Lenten And Vegan Chocolate Cake

This Lenten chocolate cake called ‘Sokolatopita’ meaning Chocolate Pie in Greek, will fascinate you!

A marvellous cake that will dazzle the whole family, and you won’t even realize that it is lent and vegan.

A great chocolate cake recipe is like the little black dress in your closet. A staple, an always reliable option, and on occasion, the most appropriate choice.

INGREDIENTS:

For the cake:

• 3 cups self-raising flour, sifted

• 1 cup sugar

• 6 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted

• 1 cup hot water

• 2/3 cup Vegetable oil

• 1 cup fresh orange juice

• 1 tsp baking soda

• Zest from one orange

• 1 tbsp vinegar

• 8- 16 gr vanilla sugar (powder)

• 1 pinch of salt

For the syrup:

• 2 cups water

• 1.7 cups sugar

• 70 gr chocolate, cut in pieces

Ingredients for glazing:

• 300 gr dark chocolate, cut in pieces

• ½ cup vegetable oil

• 1-2 tbsp orange zest

METHOD:

A. Make the cake:

• In the bowl of a strong mixer, first beat in high speed, the sugar and vanilla sugar with the oil until the sugar dissolves, about 5'

• Reduce speed, and start gradually adding, spoon by spoon half of the flour

• Pour the hot water to the mixture, and continue with the rest of the flour

• Once incorporated, add the salt, vinegar and cocoa to the mixture

• Beat a little more until they are homogenized

• Stop the mixer for a while

• Dissolve the soda in the orange juice and pour it into the cake mixture, along with the orange zest

• Beat until the mixture becomes a smooth batter

• Grease and flour a baking tray of 22 x 30 cm or 25 - 27 cm dimeter

• Spread the mixture inside, levelling its surface.

• Bake the cake in a preheated oven, both heating elements on @ 180 ℃ for about 40' - 45' (depends on the oven)

• Remove the pan from the oven and leave it on the counter for about 30' or until the cake is lukewarm

B. Make the syrup:

• While you wait for the cake to cool down, prepare the syrup

• In a saucepan over low heat, dissolve the sugar and the chocolate pieces in the water

• When water starts to boil, set the heat to very low, and simmer the syrup for 3', stirring regularly

• Using a ladle, syrup the chocolate pie, gradually in 3 stages, with the very hot syrup

• You may not need to use all of the syrup

• Let Chocolate Pie absorb all the syrup and cool down completely

C. Make the glazing:

• Once the Chocolate Pie has cooled completely, prepare the glazing

• Place the oil and chocolate pieces in a small pot, au Bain-Marie (heated bath), over low heat

• Stir until chocolate melts completely

• Drizzle the hot glazing over the Chocolate Pie, allowing it to go everywhere

• Sprinkle the orange zest on top.

• Place Chocolate Pie in the fridge for 1-2 hours to cool

TIPS:
1. Optionally, after 2 hours, take the dessert out of the fridge, and garnish it with strawberries 
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate Sokolatopita for at least 5-6 hours to allow the ingredients to set and chill.
3. Chocolate Pie its better to be served cold, straight from the fridge!
4. Chocolate Pie can be kept, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week