buttermilk chocolate cake: revisited.

School has begun. Which means I most definitely will not have time/resources to post as frequently as I had the pleasure of doing this summer.

I actually surprised myself this entire summer, with the extent to which I was posting. As I mentioned in my introductory blogpost, I started a tumblr in my senior year of high school that kind of fizzled out.

It's funny, but I remember starting this blog at the end of my freshman year - a terrible time, due to finals, studying, stress, etc. But this blog is like an outlet for me. I can say whatever I want. I can get my randomness out on here instead of bothering my suitemates. I also find that the amount I talk about food to people & on Facebook has also decreased.

See, this blog is making me a normal human being!

And although I doubt many people visit here, one of the few comments I have received has already influenced me.

Tobias from T and Teacake commented on my buttermilk chocolate cake post wondering whether the oil content in that cake, which is already pretty low, could be decreased even further. I had never considered trying it, because less than a half cup of oil for an entire cake is not so bad. But I was spurred to try out another method.

I took the 1/3 measuring cup and scooped 2-3 large spoonfuls of prune butter into it. I then filled it with oil. I would say it was about half prune butter, half oil.

Also, I ran out of flour. Pretty weird, because I always take the basic baking essentials for granted in my house. So I used what I had - self-rising flour, and adjusted the leavening in the recipe accordingly.

And the result of my tinkering? 

It was not bad at all. The cake was spongier, but more dense. However, the denseness this time was not in a brownie-like way. It was just like less air in the cake.

The sponginess is a common effect of the addition of yogurt or buttermilk in things. The "fudginess" was due to the fat-replacement. It was basically a sign that if I had removed any more oil, the cake would have been gummy.

All in all, it was good. Not as good as the original, obviously. And if you eat it with some melty vanilla ice cream ... heaven. You wouldn't be able to tell whatsoever that your slice of cake was virtually fat-free.

Try this out if you want a healthy chocolate cake or if you ever run out of all-purpose flour!

Also - sorry for the lack of pictures :( But the cake looked the same as last time, except a little spongier & less dense.

Buttermilk Chocolate Cake - Revisited
prune butter is a better fat-replacement here than applesauce, because the darker flavor and color of the prunes is a fine replacement for chocolate and spice cakes. also, prune butter adds less water than applesauce. 

• 1 cup sugar 
• 1 cup buttermilk 
• fill a 1/3 measuring cup halfway with prune butter. then fill with oil to the brim. (or use all oil, your preference)
• 1 tspn vanilla 
• 1 cup self-rising flour 
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder 
• 1/2 tspn baking soda 
• 1/4 tspn salt 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (325 if using convection). Grease a 9" pan with cooking spray or oil. 
2. In a large bowl, whisk oil and prune butter till thoroughly combined. If you add the liquid ingredients all together at once, it will be heard to break up chunks of prune butter. 
3. Add the sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla to the oil. 
4. In another bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients, flour - salt. 
5. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Stir till just combined, and pour into prepared pan. 
6. Bake about 15-25 minutes, until the center springs back when very lightly poked. 
7. Cool & then frost with your choice of frosting. I used a half batch of this recipe.