Oh my heart. Can someone please just make today stop? I have just accidentally deleted most of what I just wrote for today's post. Save me, someone save meeeeeeee. Shall I begin again?
Listen, today is one of those days where things REALLY did not go as planned. Not one bit. Our prompt today is make food using our favorite color. I had something planned that although not my favorite color, it's one of the best colors. But.... something special I ordered quite a while ago that was promised to be here by today.... did not arrive. I sent 2 queries to the company, and thanks to an international issue, neither of us could track it. I waited til the very last moment when our letter carrier came today waiting with fingers crossed it would be in my mailbox. Big ol' nope. So, sure I had a backup plan, but that was more experimental, and not really as colorful.
Today I made a Mahogany cake for you. And, it was supposed to be a video. You don't see a video here, do you? At the last minute the other happy vegan pronounced himself as "I'm sick" and slunk off to bed. Literally this occurred as I was standing in the kitchen with the cake on the stand ready for me to slice it.
Men.
Next was an effort of mine to video myself with the cake.
Fail.
Here's the deal. I made a Mahogany cake and took a picture. At present there is a raw kale salad to the left of me, and a slice of this vintage cake with cream cheese frosting to the right of me. Decisions, decisions.
Why Mahogany cake?
It's a color that I just didn't think many people (any people?) would use today. My first choice with the ingredient that didn't arrive was also something I still don't think many will be inspired by. I'm not tipping that hat because I will use it another time. This really does have a reddish hue, it's undeniable. So in the ROY G BIV of color, we've got MOY G BIV today which will have to do.
What is Mahogany cake? Best as I can tell it's a vintage cake recipe using coffee and cocoa. It's not a chocolate cake, it's more a hint of cocoa. And, it has a rust colored hue.... like a wannabe red velvet. But this color occurs naturally since we use pure cocoa, of the non-akaline variety. The cocoa reacts I think with the vinegar and baking soda to give it a reddish tint... something to do with the coffe too, perhaps? I poured through different cake recipes yesterday just in case my special super color ingredient did not arrive, really I did. I read up on the cake history too, then I chose 2 different recipes and went to work on adjusting portions as well as veganizing. This is hilarious in it's own right as you'll scroll below and see one cake picture, not 2. Well, instead of a cake comparison, cake #2 is perfect for tomorrow's topic.... food fails. But let's not get ahead of things.
Here's a picture of my Mahogany cake:
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| Vegan Mahogany Cake. As the fork says... "eat cake" |
The cake itself is incredible moist (sorry, we all hate that word but I mean damn this cake is moist!) It barely tastes like chocolate, it's actually a flavor unto itself, a flavor cake I've never had before a little difficult to describe. It's a bit sour, enhanced by the cream cheese frosting which has a pronounced tartness as well.
Here's the recipe, if you dare:
2 cups flour triple sifted with
1/3 cup cocoa powder and
1 tsp baking soda
1.5 cups brown sugar (I used dark)
1/2 cup vegan butter (Miyokos is palm oil free, vegan and made by a small business... Miyoko!)
9T unsalted aquafaba
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup black coffee, cooled
1 Tablespoon vinegar (use white or AC)
.5 tsp sea salt
As noted above, triple sift those ingredients. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar til fluffy. Add 3T aquafaba, whip, add another 3, whip, add last 3 w/vanilla whip.
Fold in 1/2 flour mixture gently (or use low speed on your mixer), add in 1/2 coffee, mix gently, add the other half of flour mixture, fold in, add rest of coffee and all vinegar, fold in.
Pour into 8" pans that you prepared with either vegan veg spray or vegan butter and cocoa to dust.
Bake in 350 preheated oven 20 minutes (yes, 20... at least check at 20, mine was done 20 minutes on the bean!) Remove cake when toothpick inserted comes out clean. After 10 minutes, remove from pans, cool on racks. Frost when completely cool. By the way, use a 325 oven if using convection.
Here's the cream cheese icing recipe I used. It was not the best, a little too much sugar, but I did use Miyoko's cream cheese and damn it had a beautiful tart flavor itself which likely saved the frosting from being ruined with so much sugar:
1/2 cup vegan butter (Miyoko's if you have it)
1 8oz container vegan cream cheese (Miyoko's to the rescue!)
2t vanilla extract
4 cups confectionery sugar, SIFTED
Whip vegan butter, add cream cheese but do not overmix... it can get grainy if overbeaten, add the vanilla, and the confectionery sugar 1 cup at a time, whip til fluffy, careful not to overwhip.
Frost, eat.
Today reminded me to go with the flow. No special ingredient I was counting on, no 2 cake comparison, no video, and the final insult... my own deletion of half my post tonight. I'm tired, very tired. There's no doubt I'm a little on the crabby side, but I'll tell you what's at the root of my bothers. "They" cut down the papaya tree that was growing on the side of US1. She was growing where she didn't belong, and quite a few of us were watching her. She was a she we know because she had teensy papayas on her stem. She was next to a fence and the highway, grown all on her own we suspect from someone out here on Long Beach where I am that had their garden decimated and washed away. All sorts of things are growing where they normally do not, such as a papaya tree growing on the highway. I guess the County decided she had to go, I mean why have something that so many people actually enjoyed and were paying attention to, right? So, now she's gone. She was my planned video, yes a field trip was in the works for my last day of Vegan Month of Food instead of a kitchen tour. l didn't even get to say goodbye.....
Well, at least we always have cake. If you give this one a try, let me know what you think. I'm not really sure how I feel about this one, but it's a super fluffy cake no denying that. See for yourself, nothing ventured nothing gained.
Ooo..... I'm excited ....tomorrow's post will be a snap, LOL.
Vegan love, Mahogany style.
xo
PS: And, because I cannot leave a color post without the real deal.... here's a rainbow from yesterday as I dodged the raindrops.
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| As always... No rain, no rainbows |
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