Great, Triple Layer Chocolate Cake

We celebrated my daughter's 9th birthday with an owl themed party, complete with this cake decorated with an owl. The cake is egg free and dairy free. We used Newman O's for the wings and eyes, Lifesaver jellied candies for the eyes, and baking chips for the feathers. The beak and claws are almonds and this cute owl is sitting on a branch of pretzels. I doubled the cake recipe and used the chocolate glaze between each layer of cake. This cake recipe will also work great with the wheat/gluten free option. Go to the Breads and Baking option on this site for details.

Chocolate Cake

In a bowl mix:

1 1/4 cups of flour mixture

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup corn starch

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 TBSP cocoa

In another bowl mix:

1/3 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 TBSP vinegar

3/4 cups of cold water

1/4 cup of any type of milk (cow, soy, rice, etc)

Sift dry ingredients together and blend wet ingredients.

Mix the wet and dry together until well blended.

Pour into lightly greased baking pan (8-9 inches round or square) or into 12 muffin tins

Bake at 400 deg F until toothpick comes out clean. Bake for 20 minutes for cake and 18 minutes for muffins. Recipe can be doubled and used with layered cake pans for a double or triple layered chocolate cake.

Chocolate Glaze

2 Tbsp Cocoa

1 TBSP vegetable oil

1 TBSP corn syrup

2 TBSP + 1 tsp of water

1 cup powdered sugar

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a small sauce pan and stir over medium heat until smooth and shiny, then blend in powdered sugar. Glaze the cake and enjoy.