Vegan Chocolate Cake

As you already know I'm still eating mostly vegan, because The Great Lent hasn't ended for me yet, but you should also know that I'm a chocolate lover and I have a sweet tooth almost 23 hours/ day. That's why I came out with a decadent chocolate cake recipe the everyone should try, even if you're not vegan. I'm super serious about that ;) .

Ingredients:

• 200 g flour

• 200 g sugar

• juice and zest of 1 orange (about 120 ml)

• 2 tablespoons of tahini

• 1/2 cup sunflower seed oil

• 1 tsp of vanilla

• 1 teaspoon of baking soda

• 125 g dark chocolate finely chopped (or dark chocolate chips )

• 5-6 tablespoons of cocoa

 For the syrup

• 3/4 cup of water

• 3/4 cup of sugar

 For the ganache

• 250 g dark chocolate

• 150 g water

• 1 tablespoon of cognac

Preparation:

In a bowl add & mix  the flour, cocoa, sugar and the baking soda.

 In an other bowl beat the oil with the tahini using the mixer. While mixing add the vanilla, the zest and finally the orange juice. Add the mixture with the dry ingredients and stir.

*Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

Melt the dark chocolate and incorporate it to the cake mixture.

Oil/grease and flour a baking pan.

Pour the chocolaty cake mixture into the baking pan and bake it for about 40-50 minutes. Use a toothpick to test if it’s done. Allow it to cool down for 15 minutes.

For the syrup. In a saucepan add the sugar and the water and stir. Simmer it for 2-3 minutes and set it aside to cool down, so it isn’t too hot and neither too cold, so let it as much as you let the cake to cool down.

Pour the syrup over the cake without removing it from the baking pan and let it absorb the syrup while making the chocolate ganache. Make sure you pour it equally and every section of the cake has a bit of syrup.

 For the ganache. Heat the water and, just before it starts to boil, add in the chocolate while stirring until it melts and becomes a shiny and creamy consistency. Finally, add the cognac.

Use a plate to help you by getting the cake out of the pan and turn it upside down. It will easily come off the baking pan, because we greased & floured it before hand, so don’t shake it to much.Then pour the chocolate ganache on top and let it set in the fridge for at least an hour.

The creamy chocolate ganache goes so well with the fudginess of the cake. This was my guilty pleasure throughout the vegan month and it satisfied my sweet tooth & chocolate cravings perfectly.

ENJOY!!