Spiced Applesauce Cake for One

Even if Autumn is a just beginning, you can force the issue with this little cake. I’m so glad it made two little cakes! Yummmm.

For the Cake:

9 TBLSP all-purpose flour (1/2 cup plus 1 TBLSP)

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch ground nutmeg

Pinch ground ginger

Pinch of ground cloves

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

6 TBLSP brown sugar

2 TBLSP canola oil

1 TBLSP white or apple cider vinegar

Slosh vanilla extract

2 TBLSP raisins

2 TBLSP chopped walnuts

For the Icing:

6 TBLSP powdered sugar

1 ½ TBLSP maple syrup

1-3 TBLSP water or non-dairy milk

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 4-inch baking pan. A single-serving casserole will do just fine, too. Mine went nicely into TWO four-inch pans, which meant I get cake tomorrow too! Yay!

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
2. In another small bowl. Whisk together the applesauce, brown sugar, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
3. Add the wet mixture to the dry, and stir until just barely combined. Don’t overmix or you’ll get a tough cake.
4. Fold in the raisins and walnuts. Plop the batter into the prepared pan, making sure that the top is even. 
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the cake once about halfway through. Keep baking until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cake cool completely in the pan before removing. It will go faster if it’s up on a wire rack.

Make the Icing:

1. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar and maple syrup together until it’s very smooth.
2. Add the water or non-dairy milk 1 TBLSP at a time until it’s a smooth and thick icing that’s still pourable.

Assemble the Cake:

1. When the cake is completely cooled, run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen it. Unmold the cake and set it on your serving plate. You might want to put little rectangles of parchment paper under it so you can pull them out later and not have icing on your plate, but don’t worry about it too much.
2. Lightly drizzle some of the glaze over the top of the cake. If you want it sweeter, coat the top more thoroughly. There’s plenty of icing for both little cakes and some for the cook, too!

Cherry Cake for One

It’s cherry season, but even if it weren’t, frozen or canned cherries would be pretty good in this easy and quick cake. But fresh cherries made this little darling into something that made my taste buds do the happy dance.

7 TBLSP all-purpose flour

3 TBLSP granulated sugar

Pinch salt

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup water

¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

4 teaspoons coconut oil, melted and cooled

¼ cup sweet cherries, pitted and diced

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a mini loaf pan or a 5-inch cake pan. I have a 4-inch spring-lock pan that works nicely.

1. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.
2. In another small bowl, mix together water, vinegar vanilla, and coconut oil.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and combine until just incorporated. Fold in the cherries until they’re just hidden in the batter. 
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
5. Bake for 40 minutes until a knife comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan and then to room temperature on a wire rack.

I made a little glaze out of 1 TBLSP vegan butter (softened), ½ cup powdered sugar, a slosh of vanilla extract, and about a TBLSP of almond milk, but it got lumpy, and the truth is, this cake is moist and lovely and doesn’t need it. 

Lemon-Blueberry Yogurt Cake for One

If you want a dessert that’s moist, refreshing, and not terribly sweet, this is the cake for you. Feel free to use frozen blueberries if it’s not blueberry season.  When I was little, I told people that frequent consumption of blueberries was the reason my eyes were so very blue. That’s another reason to eat this cake. To maintain the paint job on your eyebulbs.

For the Cake:

3 TBLSP non-dairy milk (I like almond milk, but it’s your choice)

1 ½ teaspoon lemon zest

1 TBLSP lemon juice

2 TBLSP non-dairy yogurt (I like coconut milk yogurt, but it’s your choice)

¾ teaspoon ground flax seed meal

Slosh of vanilla extract

2 1/3 teaspoons coconut or vegetable oil

½ cup all-purpose flour

3 TBLSP granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

¼ cup blueberries

1 ½ TBLSP more blueberries

For the Glaze:

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

Pinch of lemon zest

½ TBLSP softened vegan butter

1 TBLSP lemon juice

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 5-inch cake pan. I use a 4-inch spring-form pan and make it thick.

