Chocolate Bundt Cakes

Chocolate Bundt Cakes

Here is a once a year type of treat for those of you who like a little chocolate once in a while. It’s Christmas, right? This is Shirley’s creative answer to legalizing chocolate cake! There’s no eggs… no shortening… it’s virtually fat free… and it has prunes! So that makes this health food, right?

O that my mother was alive to see me enjoying prunes!

Just a word of caution… Don’t over bake. Fat free cakes baked too long can turn out tough. You can puree the prunes up to two weeks ahead of time and keep the puree refrigerated in a covered container. The cake keeps well at room temperature for up to 4 days and will freeze indefinitely. To defrost and reheat, wrap in foil and place in a 325° oven for 20 minutes.

• 8 ounces (1-1/3 cups) pitted prunes
• 6 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup prune juice divided
• 1 cup sifted cocoa powder
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• ½ cup granulated brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup soy milk
• 3 teaspoons egg replacer in 4 teaspoons water (mixed)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350° F. Put the prunes and 6 tablespoons prune juice in the blender. Process in short pulses to make a thick puree. Depending on the prunes you m ay have to add more juice… we ended up using a extra 6 tablespoons. (you’ll see)

Into a large mixing bowl, sift together the cocoa flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together the soy milk, prune puree, egg replacer, vanilla, and the remaining 1/3 cup prune juice. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir well to blend thoroughly.

Pour into six nonstick bundt muffin tins (or large muffin tins) and bake until firm, but springy to the touch… about 25 minutes. Let cool on a cake rack 20 minutes before removing from pan. Let cool on the rack completely before serving. I’m sure you can find some appropriate lubricant to enhance the enjoyment of this tasty treat.

I’m looking forward to making a variation of this and adding chopped nuts and dried fruit… kind of a new twist on an old theme called Christmas Cake!

December 16, 2002 CHIP CHAT