Daybreak Chocolate Cake for Food Blogger Bake Sale

I’ll be on Daybreak (KATV Ch. 7 in Little Rock) tomorrow morning talking about the Arkansas Food Blogger Bake Sale. So exciting! (EDIT: It was great! Here’s the link to the segment.)

If, by chance, it’s that appearance that brought you here, then I guess I didn’t burn the place down or splatter chocolate all over the hosts. And maybe you’d like the recipe for that eggless chocolate cake from the Cooking Matters workbook. If so, please find it below, with the directions re-written a bit for my own blog voice purposes.

This Saturday is the Arkansas Food Blogger Bake Sale, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., to be held at 7th and Main in North Little Rock, alongside the Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmers’ Market. Every dime you spend will go to the No Kid Hungry campaign of Share Our Strength, which funds a bunch of really awesome, effective programs to fight childhood hunger. One of those programs is Cooking Matters, of which I am a chef instructor. (There’s also a nutritionist at each class, and we tag-team hunger into the corner, yo.)

Bloggers all over the country are participating in the Food Blogger Bake Sale on the same day! This is kind of exciting because of the whole synergy thing, but also because we’re a bit competitive. In the two years we’ve already done this sale in Arkansas, we’ve beat several larger markets. Not that it matters. But it does. You know what I mean.

If you want to learn more about No Kid Hungry programs in Arkansas, check out the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, which administers all NKH programs in our state. If you’d like to host a Cooking Matters six-week course, or even find one near you to attend, they’ll be able to help. Same with their breakfast, after school and summer feeding programs.

So come see us! Buy lots of goodies, and let us keep the change. It all goes to help fight childhood hunger.

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Chocolate Cake (From Cooking Matters workbook)
Serves 16, 1 2-inch square piece per serving
Prep time: 15 minutes • Cook time: 30-40 minutes

• 1 1/2 c. AP flour
• 3/4 c. dark brown sugar
• 1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 c. canola oil
• 1 T. vinegar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. cold water
• Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Use a whisk to break up the sugar and blend thoroughly.

In a medium bowl, mix the applesauce, oil, vinegar, vanilla and water. (I used an ice cube in my tepid tap water to chill it a bit; just make sure it’s exactly a cup after the ice melts or you take it out.)

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, and do not overmix. Don’t freak out if the batter seems thin.

Bake in the middle of your oven until the center is firm and a toothpick comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes.

If you like, garnish with powdered sugar, vanilla yogurt and/or fresh fruit.

NOTE: This recipe is useful for vegans, those watching cholesterol, or if you just simply ran out of eggs and want some cake. The oil is also reduced and replaced with the applesauce. Many of our WWII-era family members may have made something similar when eggs and oil were rationed. The vinegar acts as a catalyst for volume, making up for the lost protein of the egg.