1. In a small bowl, combine the milk, zest, lemon juice, yogurt, flax, vanilla, and oil.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and blueberries.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just barely combined.
4. Plop the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining blueberries on top.
5. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, and then remove the cake and cool the rest of the way.  

You could stop right here, or you can make the glaze.

Make the Glaze:

1. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, zest, lemon juice, and butter. If it’s not runny enough, add more lemon juice.

Devour like the crude monster that you know you really are when it comes to blueberries and cake. Oh wait. That’s me. Feel free to consume this with your usual elegance. (Carry on.)

Variations:

• Instead of frosting with the glaze, try smearing some lemon yogurt on the cake.
• Instead of vegan butter in the glaze, use vegan yogurt. 

Banana Cake for One

I love bananas, and I always have. When I was a kid, my mom always made me banana cakes for my birthday, but I thought why wait for once a year? This is a perq of being a grown-up. You can eat cake whenever you want to.

½ cup all-purpose flour

1/3 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch salt

A shake or two of nutmeg

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 TBLSP canola oil

1 ripe banana, smashed

1 TBLSP water

Slosh of vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 4- or 5-inch baking pan. I often use a single-serving casserole to great success.

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.
2. In another small bowl, whisk the sugar and the oil together, and then add the banana. Add the water and vanilla to this sloppiness and stir to combine.
3. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, just barely combining it all.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let it cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack, and then remove from the pan to cool the rest of the way.

Variations:

• Toss some raisins, walnuts, or chocolate chips in there. Or go nuts and toss in all three. About a TBLSP of each would do it.
• Frost with cream cheese-based frosting (2 TBLSP vegan cream cheese, 4 teaspoons vegan butter, approx. 10 TBLSP powdered sugar, slosh of vanilla), as seen in these photos.

Plum Torte for One

I love plums. I’ll eat them just about any way, but I find that this quick little treat is one of the best.

¼ cup plus ½ TBLSP granulated sugar, divided

2 TBLSP vegan butter

¼ cup all-purpose flour

Pinch baking powder

Sprinkle of ground ginger

1 TBLSP non-dairy plain or vanilla yogurt (I use soy, but use whatever you like)

1-2 small plums, quartered and pitted

½ teaspoon lemon juice

Sprinkle of ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 4- or 5-inch cake pan.

1. In a small bowl, cream the sugar and butter until they’re fluffy.
2. Add the flour baking powder, and ginger, and incorporate them well.
3. Add the yogurt and mix it all together.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, smoothing the top. Arrange the plums pleasantly on the top, skin side up.
5. Sprinkle lemon juice on the plums, just enough to get their surfaces shiny and wet, and then sprinkle the cinnamon and the ½ TBLSP of sugar onto it.
6. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool on a rack.

Chocolate Cherry Cake with Chocolate Glaze for One

It’s summertime and there’s fresh fruit on every corner. Cherries have been really good this year and I may have bought too many. What to do, what to do…

For the Cake:

6 TBLSP all-purpose flour

3 TBLSP granulated sugar

4 teaspoons cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon espresso powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch salt

Slosh vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)

4 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup dark cherries, pitted and halved

For the Glaze:

1 ounce dark chocolate (that’s about 15 dark chocolate chips, if you don’t have a scale)

1/2 tablespoon hot water

Slosh vanilla extract

Sliced or chopped fresh cherries (for garnish)

Make the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 4-inch round cake pan. I often use a single-serving casserole for a cake pan.

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, espresso, baking soda, and salt.
2. Add the vanilla, vinegar, oil, and water and combine until the batter is smooth.
3. Stir in the cherries. Plop the batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let it cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes and then get all the rest of the way cool before applying the glaze.  

Make the Glaze:

1. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate. Stir in hot water and vanilla extract and stir until it’s glassy smooth. If the chocolate appears to seize up, keep stirring. After a few minutes, it will turn into a workable consistency.

