Easy Dairy-free / Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe

I've mentioned before that my son CJ has a very severe milk allergy. He isn't lactose intolerant, he is ALLERGIC. If he has any dairy, he could have a very severe reaction. So when it came time to plan the menu for his 2nd birthday party, I went searching high and low for dairy-free cakes. Every recipe I found called for either tofu or dairy-free sour cream. I didn't want to use those things, I wanted just regular cake ingredients that you would find in any pantry. My friend Kristen is vegan, so I went and asked her. She shared with me this recipe for dairy-free chocolate cake. It can also be made vegan with a slight substitution. I was afraid that the cake would be bland, but it turned out moist and rich and just the right amount of chocolate. I love that CJ was FINALLY able to enjoy chocolate. Enjoy the recipe, let me know if you have any questions!

Dairy-Free And/Or Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 bar melted good quality dark chocolate (has to be dark, otherwise there is milk in it)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water (must be warm, otherwise it will cause the melted chocolate to seize)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs at room temperature (replace with 1 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar to keep Vegan)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Begin melting chocolate. I suggest the double boiler method.

Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in small bowl.

In large mixing bowl, combine oil and sugar and beat until combined. Slowly add eggs (OR vinegar) and beat until smooth. Add melted chocolate and water. Slowly Add flour mixture and beat on medium until combined.

Put in greased 9x13inch pan for 25-35 minutes. (I actually used an 8x8inch cake pan plus 4 cupcakes. It was done after 25 minutes.) Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.

For frosting, I used this dairy-free frosting recipe. 

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