Microwave Applesauce Cake

From: nethope

On Oct 20, 2008

The first time I made this recipe, I thought it was a 4-star recipe (you know, pretty good but no cartwheels). Since I can't follow a recipe, I used cake flour instead of all-purpose, reduced-fat margarine instead of shortening, mashed banana instead of applesauce, yogurt instead of milk, 1/2 cup chocolate chips instead of 1/4 cup raisins, and whole graham crackers instead of crumbs (why make crumbs when the point is to make a bottom layer for the cake?). That time it was a bit overdone for 6 minutes at half power, 4 minutes full power in my 1250-watt microwave. Then it was a hot, hot summer day, I wanted chocolate cake, and I didn't want to get the kitchen hotter. Since it turned out OK despite substitutions the first time, I thought I'd try it again. This time I used cake flour instead of all-purpose flour again, 1/4 cup reduced fat margarine (instead of 1/3 cup shortening), mashed banana instead of applesauce again, no eggs (I just plain forgot), 4 Tbs chocolate soy milk (instead of 3 Tbs milk), I skipped raisins, I added 1/3 cup cocoa powder, and I lined the bottom with whole graham crackers instead of graham cracker crumbs again. I microwaved it for 5 minutes at full power and 2.5 minutes at half power (instead of half power first for the longer time, then a shorter time at full power; oops!). That’s not too close to the original recipe! The verdict is that I need more sugar when I add cocoa powder, and I prefer the texture variation from adding chocolate chips (or raisins or shredded coconut), but it works! I can’t really taste the banana, but that’s fine: it’s in here because I had a black banana that needed to be used and Toddler and I wanted chocolate cake. I've very sensitive to baking powder (it all tastes metallic; even Bakewell Cream tastes funny) unless I make my own on the spot. And now my Baby has allergies to milk, egg, and soy, so I've had to vary it up again. On the third try, I used coconut oil instead of shortening (to avoid milk and soy), I used 1 banana instead of applesauce (to use up a black banana the Toddler didn't eat), skipped the eggs, and 5 Tbs rice milk (to make up for the moisture from the eggs). I added 1/3 cup Special Dark cocoa and sprinkled 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top for the texture I enjoy. Since it's cooler now and I was baking already, I baked it for 30 minutes at 350°F. Again, it was fine. I've made it in a 9x9" pan, an 8" round pan, and a 10x4" loaf pan, all with good results. The reasons why I give it 5 stars instead of 4 stars ... I keep making this recipe! I’m really impressed that I've made so many changes (never once have I followed the original recipe), and it still turned out as a decent cake (I’ve had better chocolate cake before, but not as quickly; plus once I added icing, it seemed a lot closer to any other cake). It doesn't use baking powder. It's really fast to come out of the microwave. So let's see, it's fast, it's nearly bulletproof, I make it often, and it tastes fine. OK, that's a 5-star recipe!