Assemble the Cake:

1. With a delicate touch, spread the glaze onto the cooled cake and garnish with fresh cherries.

This cake can be served cold from the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Chocolate Tofu Cake with Peanut Butter Drizzle for One

This cake is moist, VERY chocolatey, and has just the right amount of sweetness to make any dessert-monger happy without making your dentist nervous. You might want a more traditional frosting—I liked the lumpy bumpy glaze-style frosting because I’m not very good at frosting cakes, and this way, it could be the glaze’s fault.

For a Single-Layer Cake:

7 TBLSP all-purpose flour

6 TBLSP granulated sugar

3 TBLSP cocoa powder

1/3 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

¼ block silken tofu (about 4 ounces)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 TBLSP water

For the Drizzle:

1 TBLSP peanut butter

1 TBLSP non-dairy milk (I like almond, but any will do)

6 TBLSP confectioner’s sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the bottom of a 5-inch cake pan (I use a single-serving casserole pan or a mini-loaf pan) with parchment paper and mist lightly with cooking spray. Don’t forget the sides!

Make the Cake:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
2. Blend the tofu into the flour mixture with a fork, crumbling it up. The batter will be wet but very thick.
3. Add in the vanilla and water. You might use more or less water, depending on how batter-like the mixture is. Dispense the batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Make the Drizzle:

1. Put the peanut butter into a microwave-safe bowl and nuke it for 30 seconds. (You can heat it on the stove just as well.)
2. Blend in the milk until the mixture is fairly smooth (if you’re using chunky-style peanut butter, you just have to be able to tell which lumps are peanuts and which need to be addressed.)
3. Add in the powdered sugar, half at a time, until it reaches a loose glaze consistency. You can make it thicker with more peanut butter and thinner with more milk, depending on whether you like it to be more like frosting or more like glaze.

Assemble the Darling:

1. Plate the precious cake and drizzle the peanut butter goodness over the top. Be as tidy or as neat as you like. I melted a few chocolate chips in the microwave, sloshed in a tiny bit of almond milk, and made a happy little hat with peanuts for my two-layer cake. Yummm.

Variations: 

• Make a layer cake. Double the batter (as described below) and split it into two pans. Bake for a little longer and level off the tops of the cakes when they’re properly cooled. Make the much larger amount of Drizzle (as described below) and slather it on the top of one cake. Perch the other one on top and slather or drizzle on top of that.

For a Two-Layer Cake:

¾ cup plus 2 TBLSP all-purpose flour

¾ cup granulated sugar

6 TBLSP cocoa powder

¾ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

Pinch salt

½ block silken tofu (about 7 ounces)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup water

For a Two-Layer Drizzle:

3-5 TBLSP peanut  butter

2-3 TBLSP non-dairy milk

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

Follow the directions as written, although you’ll want to adjust the cooking time by a few minutes because the cakes are larger.

White Chocolate Cake with Apricots for One

Are you in the mood for something fabulous? Well hold onto your girdle, Mabel, because this cake will knock off more than just your socks!

For the Cake:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch salt

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup canola oil

¾ cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ TBLSP apple cider vinegar

6 ½ TBLSP white chocolate, melted (about 3 ½ ounces)

For the Frosting:

12 TBLSP vegan butter (3/4 cup)

2 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar  

Large slosh of vanilla extract

9 ½ TBLSP white chocolate, melted (5-6 ounces)

For the Assembly:

2 TBLSP water

1 TBLSP granulated sugar

2 apricots, pitted and thinly sliced

¼ cup walnuts, finely chopped

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray two single-serving cake pans with baking spray or line with parchment and spray (preferred). My baking pans are really two casserole-for-one-sized pans, about 5-inches across.

