GO Letter C: Chocolate Cake (VEGAN)

"Well, GO fans, there is a first time for many, many things in life, and this is the FIRST vegan cake I have ever made. Diane Lopez, of GO-On Tap ownership, asked me to make this and why not! I followed the recipe she gave me, except used GO brand oo's and balsamic. This could not be easier, faster or tastier (considering there's no butter or eggs in it). Like applesauce in a recipe, olive oil is a great moisturizer and 'good fats' addition. This rich chocolate cake proves that eggs and butter do not own the baking world. That said, I did have some issues that I need to figure out how to make better next time. While the chocolate tastes great with the GO blood orange oo , the balsamic is lost (I think the balsamic is there to add acidity to the baking soda for rising with flour). When I cut the loaf, it was more crumbly than I'd hoped. Maybe next time I add more than the 1/3 C. olive oil. The rise of the cake loaf was nice, I just don't quite love the texture/slight dryness yet. GOOD FIRST GO (pun intended) at this. Here's the recipe. 1 1/2 C. all purpose flour, 3/4 C. brown sugar, 1/4 C. cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp GO balsamic (I used vanilla-fig), 1/3 C GO oo (I used blood orange) and 1 C. water. Mix and pour into a parchment lined 5x9 loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and then remove from pan. ** I baked for the 30 minutes. Next time I make this, I'm adding cinnamon and cayenne pepper to the mix with GO roasted chili oo. Make this the year of doing new things. Honor your appetite. Play with your food.”