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Mar 1

Vegan Coconut Cake


Can I be honest? Up until recently, I’ve had negative connotations towards desserts that claim to be vegan (or gluten free). I know it’s narrow-minded but it was difficult to wrap my mind around a cake void of eggs (or cream cheese frosting! Blasphemy!) Having a few good friends who’ve recently switched to veganism for various reasons has opened my eyes to a whole new world.

I originally tried a piece of this cake* in Montreal and had nobody told me it was vegan I would have been none the wiser. The results were moist and flavourful and it took virtually all of my willpower to not devour it entirely in one sitting. In celebration of a friend’s birthday this past weekend, I quickly relished in the opportunity to recreate it. It was a huge hit and, much to my dismay, we were left with one measly piece for me to enjoy the next day. (Click read more at the bottom of the post for the recipe)

*cute story: my friends boyfriend made her this cake as a surprise on Valentines day. The original recipe called for cocoa in both the batter and the glaze. He sweetly mistook cocoa for coconut and made the switch without realizing. The results were so delicious that I decided to officially alter the recipe and it will hereby be referred to as a coconut cake. I love happy accidents.
::what you’ll need::
(for the cake)
1.5 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold water
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

(for the glaze)
1 cup confectionary sugar
1/2 cup coconut
6 tablespoons water
a few strawberries (to decorate)

::what you’ll do::
.Preheat your oven to 350 F
.Line the bottom of 10″ square cake pan with parchment paper (cut to size), and coat sides with cooking spray
.Combine all of the cake ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until smooth
.Pour batter into pan and bake 25-30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean
.Let cool in pan for 10 minutes
.Remove from pan and cool completely
.Once cooled, whisk together glaze ingredients
.Dip strawberries in glaze and set aside
.Pour remaining glaze on top of cake and set aside to dry
.Decorate with glazed strawberries (whole or cut) as you see fit

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