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
2. Add in the oil, milk, vanilla, vinegar, and melted white chocolate. Beat this combination until it’s quite smooth. No lumps!
3. Divide the mixture between the two prepared cake pans.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the top springs back when touched.
5. Cool on a rack until completely room temperature (or colder—setting it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes after they’re mostly cooled will speed this process up). Remove them from the pans to speed things up, but wait 30 minutes after taking ‘em out of the oven or they will be too fragile and will shatter into several pieces.

Make the Frosting:

1. In a small bowl, combine the butter and sugar until completely smooth.
2. Add in the vanilla extract and melted white chocolate and beat the whole mishegas until it’s fluffy and unctuous.
3. Refrigerate until spreadable. Be careful not to leave it in there too long or you’ll have to beat the daylights out of it to get it spreadable again.

Make the Assembly Components:

1. Boil the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Set aside to cool a bit.

Assemble the Cake:

I like to do this on a plate resting on top of an overturned mug so it’s at a more comfortable height.

1. Using a serrated knife, slice each cake layer horizontally in half so that you have four layers of approximately the same thickness. (You may have to trim any bulging tops, too.)
2. First Layer: I like to do this on a plate resting on top of an overturned mug so it’s at a more comfortable height.Place one layer, cut side up, on the serving dish. Brush the syrup you made in the Assembly Layer step on top of the cake.
• Spread a thin layer of the frosting on top of the syrup and dot the frosting with sliced apricots. 
3. Second Layer: Spread a thin layer of frosting on the uncut side of the next layer and turn it upside-down on top of the previous layer so that the frosting touches the apricots.
• Repeat the syrup, frosting, apricot treatment on the uncut top of that second layer, and then repeat the whole “underside” frosting of the third layer, setting it on top of the second layer.
4. Third Layer: Repeat the syrup, frosting, apricot treatment on top of that third layer, slather the underside of the fourth layer (which should be the cut side) and set it on top of the third layer.
5. Fourth Layer: Spread some more syrup and then the frosting on the top and down the sides of the cake. It should be a very thin layer—the crumb coat.
6. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
7. Spread the remaining frosting luxuriously all over the rest of the cake. It doesn’t have to be too tidy on the sides because you’re going to cover it with walnuts.
8. Press chopped walnuts into the sides of the cake.
9. Cover the top with the sliced apricots in an artful way, and slather them with the remaining syrup. (You may have extra syrup.)
10. Refrigerate for one hour.
11. Let it come to room temperature for 2-3 hours before devouring like a bear just awakened from a winter nap.

You might want to share this one with friends—It’s not large in diameter, but it’s super rich and it’s HUGE!

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Ganache for One

It’s birthday season, and I’m in the mood for cake. The hardest thing about making this cake is waiting for it to cool—other than that, it’s easy-peasy! (Yes, yes, I know. My frosting skills need a lot of work. But practice makes perfect, right? I’ll get there.)

For the Cake:

¼ cup wheat flour (or all purpose)

¼ cup all-purpose flour

2 TBLSP cocoa powder

1/3 teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup powdered sugar

Pinch salt

6 TBLSP non-dairy milk, divided

1 ½ TBLSP chocolate chips

1 TBLSP vegetable oil

Slosh of apple cider vinegar

Slosh of vanilla extract

2 ½ teaspoons maple syrup (or agave nectar)

For the Ganache:

2 TBLSP non-dairy milk

2-3 TBLSP powdered sugar

3 TBLSP chocolate chips

Slosh vanilla extract

1 TBLSP smooth peanut butter (almond or other nut or seed butter will do nicely too)

2 TBLSP apricot preserves (or raspberry, strawberry, cherry, etc.), divided

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease or line two 5-inch cake pans (I use single-serving casserole dishes) with parchment.

1. Place the flours, cocoa, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a small bowl and whisk it together to combine. 
2. In another bowl, heat ¼ cup of the milk and the chocolate chips until just hot. You can use the microwave or a Bain Marie on the stove. Whisk until the chocolate is melted.
3. Add the oil, vinegar, vanilla, and maple syrup to the chocolate and the remaining 2 TBLSP of milk, and mix until it’s smooth.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until the batter is smooth. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
5. Bake for 30-34 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and let cool on the rack completely. This may take a couple of hours. Cover with a towel if you’re worried about it drying out. You might try placing the cakes in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes if you’re impatient.

Make the Ganache:

1. In a small pan over medium heat, heat the milk and sugar until it’s hot through. Don’t let it boil, and stir constantly to prevent the sugar from burning.
2. Add in the chocolate chips, and take the pan off the heat. Keep stirring until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
3. Add in the vanilla and peanut butter. Mix until smooth.
4. Let it rest in splendor in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes, until it thickens to a spreadable consistency.

Festoon the Cake:

1. Settle a cake plate on top of a mug or glass to get your little art project up high enough that you can see what you’re doing, and put one of the darling little cakes in the middle of it. You might want to slice off its little head, if it’s mounding up, so that the second layer will lie flat on it.
2. Plop some of the ganache onto that cake and spread it over the top with an offset spatula or whatever tool suits you.
3. Let that cake and its ganache rest in the freezer for 10 minutes. Don’t put the ganache back in the fridge, though, or it will get too hard to spread and you’ll have to v-e-r-y carefully reheat it on the stove. (Ask me how I know this.)
4. Meanwhile, if you’re using the fruit preserves, heat it in the microwave or on the stove, just enough to make it thinner and more spreadable. About a minute in the microwave is plenty.
5. Take that already-ganached cake out of the freezer and spread about half of the preserves delicately over the top of it. Don’t break the ganache!
6. Settle the other, untouched cake on top of the preserves. Plop the rest of the ganache on that top cake and spread it smoothly over the top and down the sides. You might like the sides bare, in which case, you could freeze the cake for 10 minutes and then make a second top coat of ganache with whatever is left.
7. Refrigerate (don’t freeze) the whole cake for 2 hours before serving. Decorate with fruit, mint leaves, chocolate curls—whatever suits you, or just scarf the whole naked cake down. It’s your cake to do with as you will!

Variation:

• You can avoid the whole nut situation by using 1 TBLSP more of the chocolate chips in the ganache. You might need a little more powdered sugar to make it thick enough. You’ll have to experiment.
• Use any sliced off cake top mounds to cheer up a bowl of ice cream. Or smear peanut butter on it and inhale it. 
• Try smearing some heated (microwave) peanut butter on the first layer rather than fruit preserves. It's a simpler flavor profile, but oh, so yummy! 

Carrot Cake with Pineapple for One

I’m really not good at cake frosting. Let’s set that aside for a moment. This carrot cake is moist, unctuous, carroty, pineapply, and scrumptious to the last bite! Why don’t you make one, frost it nicely, and send me an image? It would be nice to see it done properly. It tastes the same, though, even when it’s not pretty.

For the Cake:

1 TBLSP ground flax seed meal

1 ½ TBLSP water

½ cup granulated sugar

5 ½ TBLSP vegetable oil

Slosh of vanilla extract

10 TBLSP all-purpose flour, divided

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon baking soda

Pinch kosher salt

¼ cup raisins

¼ cup chopped walnuts

1 cup carrots, grated and packed loosely

2 TBLSP diced fresh pineapple

For the Frosting:

3 ounces vegan cream cheese at room temperature

4 TBLSP unsalted vegan butter at room temperature

Slosh vanilla extract

1 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted

For Decoration:

2 TBLSP diced fresh pineapple

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 2 5-inch cake pans. (I use single-serving casserole pans with great success.) Line them with parchment paper and then grease and flour the pans again.

