Vegan MoFo: Easiest Ever Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cake

You would think that by now I'd be through psyching myself out of trying new things in the kitchen. After all, being vegan is all about trying new things! I can't even count the new fruits, vegetables, grains, and new types of dishes that I've tried. Yet, it's been about 6 months since I bought the ingredients to try gluten-free vegan baking. I knew in theory that it shouldn't be that tough, but when push came to shove, I always resorted to the familiar.

Well, that's over now! I finally had a reason strong enough to motivate me to try, and you know what? It's utterly foolish to be intimidated by these things! It's absolutely no harder than conventional baking, which in the case of this recipe is just so easy.

Based on this fabulous recipe from Plant Based on a Budget with just a minor tweak, it only takes 3-5 minutes to prepare and a little more than 30 minutes in the oven. Cool for a few minutes and sprinkle with organic powdered sugar, and in under an hour you've got fresh-baked cake!

Easiest Ever Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients 
1 1/2 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (I use Bob's Red Mill)
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup organic sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract (or half vanilla, half almond)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
5 tbsp canola or other light-flavored oil
1 cup warm water
Organic confectioner's sugar for topping

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift first six ingredients into an ungreased 8x8 cake pan. Add sugar and mix. Create three wells in the dry ingredients. Add vanilla to one, oil to another, and vinegar to the third. Pour warm water and top and mix until well blended and reasonably smooth. There may still be some small lumps, but make sure when you scrape the bottom there's no dry flour showing. Bake 30-35 minutes, until center springs back when touched gently.

Cool 10 minutes and top with confectioner's sugar. Serve warm (or let cool completely and omit confectioners sugar topping if frosting).