NY! NY!

LATELY i have been really wanting to take a trip to new york city again, i think because my friends andy & victoria used to live there, and they have been going lately while i catsit for them. it could also have something to do with me wanting badly to visit BabycakesNYC bakery, and since now they have doughnuts....this summer i had a huge craving for donuts (which I never do) and i finally got one in july, vegan donut holes at a late night vegan dessert party.
back to NY, I visited there in march of 2003, so it's been awhile, i remember eating reese cups constantly and eating at Ollie's, best chinese restaurant! getting an awesome chocolate milkshake at Andrew's, and going to the Bronx Zoo with my sister.

*cupcakes from flickr=togflx. mini lavender tiered cake from sweetiepie in NY. black & white photograph by ellen von unwerth.

here's the cake recipe i am baking tonight!

Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe

By Melissa Ray Davis

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup natural, vegan unbleached sugar*
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (i used 1 tsp. of really fine cinnamon)
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (i used almond instead)
  
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 5 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup cold water
• optional: 2/3 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips (i didn't use any)
  

* Make sure that the sugar you use is unbleached sugar or sugar that is bleached in a vegan bleaching process (bleached sugar is often made in a process that uses animal bones).

Preparation instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. It is important to mix the ingredients in the right order to get the correct texture. First, combine the unbleached all-purpose flour, unbleached sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl, and mix well (a fork seems to work best for this).

3. When the dry ingredients are well mixed, stir in the vanilla, distilled white vinegar, and canola oil.

4. Pour the water over the mixture and stir well.

5. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (preferably insulated) with vegetable shortening or margarine and scoop the batter into it. Spread it to make sure it is level and fills in the corners.

6. If you want to add the vegan chocolate chips, sprinkle them over the top of the batter, so that they are resting evenly across the top.

7. Bake for 40 minutes and check if it is done (it may need a little more time). Baking times will vary. It is ready when it no longer wiggles when you shake it and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for at least an hour, then you can either serve it straight from the pan or carefully loosen it from the sides and upend it onto a serving tray and apply vegan frosting (vegan chocolate frosting recipe can be found here). Enjoy!

Store in the refridgerator in an air-tight container.

~having a little movie party later tonight with Mandy, Taylor, and TyLea. mermaid, doll, pirate, faery party (dressing up) and watching "the fearless vampire killers" and playing some new games. eating cake and ice cream!
working on my cakewalk vegan recipe zine #3 today! going to start baking cakes and naming them, big cakes like on bjorked off's blog!