This collection of recipes have been in the planning stages for a number of weeks, ever since Icy Sedgwick mentioned she’d had chocolate wasabi cake. I was intrigued by the flavor combination and the challenge of creating recipes to suit my sensitivities. Of course if I was going to skirt the edges of my allergy to chocolate, I decided to go all the way and put cane sugar free chocolate ganache between the cake layers. I offset the richness of the chocolate with a green tea powder (matcha) frosting to carry out my Japanese theme. 😛

I finally felt well enough to test my recipes and they turned out great and actually the wasabi is so subtle it could be increased. It left a nice warm sensation in my mouth but the chocolate covered the bitterness and fire of the wasabi very well. As an alternative, this works well with other flavors as well. I tried it with ginger powder instead of wasabi powder and it was equally delicious. Of course, the spices could be left out completely for those with more traditional tastes. 😉

This was the first time I’ve baked with date sugar (which is actually dried and powdered dates and sometimes sold as date flour) and I loved both the sweetness and extra nutrients it added to the cake. I have a feeling I’ll be using it in my baking quite often. It doesn’t dissolve like cane sugar so adds extra bulk to the cake. I compensated by adding more liquid but it was still a fairly dense cake but very tasty.

Gluten Free Chocolate Wasabi Cake

1 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1 cup date sugar
1 cup rice milk
3/4 cup light agave nectar
3/4 cup vegan margarine, softened
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup rice flour
3 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 Tbs wasabi powder
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350* F. Lightly grease the bottom of two 8” cake pans. Combine flours, cocoa, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and wasabi powder and whisk together in a medium bowl. Beat the margarine until creamy. Slowly add the date sugar and the agave nectar; whip until fluffy. Add the eggs and the egg yolks one at a time, add the vanilla. Turn the mixer to low and alternately add the flour mixture and the rice milk. Pour into the prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the cake is springy to the touch.

Chocolate Ganache with Agave

8 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup light agave nectar
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 Tbs coconut oil
1 tsp wasabi powder

Combine the chocolate, agave nectar, and coconut milk in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until the chocolate melts, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut oil and wasabi. To spread easily, the ganache should be slightly warm, and the consistency of hot fudge.

Green Tea Buttercream Frosting

1 cup vegan margarine, room temperature
1/2 cup light agave nectar
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup arrow root powder
1 Tbs coconut milk
2 tsp matcha powder

Mix matcha in with the coconut cream to make a paste. Beat margarine briefly, scrape bowl. Add agave and matcha paste. Beat until smooth, slowly adding corn starch and arrow root. Chill until ready to use.