Decadent, delicious, and healthy (vegan!) chocolate cake

This recipe was originally inspired by a chocolate-cherry cake by the wonderful blog Cookie + Kate. Add the fact that I was too lazy to go to the grocery store + wanted to use ingredients I already had and...voila! Necessity is the mother of invention, right? And the mother of this AMAZING cake.  It gets its depth and richness from the coffee and it sticks together from the chia 'egg' (created by mixing chia seeds and water, and letting 'em sit for about 15 mins).  

What I love about this cake the most, though, is your ability to use your creative genius to top said luscious dessert.  The first time I made it, I used raspberry jelly and nutella to top. The second time I used a blueberry ginger jam and fresh blueberries (as pictured above). I see a peanut butter and pomegranate jelly cake in my very near future. 

So get creative, get baking, and let me know how it goes! 

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour (or oat flour to make this cake gluten free)

• 1/3 cup cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 TBSP chia mixed with 1/4 cup water for 15 minutes (to create a chia 'egg' binding) 

• Scant 3/4 cup raw (turbinado) sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil or good quality vegetable oil

• 1 cup coffee (room temp or cold) - in a pinch you could use cold water but coffee gives a wonderful depth of flavor here. 

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks (optional)

• 3(ish) TBSP jam, jelly, or other delicious spread to 'frost' the cake with

Directions: 

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
2. Line the bottom of your pan with parchment paper. I have a 9-inch springform pan which made removing cake-from-pan super easy
3. Whisk together the flour, cacao, baking soda, sugar, and salt directly into the parchment-lined cake pan 
4. In a measuring cup, the measure and mix oil, coffee, and vanilla
5. pour liquid ingredients into the baking pan and mix bater with a small whisk or a fork (being extra careful around the edges as the dry ingredients can hide there) 
6. Add the chia and water 'egg' and gently mix
7. Add the 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar and stir quickly. You'll likely see pale streaks in the batter as the vinegar reacts with the baking soda (science!!!). Gently stir just until the vinegar is evenly mixed into the batter.
8. If using chocolate chips or (as I usually do) the extra chopped remnants of a half-eaten bar of dark chocolate, simply sprinkle on top
9. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted (in the center) comes out clean. 
10. Set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes (if you can stand it!). And frost with jam, jelly, or nut-butter of choice. Enjoy!