Mocha-Almond Cake for two

The baking urge hit today, and it hit hard. Unfortunately, it is time to go grocery shopping so there isn't a whole lot around the house to bake with. We have two eggs, but we also like to do eggs for breakfasts in the mornings on weekends so I was faced with a dilemma. After doing some searching online, I found a few recipes for chocolate cake that didn't use any eggs and did some combinations and made some changes. My first attempt baking a cake without eggs, and I'm pretty pleased with the result.


This was also a fun experiment with the 6 inch cake pan. We don't need a whole 9-inch two layer cake for two people, so I cut down the recipe by half and made a 6 inch two layer cake. The only difficulty with this was the baking time. It was just a matter of setting the timer for smaller intervals and checking the cake often. 

Lop-sided cake... this is the reason for my cake-guillotine.

No-egg Chocolate Cake

• 2-1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350, grease and flour a 6 inch round pan.

2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt. Add sugar and mix together.

3. Add oil, water and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

4. Pour into pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Mocha- Almond Frosting

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 tablespoons hot brewed coffee

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 tablespoons half & half

1. Whisk together sugar and cocoa in a bowl. Combine coffee, vanilla and almond extract in another bowl. 

2. Beat butter at medium speed until creamy; gradually add sugar mixture alternately with coffee mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Beat in half and half, 1 tablespoon at a time until smooth and mixture has reached desired consistency.

*A word about the frosting: DELICIOUS. It is so creamy and light. If you don't have or want to use the almond extract, use a full teaspoon of vanilla extract in the frosting instead.*

Assembling the cake:

1. When cake layers are completely cool, place bottom layer on serving plate. Trim tops of both layers to create flat, even pieces. Spread a layer of frosting on top of the cake. Top with second layer of cake and frost top and sides. 

2. Sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds.