Raspberry Chocolate Cake (vegan)

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 3 cups cake flour (i made my own by combining spelt flour and arrowroot flour)
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached cane sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda (non-aluminum)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup organic cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup light oil
• 1/2 cup raspberry preserves
• 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
• 2 ounces unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups water (mix with the vinegar)
• 1/2 cup softened soy margarine (earth balance)
• 1/4 cup soymilk
• 3 cups vegan powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons organic vanilla
• 1/2 cup melted semisweet vegan chocolate chips (i used and dark)

Recipe

• 1 for the cake:.
• 2 preheat your oven to 350'f. grease and flour two 8" baking pans.
• 3 mix the first 5 ingredients together, then combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and mix into the dry.
• 4 i used my kitchen aid mixer to do this as it really beats the batter good. beat for 1-2 minutes until everything is blended. i found the batter to be quite watery.
• 5 pour into your prepared pans and bake on the middle rack in your oven for about 30 minutes.
• 6 use a toothpick to test the middle, if it comes out clean then the cakes are done.
• 7 allow the cakes to cool for about 10 minutes and then invert onto wire racks and cool completely.
• 8 for the butter cream:.
• 9 cream the margarine and soy milk together in a mixer bowl.
• 10 add half the powdered sugar and blend well. add the remaining ingredients and beat with the electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• 11 to assemble the cake.
• 12 once the cakes are cooled, place one of the cakes onto a serving plate and top with about 1/2 cup of your fruit preserves.
• 13 spread one side of the other cake with the butter cream frosting and put the two pieces together so the frosting and preserves are in the middle of the cake.
• 14 you might want to add fresh fruit inside, but that's up to you.
• 15 frost the top and sides of the cake and enjoy.
• 16 bon appetit!
• 17 tip: you can increase the decadence by eliminating the apple sauce and use 3/4 cup of oil, or decrease the fat by eliminating the oil all together and add an extra 1/4 cup of apple sauce. this will lighten the calories but make the cake heavier.