Valentine's Day

The best gift I have ever given my husband is saving his health and maybe his life by learning how to cook vegan meals without added fat.We are so careful about our diet that we decide to splurge from time to time on something like this cake. And what better time than on Valentine's Day? The recipe for this fabulous vegan chocolate cake is from "Entertaining for a Veggie Planet" by Didi Emmons.

It is not fat-free, but it is vegan with a base of grated zucchini and soy milk. The cake tastes way better than it looks since a cake without frosting has such a plain appearance. When I put the pieces of cake on serving plates, I make fans out of fresh strawberries and put them on the plate on each side of the cake. I can't show you that though because I really need to use this cake for a party tomorrow! The cake keeps several days in the refrigerator and for a few weeks in the freezer. Well, it would keep if it lasted that long. For unexpected guests, I have even microwaved a frozen quarter section of a cake for 30 seconds 2 or 3 times until it is partially thawed. By the time the coffee is ready so is the cake.

The changes I have made in the recipe are that I use whole wheat pastry flour, unsweetened soy milk, and instead of cocoa powder I use Ghirardelli Sweetened Ground Chocolate and Cocoa. I have also found that the cake takes 15 to 20 minutes longer to bake in a 9-inch pan and twice as long as the instructions say for cool enough to get it out of the pan without having it fall apart.

If you are not familiar with melting chocolate, check out the instructions provided by Baker's Chocolate before you begin the process.

If the link above doesn't work for you, do a Google search using Emmons+ "vegan chocolate cake"+ recipe and look for a link at books.google.com.

Thanks to Susan V for the idea to participate in "Vegetable Love" for Valentine's Day. I am sure that this cake has too much fat for her criteria. Be sure to check out her outstanding fat-free vegan blog. On Tuesday she plans to post a round-up of all of the recipes people who participate in "Vegetable Love" send to her, so you should find many ideas for what to serve along with the cake.