Another veggieversary!
By Monica on February 12th, 2008
It seems I’m in good company this month, there are lots of veggieversaries going on! February marks the two year milepost for Ray & I. One of the questions my omni friends always ask is if I miss eating meat - and the answer is always a resounding “NO!” On the contrary, adopting a vegan lifestyle is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and every day I enjoy it more and more. I can hardly believe two years have flown by!
To celebrate this year, I told Ray I’d whip up any meal he’d like. Without a second of hesitation it was “a German chocolate cake.” And then I huffed and pouted, because I don’t like chocolate, and I don’t like cake. The nerve of him! But I agreed and set out to find the most elaborate, fancy German chocolate cake recipe I could find. It came from a cookbook called The Artful Vegan, but the recipe is posted online so I included it below in case you feel a sudden hankering for chocolate cake now. I present to you, Vegan German Chocolate Cake with Macadamia-Hazelnut Filling and Date Caramel:
After eating far too much cake, we sat down to another feast - Seitan Pot Roast from Vegan Vittles. (Yes, I said ‘after’ we ate the cake, it’s our veggieversary, we can eat cake before dinner if we want!) Have I mentioned how much I love this cookbook? This meal now ranks in my Top 5 favorite vegan meals ever.
And lastly, my present to myself arrived: 25 pounds of Bob’s Red Mill vital wheat gluten! That’s right, I ordered a giant sack of it, plus a big ole’ box of nutritional yeast, some pumpernickel meal and other assorted goodies that I cannot get in the sticks. The only store in my area that carries vital wheat gluten charges $1.79 for 6 ounces and I don’t care for that brand. Ordered direct from Bob, it’s only $1.34 per pound! So I spent all weekend putting it into glass jars for storage, and of course, making seitan!
Vegan German Chocolate Cake with Macadamia-Hazelnut Filling and Date Caramel
Chocolate Cake
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon egg replacer
1 1/2 teaspoons ground espresso beans
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons brewed coffee
4 oz. silken tofu
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons coffee extract or coffee liqueur
Macadamia Hazelnut Filling
3/4 cup macadamia nuts, plus more for garnish
3/4 cup blanched hazelnuts
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup rice milk
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, plus more for garnish
3/4 Sucanat (I used turbinado sugar)
pinch of agar powder
1 tablespoon arrowroot
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Date Caramel
4 Deglet Noor dates, or 2 Medjool dates, pitted
1 cup Florida Crystals* (again, I used turbinado sugar)
1 cup water
1/4 cup agave nectar
To make the Chocolate Cake:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Oil a 9 by 13 inch pan, and line it with parchment paper.
Sift the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, egg replacer, and espresso in a bowl.
In a blender, combine coffee, tofu, maple syrup, canola oil, vanilla, vinegar and coffee extract. Blend until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth (some small lumps are OK). Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and a small knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pan.
To make the Filling:
Decrease the oven temperature to 325° F. Spread the macadamia nuts and hazelnuts on a baking sheet, and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until light brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Pulse the nuts in a food processor fitted with the metal blade 4 or 5 times, until coarsely ground. Place the nuts, soy milk, rice milk, coconut, Sucanat, agar, arrowroot and vanilla in a saucepan, and whisk until smooth. Heat the mixture over medium heat, whisking continuously, for 7-10 minutes, until very hot but not boiling. Pour into a shallow pan to cool.
To Make the Caramel:
Soak the dates in hot tap water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, place the Florida Crystals and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Decrease heat to low and simmer for 12-15 minutes, until the bubbles in the syrup are thick. Remove the dates from the water and transfer to a blender. Add the agave and Florida Crystal syrup. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend for 1 minute, or until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. (Store at room temperature for up to 1 month. If the caramel crystallizes, cook over low heat until the crystals dissolve.
To Assemble and Serve:
(I used two round 8″ cake pans instead of the original author’s assembly plans, made a 2 tiered cake, cut it in half, and had an impressive 4 layer half-a-cake!)
Using a 2 1/2 inch round biscuit cutter or glass tumbler, cut 12 rounds out of the chocolate cake. Place 1 round on a dessert plate. Using a small ice cream scoop, top with 2 tablespoons of the filling. Repeat, creating 2 more layers of cake and filling. Set a few whole macadamia nuts on top and sprinkle with shredded coconut. Dot the plate with caramel sauce.
lori- the pleasantly plump vegan says:
yea! Happy Anniversary! and holy hot damn does that cake look AMAZING. so does that seitan for that matter. i need to check out that cookbook. i love yr presentation with the little gravy bowl. classic!
that’s a lot of vital wheat gluten. good investment though : )
February 12th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Vegyogini says:
Happy anniversary! That cake recipe looks so involved…could there be any more ingredients to it?
It looks like you had a beautiful and delicious celebratory meal.