Make the Cake:

1. In a small bowl, combine the flax and water and set it aside to form a glop that you will use as an egg substitute.
2. In another small bowl, beat the sugar and oil together until it’s homogenous, and then add the flax glop. Add the vanilla too, and mix it all well.
3. In another small bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet. (You’ll re-use the dry bowl in the next step.)
5. In a small bowl, combine the raisins and walnuts. Put a pinch of flour in there and toss them together. (This keeps the raisins and walnuts suspended nicely in the batter, rather than letting them sink to the bottom.) Add the carrots and pineapple.
6. Add the carrot mixture to the batter and mix well. It will be hard to get the batter integrated with all those delicious carrots, but just keep after it.
7. Divide the batter equally between the two pans.
8. Bake for 50-55minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. It will be quite dark.
9. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pans on a wire rack. If it’s a warm day, you might consider sticking the little darlings in the refrigerator for a little bit.

Make the Frosting:

1. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Add in the sugar and mix until the whole thing is pretty smooth.
2. Let it rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to half an hour. It will spread better when it’s a little bit cold.

Festoon the Cake:

1. Place one layer of cake on a serving dish. I like to elevate it on top of a mug to make it easier to frost, but you do what works best for you.
2. With a knife or offset spatula, smear the top of that first layer with frosting. You don’t have to go quite to the edges and it will squish out a bit when you put on the second layer.
3. Place the second layer neatly on top of the frosted first one. Spread the frosting on the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with diced pineapple.

Pineapple Coconut Cake for One

I bought a whole pineapple. At first, I just ate slices of it. Then I put it into stir-fry. Now it’s time for something different. This cake makes you wait for it, but oh! It’s worth it!

For the Cake:

2 teaspoons flax seed meal

1 TBLSP water

¼ cup shredded coconut

5 TBLSP non-dairy milk, divided (I like almond, but coconut would be great)

5 TBLSP chopped pineapple (I used fresh, but canned—crushed—is fine)

¾ cup all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Large pinch of salt

3 TBLSP vegan butter

5 TBLSP granulated sugar

Slosh of vanilla

For the Icing:

3 TBLSP vegan butter

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond milk

1 cup flaked coconut

TBLSP chopped pineapple for decoration

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 5-inch cake pan or two ramekins. I used two single-serving casserole dishes to get wider and flatter cakes.

1. In a small bowl (like a cereal bowl—you’ll be adding things to this mixture), combine the flax seed meal and water. It will become a nice gloppy mess while you do other things.
2. Put the ¼ cup of coconut into a mesh strainer and dangle the darlings over a bowl.
3. Bring ¼ cup of the milk (4 TBLSP) to a boil in a small sauce pan. Pour the hot milk over the shredded coconut, catching the liquid in the bowl below. Plop the pineapple on top of the coconut and let its juice drain through too. You might want to squish things around a bit to get the most juice.
4. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. Now it’s time to use your flax seed glop. Add the remaining TBLSP of milk to the glop and give it a stir. Now add in the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract. Cream all of this mess together until it’s a gloppy but thin mixture and the butter has integrated, for the most part. If you’re doing this by hand, it won’t be completely smooth, and if you use a mixer, the flax glop will break down a bit if you keep going until it’s smooth. <shrugs> You choose whether you want chunks of buttery goodness or a softer and more delicate cake.
6. Add the coconut milk and pineapple juice that you collected to the flour mixture and toss in the butter and flax seed mixture too. Blend until well combined. (You can beat this enthusiastically to get out a few more of the butter lumps, too.) Add in the coconut and pineapple that you’d drained earlier, and mix until just incorporated. Pour evenly into the two prepared cake pans.  
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack (about 45 minutes if the day isn’t too warm), and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before frosting. Overnight is fine too. I leave ‘em in the pans until the refrigeration period is over because they’re sturdier then and less likely to crumble when you remove ‘em to the decorating plate.

Make the Icing:

1. Cream the butter in a small bowl. Keep going until it starts to seem a bit fluffy. Don’t shirk. This is an important step.
2. Add the powdered sugar two TBLSPs at a time, blending until the sugar is well-integrated.
3. Add the vanilla extract and the soymilk, stirring with considerable enthusiasm until the frosting is smooth, fluffy, and spreadable.
4. The frosting may need a few minutes to cool down so it doesn’t slide off your cake. You might even put it into the refrigerator for 10 minutes or so.

