As much as I love my home city of Portland, I’ve pretty much always got a chronic case of wanderlust, and so there’s nothing like a couple days out of town to shake off the dust of routine and get me feeling fresh and happy to be home again once the trip is through. This past week, DG and I hightailed it up to Seattle, where we had the chance to reconnect with some great friends, as well as take advantage of some of the city’s excellent eats and drinks. (I’ve spotlighted some of our best finds at the bottom of this post. Check it out!)
We had the great good fortune of being able to be temporary lords of the manor (and cat-sitters) at a friend’s house up there while they were in the land down under. The chief benefit of this arrangement, aside from the palatial setting (compared to our one-bedroom apartment), was that we were able to entertain a big group of friends and host a pot luck dinner – I didn’t feel quite up to the task of cooking for everyone in someone else’s kitchen, but wanted to get everyone together for good times on our own turf. Luckily, with this crowd, I knew would be a stomach-pleasing endeavor, and indeed it was.
Ask a few food lovers to bring a little something to eat, and you end up with a true feast. We had a smorgasbord of breads, cheeses, olives, and exotic charcuterie set out for people to nibble while they awaited the roast goat (my first taste of goat! delicious!), Greek macaroni and cheese, ceviche, and various garden salads. My contribution to the effort was a turnip green tart – a successful first attempt for me – and an easy chocolate cake for dessert.
As I mentioned before, I was a little tentative about cooking in someone else’s kitchen, especially when I knew I would want to be spending some quality time with my friends that I don’t see often enough, so I had to pick something simple. This chocolate cake is among the easiest and most satisfying desserts I’ve ever made, and it’s always a hit. And here’s the big reveal: it’s actually vegan. That’s right, no eggs, no dairy, nada. I’m as skeptical – no, probably more – as the next omnivore of desserts made without butter or eggs, but this cake satisfies and then some. There are three easy steps: sift together all the dry ingredients, mix up all the wet ingredients (except the vinegar), blend these two together, add the vinegar, pop in oven. The key is making sure you minimize the time between adding the vinegar and getting the cake into the oven, because you want to make the most of the baking soda-vinegar reaction (remember your middle school volcano?).
I like to serve it slightly cooled with just a dusting of powdered sugar. To sprinkle daintily, take a mesh strainer or sieve (even a tea strainer works fine), scoop a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar into it, and gently tap the edge as you move it over a slice of cake. Très élégant.
Deep Chocolate Vegan Cake
From Moosewood Restaurant New Classics (Moosewood Collective)
1 1/2 c white flour
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 c chilled brewed coffee (or water)
2 t vanilla extract
2 T apple cider vinegar
Powdered sugar (for dusting)
Equipment:
an 8-inch square or round baking pan
a sifter
2 bowls (one small, one medium)
Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously oil an 8-inch square or round baking pan and dust with a little sifted cocoa, or line the bottom with parchment paper. (If you choose the latter, the easiest way to do this is to place the pan onto a piece of parchment, trace around it with a pencil, then cut out the shape just slightly inside the lines so that it fits the bottom of the pan.)
In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and sugar. In another bowl, combine the oil, coffee (or water), and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well until blended and smooth.
Add the vinegar to the mix and stir briefly. The baking soda will react and leave pale swirls in the batter. Quickly, pour the batter into your prepared pan.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick (or skewer or knife…something skinny) inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Cool in the pan on a rack. Once cool, either serve straight from the pan, or transfer the whole cake to a plate by loosening the cake from the pan edges with a knife, inverting a plate onto the top of the pan, then flipping the whole operation over.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar or, if you have a recipe for a glaze you love, ice the cake.
Ways to Get Fancy
- Warm a half cup of your favorite flavor of jam (marmalade would be super) with a dash of water to thin it in a small pan over low heat, and make a little puddle of this sauce on each plate, then place a slice of cake on or next to the puddle.
- Place a doily or your kid’s cut-out snowflake on top of the cake, sprinkle powdered sugar over the whole shebang, carefully remove paper thingy. Pretty.
- Drizzle with warm caramel sauce.
- Did somebody say ice cream? Yes, please.
- Whipped cream and sliced fruit never let you down.
SPOTLIGHT ON SEATTLE:
Here are some culinary highlights of our trip!
* A stop at Bakery Nouveau in West Seattle, where the pain au chocolat sent me back to my days in Paris and the macarons were the perfect blend of crust and smooth flavor in between.
* New Orleans-themed breakfast at Coastal Kitchen, featuring steamy beignets dusted with powdered sugar and balanced with a bold cup of chicory coffee, followed gluttonously by blow-your-mind good corned beef hash. The accompanying biscuit was like a buttery cloud.
It was so good I went into attack mode before remembering to take a photo. Sorry.
