Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake - Mocha Frosting

This is my veganized version of this old-fashioned, 5th-generation family recipe.

Using a gluten-free flour makes it GF, as well.

It's super moist and delicious!

9x13 greased or two layers, sprayed with oil and dusted with flour

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup cocoa

• 3 teaspoons vanilla

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise

• 3 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 1/2 cup hot water

• 3 cups flour, sifted

Instructions

Mix first 5 ingredients through mayo.

Separately, mix baking soda with hot water. It will fizz up so give it room. Then add to the above mixture

Add flour, mixing as you go.

Bake in a big 9 x 13 or so pan, sprayed with oil and dusted with flour, at 350º for 35 minutes.

In two layer cake pans, 25-30 minutes. Use the middle rack for cakes.

Options

Make it gluten free: use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 GF Flour.

Make it (mostly) whole foods plant-based: Use whole grain flour, organic cocoa, raw sugar, and substitute half the mayo with unsweetened applesauce.

Mocha Frosting

Ingredients

3/4 cup vegan butter

2 cups confectioners sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla

Several tablespoons of brewed coffee, black.

Chop the butter and sugar and cocoa together in a small mixing bowl as much as you can stand to.

Add the vanilla and chop/stir more.

Finally add coffee,1 tablespoon at a time, mixing after each addition until it's creamy enough to use the electric mixer.

*Don't add too much coffee at once! It might seem too thick, but as you mix it, it thins out, so mix mix mix, and then decide to add more. :)

**The amounts are approximate. For this frosting, I really just dump stuff in until it's the way I like it. After you've made it a few times, you'll do the same.

Options for this buttercream frosting to use on other baked goods

• Leave out the cocoa and use to make a white coffee frosting.

• Skip cocoa and use oat milk instead of coffee to make a vanilla frosting

• Skip cocoa, use water and lemon juice to make a fluffy lemon frosting.

• Skip coffee and add a few drops of mint extract for a chocolate mint frosting. (Mix and taste after each drop of mint flavoring as it get too strong very quickly. And really, every excuse to taste the frosting should be always be used, as good bakers know.)