Eggless Chocolate Cake (Balls) - Secret Recipe Club

Why do I always wait until the last minute to make my Secret Recipe Club recipe of the month?  Not much has changed since I was in school.  I would be assigned a large project a month before it was due and do all of the work the weekend before the due date.  Were you one of those students?

This month I was assigned to Anne-Marie's beautiful blog This Mama Cooks! On A Diet.  Her mission:  "To get people – especially busy moms and their families - on the road to living a more healthy lifestyle by sharing healthy recipes and lifestyle tips. Maybe that means following Weight Watchers or eliminating gluten and milk products from your diet. Or, if you’re a busy parent, finding easy and delicious ways to get your kids to eat more vegetables or even fish!"

I ran out of eggs on Saturday and seeing as how I was unmotivated to get to the store, I needed a dessert that was egg-free.  Lucky for me Anne-Marie was very accommodating!  I came across her recipe for Eggless Chocolate Cake.  Now, you're saying to yourself, "Self, those pictures above do not look like a cake."  Well, I had another issue.  I had about 3 tablespoons of cocoa left in my cupboard.    Anne-Marie's recipe called for 9 tablespoons.  What's an unmotivated girl to do?  She's sure as hell not changing out of her yoga pants and house slippers and going to the store.  She's going to search high and low for a substitute.  She selects a couple packages of hot chocolate mix.  She chose wrong!

Hot Chocolate mix is not near as chocolaty as real cocoa in case you weren't aware.  So, you ask, "Dee, how did you know it wasn't chocolately enough?".  Well, I baked my cake in my prettiest bundt pan and went to flip it out onto my cake platter and it wouldn't come out.  Oh yes, I greased the pan.  Next, I used my knife and went around the sides.  I flipped it over and shook and shook it.  Alas, half of it comes out.  Aaaargh!  You see, it was my son's birthday on Saturday and we were having a family birthday party on Sunday (which is the day I baked this cake and I am writing this post).   I grabbed a piece of the cake and popped it in my mouth.  When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade, right?  How in the heck can I salvage this cake?  Think Dee, think!  An ah ha moment!  Cake Balls!  Ganache!  Coconut!  Powdered sugar!  Peanut butter!  Let's put on our super hero cake cape and roll up some cake balls!  What?  You don't have a super hero cake cape?  Do you have an apron?  Turn it around.  Now you have a super hero cape!

See how pretty it started out?

Here is how I would make it if I had enough cocoa.

Eggless Chocolate Cake Balls
Yield: about 50

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Ingredients for Cake:

• 3 cup flour
• 2 cup sugar
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. baking soda
• 9 T. cocoa
• 1/2 cup cold coffee
• 2 T. vinegar
• 3/4 cup oil
• 2 t. vanilla extract

Ingredients for Ganache:

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream 

Garnish:

• Coconut, peanuts, walnuts, powdered sugar, peanut butter

Instructions for Cake:

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl using an electric mixer.
2. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes.

Instructions for Ganache:

1. In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips with cream over low heat. Remove from the heat. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally.
2. For a pourable ganache, cool until mixture reaches 85 degrees F-90 degrees F and is slightly thickened, about 40 minutes. Pour over cake, allowing some to flow down the edges to completely coat. Spread ganache with a spatula if necessary to evenly coat, working quickly before it thickens. Chill until set.
3. For spreadable ganache, chill until mixture reaches a spreadable consistency. Spread over cake. Chill until set.
4. Sprinkle the balls with coconut or walnuts or powdered sugar. About halfway through I decided to add some peanut butter to the cake balls. My father-in-law loves Reece's and I knew this would make him very happy. I added a couple tablespoons of peanut butter to the cake and mixed it up really well. Continue making your cake balls and dip in the ganache and roll in walnuts or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Adapted from This Mama Cooks! On a Diet

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Servings: 1 cake ball

Calories:  118

Total Fat:  5.3 g

Cholesterol:  2 mg.

Sodium:  72 mg.

Protein:  1.0 g.

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