{MINT CHOCOLATE CAKE}

I found this recipe in a save-the-animals vegan mailer (original recipe here). Saving animals is not my primary reason for being vegan, but the mailer did have some recipes with potential. I just tweaked this one slightly to make it lower fat; I also added salt to the cake, and the icing was a little bitter, so I added some sweetener.

{Chocolate Cake}

2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 c. cocoa powder

1 c. evaporated cane juice

1 pinch stevia (I was shooting for 1/8 t., or the equivalent of 1/2 c. sugar)

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. prune baby food

1/2 T. baking soda

1 1/2 T. white vinegar

1/2 T. vanilla

1 1/2 c. cold water

• Preheat oven to 350.

• Combine and mix dry ingredients until blended well.

• Add wet ingredients and mix until smooth.

• Pour batter into a lightly-oiled 9x13 baking pan.

• Bake for 25-30 minutes.

• Let the cake cool completely before frosting with icing (below).

{Mint Chocolate Icing}

1 10-oz. bag vegan chocolate chips

1/3 c. soymilk

1 T. peppermint extract

2 T. evaporated cane juice (I added this because the grain-sweetened chips I used made the icing kind of bitter. You may not need to add it, depending on the kind of chocolate chips you use.)

• Melt the chocolate chips in a saucepan over low heat.

• Add the soymilk and peppermint extract.

• Stir continuously until smooth.

• Allow to cool slightly before icing cake. (I only used 2/3 of the icing for one cake.)