I'm an allergy mom but I'm not a fan of eating cardboard cookies or tart tasting chemical cupcakes. I'll give it to you straight: There are a lot of BAD allergy sensitive recipes out there claiming to be "delicious", when in reality, they resemble chalk, mixed with bug spray, with the texture of grainy stale bread. Yum! (Sarcasm.) Hey, I get it! Baking is hard when you have to substitute EVERYTHING! But, I am a baker by hobby and an allergy mom who doesn't give up. I am convinced that it IS possible to bake tasty, allergy-safe treats. Since I must bring a safe cupcake for my child to EVERY social gathering, I am starting with cake recipes. Therefore, I have been on a mission to unearth the allergy mom's holy grail: the secret to making actually good tasting, correctly textured cake.
I have come close before, but I am proud to announce that I HAVE FINALLY FOUND IT! I cannot take any credit for it. Another wonderful allergy mom posted it in one of my food allergy Facebook groups. It is unlike the countless other horrible recipes I have tried, that have ranged from slightly disappointing to straight up rocks. This cake actually tastes like cake, feels like cake, and by golly, could absolutely pass for a non -food-allergy-sensitive cake. It is very very good. And, I am, let's call it, "picky". (My husband calls it something else, occasionally.) There are only a few simple ingredients, nothing weird; most things you will probably already have in your home. It is egg, dairy, and nut free.
I made this cake for my Grandfather's 93rd (!) birthday recently, and it was awesome, and super easy! I loved that I could make it from scratch, and the taste, texture, and size were right on par with any other "regular" cake that I've made. My family really liked it, even my extremely picky daughter. (Yes, it's my Karma!) So, I'm sharing this with you here! Enjoy!
Egg Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free Chocolate Cake (The Holy Grail)
3 Cups of Flour
2 Cups of Sugar
2 teaspoons of Baking Soda
1 teaspoon of Salt
6 Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder
1/3 Cup of Oil
2 teaspoons of Vanilla
2 Cups of Water
2 Tablespoons of Vinegar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients first. Then add oil and vanilla to dry ingredients, mix briefly. Add water and vinegar last and blend all together. Put in a greased and floured 9X13 baking pan (not glass) for 30 min or until toothpick comes out clean. (My cake finished in exactly 30min, so you might want to check yours a little earlier)
Frosting: I used 1 can of Wholesome Chocolate frosting, but whipped it again myself with a mixer, and added a pinch of sea salt, and 2 tablespoons of coconut culinary cream, and 1 Tablespoon of Cocoa Powder.
