The Tale of Two Eggless Cakes and Stable Whipped Cream

Did you know that there was a way to make whipped cream frosting more stable? It's always been my favorite thing to top a cake with, but for a long time I'd shied away because if you let it sit overnight, sometimes it would separate and weep or perform some other underhanded trick that would turn a beautiful cake into something a bit melty and sad, like a snowman at the end of winter. So I'm going to share what I learned with you as well as give you two really moist and really yummy egg-less cakes to try it out on. Why egg-less? I had made these for a co-worker's birthday, which fell on a day when she doesn't eat eggs. Oh...and I didn't have eggs, so there you go.

I'm pretty sure you guys don't need a recipe for whipped cream, but I'm going to tell you what I did anyways. For each cake I made I put 1.5 cup of cold whipped cream, 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, and a dash of spices (cinnamon for chocolate and cardamom for mango) into the bowl of my kitchenaid. In a small bowl I poured about a tablespoon and a half of water and sprinkled 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin over it. Give it a minute to absorb and then nuke in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds. Keep an eye on it because it will foam up. Start whipping the cream and when it starts to thicken, turn down the speed to low and pour in the melted gelatin. Keep whipping until stiff peaks form, but don't overwhip or you'll start making butter.  That's it! Just a few extra steps to your regular process and you can pipe it into pretty shapes and keep in the fridge overnight without worrying that it'll all break down into a wet soppy delicious mess.

Egg-less Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Sharmis Passions

Dry Ingredients:
- 1 and 1/2 cups (225 grams) flour
- 4 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (200 grams) sugar

Wet Ingredients:
- 1 cup (250 ml) brewed coffee, room temp
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) vegetable oil

Optional:
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Grease and flour a 9 inch round cake pan.
3. Sift together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Whisk together all of the wet ingredients, pour into the dry and gently fold until combined along with half of the chocolate chips.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the top.
6. Bake it at 350F for 35-40 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before turning out onto a plate. It will fall apart if you try to take it out while it's still hot. It will still be delicious, though not as pretty.
7. Serve slices as is or top with sweetened whipped cream spiked with a dash of cinnamon.

Egg-less Mango Cake
Adapted from Lite Bite

- 1.5 cup flour
- 2 great big ripe mangoes
- 1/2 cup sugar (add a bit more if your mangoes aren't very sweet)
- 1/4 cup yogurt, plain or mango flavored
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- A pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Grease and flour a 9 inch round cake pan.
3. Peel and puree the mangoes.
4. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a large bowl.
5. Add the fruit puree, yogurt, olive oil, cardamom powder and sugar and fold in until combined.
6. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Same as with the chocolate cake, let it cool completely before turning out onto a plate or it might fall apart.
7. Serve slices as is or top with sweetened whipped cream spiked with a dash of cardammom or mango puree.