Chocolate Coconut Marble Cake

Cake is a generic term for many types of desserts. In Romania we have two distinct categories, prajitura and tort, but both are translated in English as cake. A tort is mostly made on special occasions, like birthdays, Easter, Christmas, New Year and is very beautifully decorated. A prajitura, on the other hand, can be made all year round and cut into different shapes, while a tort is only sliced. Prajitura is for tort what appetizer is for main course; on special occasions you can't have a tort without at least one type of prajitura.

During periods of fasting when all animal products are excluded from the diet, many vegan sweets are made in my country. They are called "de post" (for fasting). It was mainly during the last few years when veganism spread rapidly throughout the world that vegan desserts became more diversified and popular in Romania.

There are many Romanian food bloggers out there. At a friend's recommendation I visited Laura Adamache's blog and immediately added it to my favourites. She has a special category for vegan food called "Retete de post" and many other recipes of hers can easily be veganized. The things I love about her blog are the extraordinary photography, the professional, user-friendly design and her wonderful personality that shines through all of her posts and comments.

I'm a big fan of chocolate and coconut, so you can imagine my reaction when I saw her gorgeous pictures of Prajitura de post cu cocos. The best thing about the recipe is that it was already vegan and I didn't have to change anything...oh well, I did reduce the sugar a little bit and doubled the recipe the second time I made it so I could enjoy mouthfuls of this delicious cake (you really need to watch Laura's pictures to understand my craving). The recipe is so quick and easy to prepare, the cake is moist, fluffy, and the flavours are perfectly combined.

Chocolate Coconut Marble Cake

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup organic plain white flour
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 3/4 cup organic unrefined caster sugar
• 1 rounded tsp baking powder (aluminium-free)

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well with a spoon or whisk.

Wet Ingredients

• 1 cup soy milk (or your preferred type of milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line the bottom and sides of a 20 cm (8") loose-bottom pan with parchment paper (lightly grease the sides in a few places so the paper sticks). Alternatively, lightly grease the pan with oil or butter and dust with flour.
• Mix the dry and wet ingredients in a bowl until just combined. Pour 3/4 batter into the prepared pan and mix the rest with 1 Tb cocoa powder (sifted). Drop spoonfuls of cocoa batter in a few places and use a knife to create the marble effect.
• Bake for about 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean (start checking after 20-25 minutes to prevent it from becoming dry). The cake should still be moist.
• Remove onto a wire rack and let the cake cool completely. Peel the paper off and place the cake on a serving plate. Cut into 4-5 cm pieces and serve.

Enjoy!

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