes all over the web.)

This is one moist, delicious, chocolately cake. The jam in the center is just what the cake needs for a little something to complement all of that chocolate.

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Jam Filling

Print Recipe

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a rich chocolate cake that is vegan

• Author: Depression Era Recipe
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 10 – 12 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: baking
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups cane sugar
• 6 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 cups water
• 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
• 1 TBSP instant coffee
• 1 cup jam
• powdered sugar for dusting

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Instructions

• pre-heat oven to 350˚
• grease pans and line with parchment (2 8″ layer cake pans)
• sift the dry ingredients together into a large mixing bowl
• warm the shortening, vinegar and water together
• once the shortening has melted pour the liquids in with the dry ingredients and stir to combine
• pour in pans and bake 22-25 minutes
• Cool on wire rack for about 10 minutes and carefully remove cakes from pans to cool completely
• When the layers are cool place the first layer top side down on a plate. Spread the jam evenly over the top coming just to the edge.
• Place the second layer top side down on the first. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar just before serving

Notes

You can also bake this in a 9×13 pan. Be sure to grease and flour the pan before baking.

Bake the cake for 30 – 35 minutes

Keywords: vegan, vegan cake, vegan chocolate cake, chocolate cake