Anna’s Birthday

Tags

Anna, applesauce, baking, birthday, Birthday Cake, cake, chocolate, dessert, food, Mollie Katzen, recipe, vegetarian, whole wheat

   




   

Anna’s Birthday Cake

Adapted from Mollie Katzen’s Applesauce-Cocoa Cake

Makes two 8″ cakes
For the Cakes
1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) of Butter 1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 cup Almond Meal
1 1/2 cups unsweetened Applesauce
1/2 cup Plain Yogurt

Preheat the oven to 190° C (375° F). In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and blend. In another bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and ground almonds. Stir until well combined with a whisk. In a third small bowl combine the applesauce and yogurt. Add 1/3 of the dry mixture to the butter mixture and stir to combine with a spoon, then add half the applesauce mixture and stir. Add another third of the dry ingredients, the rest of the applesauce mixture and the rest of the dry ingredients stirring after each addition. Try not to over mix the batter. Split the batter into two buttered and floured 8″ cake pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Carefully removes the cakes from the pans and let cool on a wire rack until completely cooled.

For the frosting

400 grams of a semi sweet baking chocolate or chocolate chips
Smarties, Colored Sprinkles or toppings of your choice

Melt 200 grams of chocolate separately for topping each cake. To melt the chocolate you can use a double boiler or I just broke the bars up into 50 gram pieces and melted them in a bowl in the microwave for up to two minutes. They will not be completely melted but after stirring for a minute or two the softened bars should completely melt and be spreadable. If you use the microwave do not overheat the chocolate or else it will ruin, keep checking after a minute and up to two minutes on high heat in the microwave. Pour the melted chocolate over the cake and use a spatula to smooth it out over the top and sides. Add the candy to the top of the cake and let sit at room temperature for a few hours to harden or if you are in a hurry place in the freezer for a few minutes to harden. Serve with fresh whipped cream. Enjoy!