By now you’ve no doubt realized that many of these recipes call for high-quality ingredients that are a bit more costly than a tub of shortening or a sack of bleached flour. As I’ve mentioned before, though, I also abhor waste. This recipe might be the most ingenious recasting of leftovers you’ll ever find, the best part being that nobody could ever possibly know!
Recipe information
Yield
makes 8 slices
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom of a 9 × 3-inch round cake pan with a circle of parchment paper and coat both paper and sides lightly with oil.
Step 2
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, potato starch, arrowroot, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt. Add 1/2 cup oil and the agave nectar, applesauce, vanilla, and hot water to the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is smooth.
Step 3
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake on the center rack for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and spoon the Chocolate Crumb over the cake, gently patting it down. Return the pan to the oven and bake the cake for an additional 15 minutes. The finished crumb topping will be slightly crisp to the touch, and the cake will be firm.
Step 4
Let the cake stand in the pan for 20 minutes, then gently run a knife around the edges. Cover the top of the pan with a cutting board and flip over. Carefully lift the pan away and re-invert the cake onto a serving plate.
Step 5
Pour the chocolate sauce into a squeeze bottle and drizzle it evenly over the top of the cake in a zigzag pattern from one edge to the other. Rotate the cake 180 degrees and drizzle it again. Cover the cake with a dome and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
