I first had Thundercake in the second grade, as most people have. I was so disgusted as the teacher read us a story about putting tomatoes into a chocolate cake. But I was entranced by the rest of the story (as rain is my favorite weather condition) and the description of it, so I gobbled my large slice down and was in heaven. It was absolutely chocolatey, fudgy and above all - moist. You couldn't even tell there were tomatoes in the cake and I as I side-eyed my teacher, I noticed the huge tin of tomatoes to the side of the empty cake mix box. I'm so sorry for doubting you, my wonderful teacher.
(Low-Fat Thunder Cake Ingredients)
- 1 cup of Raw Sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cups Cocoa Powder
- 1 and 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup of Black Chia Seeds (soaked in cold water)
- 4 tbl of Coconut Oil
- 1/4-1/2 cup of Veggie Oil
- 1/2 can of Tomato Soup (or 3/4 cup of Pureed Tomatoes)
- 1 cup of Non-Dairy Milk
- 1 tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 scraped Vanilla Bean
(Avocado Icing Ingredients)
- 2 Mashed Avocados
- Juice of 1 Lemon or Orange (and a tsp of zest)
- 1 pound of Icing Sugar
(Directions)
- For the icing/frosting: Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
- Mix together as you would with any other cream.
- Place in the fridge to absorb flavors and then serve on top of cake later.
- For the cake: Sift your dry ingredients (except the sugar and cocoa powder) together and set aside.
- Then, cream together your sugar, the veggie oil and coconut oil.
- Mix in your seeds once they have fully absorbed the water and then add in your tomato soup and cream together until the soup has blended somewhat.
- Stir in all of your cocoa powder.
- Alternate mixing in the rest of the wet and the dry ingredients.
- Place into a cake pan, tap on the kitchen counter or table about 20 times and bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean from the middle.
- Let it rest for about 2 hours, serve with your frosting and enjoy.
Thunder cake, that's an interesting one. Using tomato soup in cake is new to me but it's not a bad idea at all! I can see it working well to activate the baking soda. I've actually got loads of fresh tomatoes in the fridge at the moment. I'll have to try them in a cake! :) You always have these very interesting lists of ingredients that surprisingly make sense!
ReplyDeleteShin, this looks so moist and delectable! And I know that avocado compliments any flavor so well. I didn't even think about adding tomato (to cakes to add moisture I presume?) I must try this although I never had a thunder cake before.Thanks for the link :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Lovlie - I hope that you get to try the cake soon, it really is delicious and best made for "down" days. ^^ Fresh is best with this cake!
ReplyDeleteThanks, talkingspoon! This cake is absolutely unforgettable and I think that the tomato is used to avoid the fat as well as add moisture! ^^
ReplyDeleteAwesome cake! I love the avocado icing on the top. Need to learn more tips and tricks for baking from you :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lia! I'd be very happy to share all of my tricks and tips with you! ^^
ReplyDeleteThe Thundercake sounds very interesting, and neither can I believe that there are tomatoes in a moist chocolate cake, so I don't blame you for having that doubt for a moment:p
ReplyDeleteThanks Christy! Sometimes the tomatoes in the cake still amaze me. ^^;
ReplyDeletethunder cake. i love the name.
ReplyDeleteI saw one chocolate cake recipe using canned tomato soup before in a book and seeing yours makes me want to try it out!
Thank you very much, wendyywy! ^^ I hope that you try it soon!
DeleteI can't get enough of recipes that keep the healthy ingredients in and the bad fillers out. Great idea with the chia seeds. I have a long list of vegan recipes to try, and this one's on it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Julia - I can't wait to see your results! ^^
DeleteAfter all this while, this is truly something interesting and different from so many recipes I've seen for awhile. Thunder ... we are having a lot of that lately and this is appropriate. The ingredients are so different, I'm very tempted to give it a go. But is there a good substitute for chia seeds? I'm not sure if it's too easy to find over here or maybe I should try the organic stores.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Ping - I would say that anything that's moist should be good such as applesauce or some other sort of "slimey" seed. Just be sure to take in account that the flavor might be changed by the additives.
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