Bake It ‘Til You Make It: Chocolate And Rosemary Cake That Makes You Look Inventive

Making cakes for children can often mean inhaling the same three basic flavors yourself: chocolate, vanilla, and yellow. In general, most young kids aren’t too keen on cake flavors that delineate from that trilogy which can make your dessert options pretty boring. Chocolate and yellow cakes are simple and delicious if made properly but fairly predictable as far as cakes go. So if you’re looking for something a little different to serve to guests this holiday season, I recommend chocolate and rosemary.

The kids may be turned off by the particles of green baked between the chocolate, but the in-laws will no doubt be impressed. I developed this recipe after coming upon a similar one for an olive oil cake in an issue of Whole Living not too far back. While I’m a big proponent of olive oil in just about anything, the notion of an olive oil cake threw me.  I changed some of the ingredients and of course made it vegan to suit my dietary needs, but the outstanding combination of rosemary and chocolate remains. Even if you’re not a baker per say, this simple recipe makes even baking newbies look impressive given the uncommon pairing of flavors.

My version is quite light so it can work well paired with coffee, or as an after-dinner dessert. This recipe serves about eight people assuming that they don’t get too greedy.

You’ll need all of the following:

2 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour

3/4 cup Sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

3/4 teaspoon Salt

3 eggs equivalent of Egg Replacer (any brand)

1 cup of Olive Oil

3/4 cup Soy Milk

1 1/2 Tablespoon fresh Rosemary, finely chopped

5 oz. bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao) cut into 1/2 inch pieces

8 inch by 8 inch pan

Make sure your rack is in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Oil pan with olive oil.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

In another bowl prepare egg replacer. Add olive oil, soy milk, and rosemary. Whisk. Add dry ingredients slowly and stir. Add chocolate.

Pour batter into pan and spread evening throughout. Make sure to smooth the top.

Bake for about 40 minutes until the top is golden brown. Poke in middle to make sure the cake is thoroughly baked before removing.

I recommend serving warm immediately, but the cake can also be served cool. It doesn’t keep terribly long, so I suggest consuming all of it within a day of baking – which shouldn’t be all that difficult.

(photo: Shutterstock)

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