Devil's Food For The Cake Slice Bakers

I love this time of the month because being part of the Cake Slice Bakers means that I have a great excuse to bake cake. Since January usually means cleaner eating after all of the holiday richness, it takes a bit of doing to figure out how to combine that with cake.

Since we have been invited to dinner tomorrow evening by a couple who are also trying to reduce their sugar intake, I decided to make tiny cakes in my antique gem pan. Each of us will get one little cake, which is about four or five bites. That will be enough to feel like we've had dessert, but will also only be a tiny amount of cake, so we can feel virtuous.

I am greatly indebted to fellow Cake Slice Baker Hazel of Procrastibake because she baked this, too, and she made donuts. Best of all she created a dairy-free version, which I only changed slightly. It is roughly half the original recipe, too, so just enough cake! Thank you Hazel!

Traditionally Devil's Food Cake has a decadent icing, too, but I went with just a sprinkle of confectioner's sugar because it's pretty.

Devils Food Gems

Based on World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey  and Procrastibake's recipe

35g cocoa powder, plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, divided
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs.
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
65 ml boiling water
1/2 cup non-dairy margarine
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
230 g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs at room temperature
225 g self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
85 ml soy milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray gem pans or small muffin tins with baking spray. Mix together 1 tablespoon cocoa powder and 1/4 cup dried plain bread crumbs. Sprinkle cavities of pans, rotate pans to coat and then tap out excess onto waxed paper. Discard excess or use for another pan. Set pan(s) aside.

Mix the cocoa powder with the boiling water and stir until smooth. Let cool.

Cream the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping bowl as needed, to incorporate eggs. Add vanilla and beat well to combine.

Sift the flour, salt and baking soda together on a sheet of waxed paper or in a bowl. Set aside.

Stir the soy milk into the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until combined. Mixture will be thin.

Alternately add the flour mixture and the cocoa mixture to the creamed butter/sugar/egg mixture. Start with 1/3 of the flour, add half of the cocoa mixture, another third flour, the rest of the cocoa mixture, the rest of the flour mixture. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl and then beat to fully combine mixtures.

Scoop batter into prepared pans, filling 2/3 full. Place a baking sheet under the filled pans.

Bake until center springs back when pushed, about 15-25 minutes, depending on the size of the cavities of the pan.  Remove from oven and cool on a rack 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out to cool completely.

Decorate as you please. I used sifted confectioners' sugar (icing sugar).

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