Yesterday was Hibi's 12th birthday. We had a great time miniature golfing with a few of her friends, her choice of what to do for her birthday party (which was a lot less work than an at-home party!) It was the 12th anniversary of our parenthood, and the 12th anniversary of walking into the hospital, at 2 am, after my water had broken and contractions were coming every 2 minutes or sooner, and I was certain that the baby would be born that day. So, I said to Paul, "March 4th." He looked up at me, thoughtfully, and said, "Yes, we are." I said, "No! The baby's birthday will be March 4th!"
One of Hibi's gifts from us, since she has enjoyed cooking so much lately, is a new vegan cookbook, called Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook. (I guess there's a small chain in southern California called Native Foods, which the author founded.) The author is Tanya Petrovna, and we put the book to work for us right after she got it. Hibi found a cake recipe in it she wanted for her birthday cake. It's called Elephant Chocolate Cake. ("Did you know that most people love elephants and chocolate?)
So, we made it and took it to the party, and it was a hit. It was such a rich cake, that some weren't able to finish their piece. So, apologies to Cheesefare Sunday, here's the recipe:
Elephant Chocolate Cake
1 cup unbleached flour
2/3 cup cocoa
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup sunflower or safflower oil
1 cup maple syrup
12.5 oz firm silken tofu (we didn't understand this--we just used firm tofu)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Peanut Butter Cinnamon Topping
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour a 9 inch round cake pan. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. Put oil, maple syrup, tofu, and vanilla into a blender and blend well. Fold liquid ingredients into dry ingredients along with the chocolate chips. Pour batter into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Let cake cool, then top with:
Peanut Butter Cinnamon Topping
Whisk in a bowl: 1 cup smooth peanut butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/3 cup maple syrup, and 1/2 cup water.
5 comments:
Happy Birthday Hibi!!Your cake recipe sounds so good!!!
Pres.Elizabeth, I had to laugh at Father Pauls comment about March 4.
You sound like you have fun together....
Susan
Happy Birthday, Hibi!
Wow, that is one protein-packed cake! Peanut butter *and* tofu. Bet you didn't need any other food at the party!
Back before I swore off soy, I used to use silken tofu in baking. Compared to firm tofu, it might give a smoother cake, or a denser one. But since you are whirling it in a blender, I don't see how it would matter.
Hope you had a wonderful birthday, Hibi. God grant you many years!
Thanks, everyone! Yes, Susan, we do have fun together. :-)
I sent Paul and Hibi to the store to get stuff to make the cake, and they brought home firm tofu. I'd said just get the soft stuff, but apparently that's not what they got. But it was just fine. And yes, that was all the food we had at the party--I planned it so we didn't have to feed kids anything but cake and lemonade. :-)
Happy, happy Birthday, Hibi!
I also love that story about March 4th!
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