Festoon the Cake:

1. Put the cake on a pedestal (I overturn a mug and put a serving plate on top) so you can get a good angle for decorating the cake.
2. Center the bottom layer on the plate and then top with frosting. You don’t need to go quite to the edges as the weight of the other cake will push the frosting out a bit. Place the second layer on top and then frost the top and sides of the whole shebang. You don’t have to be tidy because the next step will cover up any crimes.
3. Sprinkle the flaked coconut (from the Icing ingredient list) on top of the frosting and press it into the sides of the cake. Make a pretty design or just plop the remaining pineapple on top of the cake.
4. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to allow the frosting to set.

Orange Cake for One

I admit that the first time I made this cake, I sat around making yummy noises all by myself. It’s not a terribly sweet cake, but it’s a wonderfully fragrant and flavorful cake. This recipe makes two servings, and the hardest thing about it might be not eating it all at one sitting!

For the Cake:

¼ cup whole wheat pastry

2 TBLSP all-purpose flour

Pinch of cornstarch or arrowroot

3 TBLSP powdered sugar

Pinch baking soda

Shake or two of salt

Zest of ½ an orange

¼ cup orange juice (fresh squeezed is best, but use what you’ve got)

½ TBLSP vegetable oil

Slosh of apple cider vinegar

Slosh of vanilla extract

For the Glaze:

1 ½ TBLSP powdered sugar

1 ½ teaspoons orange juice

OR

2 TBLSP orange marmalade

1 teaspoon orange liquor

OR

1 teaspoon orange juice

2 TBLSP orange marmalade

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 4-inch cake tin or two ramekins with parchment, or grease well and dust with flour.

Make the Cake:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flours, starch, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
2. Add the zest, juice, oil, vinegar, and vanilla, and mix until it’s smooth. Pour the batter in the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Cool for 10 minutes and remove from the pan. Cool completely before glazing and slicing.

Make the Glaze:

1. Combine the ingredients for the glaze of your choice.
2. If making the second or third options with marmalade, heat over low heat until it bubbles.
3. Slather or drizzle over the cake.\

Devour with the ravenous bad manners of a greyhound after an evening saunter.

 

 

Coffee Cake for One

Sometimes, even if breakfast isn’t late, you want brunch. This quick little cake will make you so happy, you’ll sing through the rest of your day—don’t worry about whether it’s annoying to someone else! They didn’t have homemade coffee cake for breakfast.

6 ½ TBLSP all-purpose flour

2 TBLSP granulated sugar

2 ½ TBLSP brown sugar

Sprinkle ground nutmeg

Sprinkle ground cinnamon

Sprinkle salt

2 TBLSP canola oil

2 ½ TBLSP non-dairy milk (I like almond milk)

2 teaspoons non-dairy yogurt (like soy) or non-dairy sour cream

Splash apple cider vinegar

Splash vanilla extract

Pinch baking soda

Pinch baking powder

1 heaping TBLSP finely chopped nuts (I like walnuts, but anything is nice)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a mini-loaf pan or two ramekins, or one 4-inch across baking dish. The cake will rise a bit, so make sure it’s a little taller than you think you need.

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugars, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Add the oil and mix until it’s all absorbed, a crumbly pile. Set aside 2 TBLSP of the mixture to become the topping.
2. In another small bowl, combine the milk, yogurt or sour cream, vinegar, vanilla, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir until well combined.
3. Add the milk mixture to the larger collection of crumbs. Mix well and the pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).
4. Add the nuts to the topping mixture and mix well. Toss the topping onto the top of the batter in the pan and sprinkle with a little more cinnamon.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Let it rest in splendor on a rack for 5 minutes before removing it from the baking vessel and devouring it like a herd of adolescent wombats.