February 12th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Monica says:
Vegyogini, I don’t think it is physically possible to have anymore ingredients! As it is, I think that cake cost me about $20 to make. Holy cow was it good though…
February 12th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Romina says:
Happy Veggieversary!!
It does seem like many people seem to be celebrating theirs. Could it have been that many people made new years resolutions and finally made the commitment in February? Who knows! But it’s great to hear that you’ve had 2 years go by. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made too. Just the thought of eating meat is revolting. I guess only veg*ns can truly understand that.
Your cake looks PERFECT to celebrate such a milestone!! Wow. It looks so yummy.
WOW!! That is the biggest bag of gluten I’ve ever seen. Who knew it come in 25 pounds?
February 12th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Sandy Winz says:
Hi! I have orderd from this place twice and am very pleased to share. They have great organic agave. Here is a link
http://www.wholeandnatural.com/servlet/the-Sugars-cln-Agave/Categories
Enjoy!!!
p.s. I used a code try if it works for you bldc08
February 12th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Chocolatecoveredvegan says:
Woah, that cake looks amazing! No, it looks MORE than amazing! I didn’t get any cake on my veg*aniversary… can you send me some? Pretty please with a cherry and Soyatoo on top? :o)
It looks like you are up to your ears in gluten! I hope you really, really like seitan!
February 12th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Suzie says:
Happy Veggieversary! Yeah, it really does seem like everyone is having there’s all at the same time. I can’t remember what time of year it was when I turned vegan. I just remember I was 19 when I made the decision, and in a candy shop where I worked, believe it or not!
The cake looks fantastic. How could you not love chocolate or cake?
And it’s okay to eat dessert before a meal, actually, as long as you don’t fill yourself up on it. If you eat whole grains and leafy greens after the desserts, you will digest all the sugar and flour quicker and easier. 
February 13th, 2008 at 9:11 am
melody says:
Oh My God… that cake looks and sounds amazing.. wow.
Happy anniversary!
I buy my vital wheat gluten in bulk as well as nooch.. it’s so cool to get such great deals and less packaging.
February 13th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Liz² says:
you could have posted a solid gold, umm.. sack of gold in place of that sack of gluten flour and my reaction would be the same…
“treasure!!!” :O
that cake is a miracle of cake, too.
February 13th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Mel says:
Happy Veggieversary! Mine is this coming Sunday - I think it is 5 years now - have to ask my husband lol!
February 13th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
bazu says:
Happy veggiversary to you guys!! You’ve reminded me that February is my veg-versary-month too…
Also, BEST. GERMAN. CHOCOLATE. CAKE. EVER !!!!!
February 14th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Chocolatecoveredvegan says:
I’m still waiting for a piece of your cake…
;o)
February 14th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Tori says:
I don’t know my exact, but the vegetarian one is in january and the vegan one is in march. Next year I am going to have to celebrate what started me off and what made me a better person. With a birthday in between.
I can’t believe that you don’t like chocolate or cake. They are some of the greatest creations!! Your german cake looks amazing! So so so moist. I am not a big fan of frosting, but the filling stuff is great! I really like the more natural “healthy” kind of things (nuts, dates instead of powdered sugar and EB)
February 15th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
VeggieGirl says:
ooh, what a WONDERFUL anniversary to be celebrating!! congratulations on 2 years as a veg-head!! :0) my very first veganniversary be will in March - I’m quite excited!!
okay, could that cake look any more decadent, luscious, and amazing?? I think not. bravo!
February 15th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Trace says:
I am so envious of your ginormous sack of VWG. The seitan I could make with that!!!
February 15th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Monika K says:
Holy moly that cake looks unbelievable! Like I seriously can’t stop thinking about it. Maybe I should make the picture my screensaver… (-: Happy Veggiversary!
February 17th, 2008 at 2:56 am
Kristine says:
HI!
So, I’m blind, or totally out of the loop. But only today have I come accross your blog!
I just wanted to let you know that the food, ALL looks delicious, and I love your witty commentary. I was laughing so hard at the WalMart photos that I pretty much peed in my pants. (well, not REALLY, but I felt the need to really stress how funny I thought it was)
Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks, and I can’t wait to see what you are cooking up next!
February 17th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
vegetalion says:
oh my god. I want to come over to your house for my veganiversary ^_^
February 18th, 2008 at 9:42 am
sheree says:
Thanks for the tip for ordering from Bob’s redmill I am doing that right now. I also made the roast a couple nights ago and it was fantastic. Now I am ordering the book too. Thank you so much!!
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:42 pm
sheree says:
I made the roast this week and it was great. I linked you on my post. I love how your roast looks! OH, and I ordered my vital wheat gluten. Yeah! I so appreciate the tip!
February 25th, 2008 at 6:46 am