Rejoice! There’s something awesome to celebrate this Valentine’s Day: Vegan Molten Chocolate Lava Cake!  If you want to detonate a depth-charge of love for your taste buds, make this oooey, gooey, chocolaty, moan-worthy vegan delicacy. I guarantee that it will totally blow away carnivores and veggies alike.

It took me 7 attempts to perfect the recipe for this decadent dessert, but all the work and determination was worth it! I didn’t want to just match the intense flavor and alluring texture of the butter- and egg-laden version of this iconic gourmet dessert; I wanted to best it with a truly world-class, connoisseur version that also just happens to be vegan.  And oh man, this melt-in-your-mouth lava cake totally does it! It explodes with the smooth, rich flavor of high quality cacao, and the silky texture will make you scream out “Oh God!! Yes, yes, yes!”  The chocolate lava oozes through dense, velvety cake and beckons you to lick to the plate clean.

This vegan recipe for Molten Lava Cake isn’t only better than all those versions with animal products, it absolutely crushes them!  This is an especially great dessert to make for those who mistakenly think vegans have to deprive themselves of decadence to eat an animal-free diet. And if you’re really nice, you can even invite them to lick the batter with you – it’s vegan, after all, so indulge!

Cimeron’s Vegan Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

Serves: 2 (or 4 if you share – this makes two individual cakes, but they’re huge and very filling)
From fridge to table: 20 minutes

This cake will make you as happy as a piggy in a mud bath!

Converting carnivores, rejoice! You’re going to hog wild when you try this moist, delicious, luscious vegan chocolate cake!

I made this cake for my veterinarian, who is a serious chocoholic and one of the most wonderful people on earth. He provides incredibly compassionate veterinary care to the cats of Project Bay Cat, which is a humane feral cat management program that I co-founded 9 years ago. When I told him I wanted to make him a vegan cake to thank him for his kindness, he cocked his head and looked at me suspiciously, like he was trying to avoid a sucker punch.

“If it’s vegan, it’ll be good for me, so that means that it can’t taste good.  How could you possibly make it without butter, milk and eggs?” he asked with a far-off and somewhat fearful look in his eyes, probably envisioning a cake made of sawdust and frosted with spackle.

The challenge was on and I was determined to knock his socks off. To help overcome his vegan fears, I thought I’d distract him with a cute little pigs-in-a-hot-tub motif.

Much to my surprise, I was able to find a vegan version of the KitKat bar to create the siding for the hot tub – the dark chocolate version sold in Canada doesn’t have any animal-based ingredients – bonus!

When my vet saw this cake, he laughed out loud, and when he and his lovely wife tried it, they said it was the best chocolate cake they’ve ever had.

Give this a try – even without the cute pigs or the hot tub, it’ll still make you smile. It’s super simple and quick to make, and it’s moist, scrumptious and guilt-free!

Vegan Chocolate Cake (pigs in a hot tub edition)

Cake ingredients:
2 1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cup water
2/3 cup olive oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp distilled white vinegar

Frosting ingredients:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
2 tbsp coconut milk
1/4 cup Earth Balance vegan margarine (or equivalent)
¾ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp agave syrup

Other ingredients:
8 dark chocolate vegan KitKat bars, scored into 32 individual ‘logs’

Cake directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Oil  and flour two 8″ round pan. This is a very moist cake, which makes it somewhat challenging to remove from the pan once baked. So use some parchment paper on the bottom of the pan so the cake will easily pop out when done.

In a medium bowl, mix all the dry ingredients well. Then add all the wet ingredients and stir well. Pour into baking pans and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert onto wax paper or parchment.

Frosting directions: 
In a high-sided mixing bowl, stir together the powdered sugar and cocoa. Add all the remaining ingredients, and using an electric beater, mix on low speed for one minute, scraping sides of bowl. Then mix on high for another minute or two until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Hot tub assembly:
I went for a smaller hot tub, so I cut off about an inch around the perimeter of the cakes. Place one cake in the middle of a plate and spread a thin layer of frosting on top. Then place the second cake on top. Spread some frosting on top and place your piggies in the ‘mud puddle.’  Frost the sides of the cake generously as this will act as the glue to hold up the KitKat bar siding. Carefully place the KitKat bars shoulder to shoulder, with the unmarked side facing out. To make them even more uniform, gently tie a wide-banded ribbon around the lower section of the hot tub. Then serve and listen to your friends and family squeal when they see this delicious vegan treat!

“Wait, that’s vegan? They don’t look vegan. Are you sure they are?” asked my chocoholic friend as he stared wide-eyed at the vegan chocolate strawberry cupcakes I made for him. When he bit into one of the moist, melt-in-your-mouth cupcakes, his face lit up with pleasure, but then he squinted his eyes and asked again: “Are you sure these are vegan?! They’re really, really good!” I laughed and said: “Yep, I made them myself and I swear they are! Your wife doesn’t want you to die from clogged arteries, and neither do I, so these are made without any animal fat. They’re much better for you.” I still don’t think he completely believed me though! 🙂

That got me to thinking: what do carnivores think vegan baked goods look like?  I took a poll among my meat-eating friends and found that this is what they visualize when they think of baked vegan treats:

That used to be the case for my carnivore, but I’ve been working hard to change his mind.  He’s finally realizing that vegan cupcakes aren’t dry, dirt-encrusted bricks wrapped in hemp leaves. Top bakers and chefs all over the world are recognizing the health benefits of desserts free of animal products and we’re seeing more and more incredibly tasty and inventive recipes from them. This vegan chocolate strawberry cupcake recipe is by chef Chloe Corscarelli, who used these yummy and pretty little cakes to win the Cupcake Wars competition. Most impressive: she was competing against people using whipping cream, butter, and every other animal fat you can imagine, and these amazing cupcakes kicked all of their booties. Score another point for Team Veg!

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, give these beautiful cupcakes a try and see if you can convert a carnivore or two yourself!

Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes

Serves: 12
From fridge to table: 1.5 hours

1.5 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp distilled white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting and finishing:
2/3 cup nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening
2 2/3 cups plus 1 tbsp sifted powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp soy milk (or rice or almond milk)
1.5 cups sliced strawberries

Preheat oven to 350. Line 12-cup muffin pan.

To make cupcakes: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup water, the oil, vinegar and vanilla. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and whisk until just combined. Divide batter among cupcake cups. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Let them cool completely in pan.

To  make frosting: Using an electric mixer, beat shortening, 2 2/3 cup powdered sugar and the vanilla to mix. Beat in nondairy milk, 1 tbsp at a time, and beat until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

Cut tops off of cooled cupcakes and set aside. Smooth about 1 tbsp of frosting onto each decapitated cupcake and cover with a few strawberries. Replace top and then add a dollop of frosting and few slices of strawberries. Dust cupcakes with a little powdered sugar. Then enjoy!