Eggless Chocolate Cake

I am obsessed with sweets and desserts... I could have them all day, every day. It hit me hard yesterday. I found some chocolate cake mix, opened the fridge and low and behold, no eggs. After a quick search through a book I have with cooking substitutions, I found a flax-egg substitute. I'll be honest, I was very skeptical at how it would turn out - it didn't get as airy as normal, but we are also at 7000 feet elevation, so it could be that. I also didn't have chocolate frosting, only cream cheese flavored so I had to improvise on that as well.



Eggless Chocolate Cake

1 box of cake mix - I used devil's food. I think this would work fine with anything with some color to it.

3 tablespoons flax meal

9 tablespoons water

1 and 1/2 cup water (per package)

1/2 cup vegetable oil (per package)

Chocolate Frosting

1 container cream cheese frosting

1 package chocolate pudding

1/2 cup soy milk



I love that we can get Kroger brand out here in AZ!

For the cake:

1. In a separate bowl, combine flax meal and 9 tablespoons of water to substitute for 3 eggs. (1 egg = 1 tablespoon flax to 3 tablespoons water). Stir to combine and pop in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.

2. Prepare cake according to package, substituting flax for egg after it has chilled and thickened. Bake as directed.

3. Frost when cooled.

For the frosting:

1. Mix soy milk and package of pudding.

2. Warm the frosting for 20 seconds in the microwave to soften and make it easier to mix.

3. Combine frosting with pudding mixture. Stir for several minutes then let it sit for a few minutes to thicken.

4. Frost cake, add chocolate chips to top if desired.

Eggless Chocolate Cake

Homemade Spiced Garlic Bread

My inspiration for starting up this "blog"... aka recipe book... was Joy the Baker and she's also the source of this recipe. I made this a few months ago and we both loved it. I ended up giving half of it to our friends who had recently had a baby. It is a very dense bread that does so great with a soup, chili, or pasta. We had it with homemade potato and cheese pierogi.


Amazing Dinner!

Spicy Garlic Bread (from Joy the Baker)
1 cup water
2 and 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
Pinch of sugar
4 ounces butter, melted
1 tablespoon thyme (I used dried)
1 tablespoon chives, chopped (I used fresh)
1 teaspoon chili flakes
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
~4 cups flour
Black pepper
Sea salt

1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water and add sugar, stir.
2. Melt butter, add herbs, chili, and garlic. Stir.
3. Using bread hook, mix flour, salt, and pepper. Add yeast mixture, stir on low until ball forms.
4. Place in greased bowl and allow to rise for 1 hour until doubled in size.
5. Heat oven to 450.
6. Knead dough on slightly floured surface for about 2 minutes.
7. Coat a dutch oven with olive oil and place dough in the pot. You want to use a pot that is large enough for the cover to be placed over the dough. Slice an X in the top of the dough and coat with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil, fresh cracked pepper, and salt.
8. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 and bake for another 15-20 minutes uncovered.

Homemade Oatmeal Cups

I've gotten sick of eating pre-packaged granola bars at work for breakfast. They always seem to upset my stomach and never fill me up. I did a search on Pinterest for oatmeal breakfast bars and couldn't find ones with enough "umph" in them. I've added quite a bit of extra healthy parts to sub out some of the not so healthy parts.



Oatmeal Breakfast Cups (24 cupcakes)

2 eggs

1 and 1/2 banana, the riper the better!

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups applesauce

~4 cups old fashioned oats

3/4 cups flax meal

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 cup flour

~2 and 1/2 cups soymilk

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Combine eggs, vanilla, banana, applesauce, and sugar until smooth.

3. Add oats, chia, cinnamon, baking powder, and flour.

4. Add enough soymilk to make the batter a slightly liquidy consistency; it took me about 2 and 1/2 cups.

5. Add by 1/4 cup to lined cupcake tin.

6. Before baking, top as desired. Suggestions: frozen berries; chocolate chips; butterscotch chips; coconut; dried cranberries; any combination of them. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.