The 2009 "Perfect" Chocolate Cake

She said she was intimidated in making her chocolate cake for me. She said my standards were too high, but for Christmas this year, my cousin Janeen baked the "perfect" chocolate cake and wins the prize for the best chocolate cake of 2009.

While Buca di Beppo's Double Dark Chocolate Cake was in the running for the "perfect" prize this year, Janeen's creation takes the cake in not only being VEGAN (as Buca's was not), but also having a ganache that is not overly sweet, which was one of my only criticisms about Buca's near-perfect chocolate dessert.

A vegan adaptation of three recipes, Janeen was able to make the appropriate substitutions to create a cake that has the dense moist quality I like, the deep bittersweet chocolate taste I appreciate, and the rich but not overly sweetened ganache I expect in an excellent chocolate cake. The cake on its own was outstanding, with a fantastic frosting and filling which was a delectable delight on its own, but was the perfect complement for the cake. The ganache did not overpower the cake but enhanced each bite with harmonious cocoa-ed notes.

With a deep rich dark brown color, the cake was "subtly" bittersweet. In other words, it didn't have a sharp bittersweet bite, yet it also did not have the sickly sweetened sugariness that some cakes possess. It was a perfect blend of bittersweet sweetness that would please the taste palates of both dark chocolate and milk chocolate lovers. Truly a rare find in a chocolate cake.

There was a unique depth of chocolate flavor in Janeen's cake that I've never tasted before. At first, it took me off guard, but with each bite, I was addicted as I enjoyed the way the ganache frosting highlighted the chocolate subtlety in the cake. I had three slices, and with each slice, I kept trying to find words to express the subtleties in the flavors I was experiencing. It was simply an excellent cake on its own but raised to a new level of heavenly delight by the ganache frosting which was also vegan.

While bittersweet chips would add a bite to the cake which my dark chocolate palate appreciates, overall the cake was excellent - no complaints - and most importantly, Janeen's cake was a crowd pleaser, even among those who don't like chocolate cake! Everyone in the family, especially the non-vegans, enjoyed it and were impressed by how rich and delicious vegan chocolate desserts could be.

Janeen said, "It's so strange that people think because it doesn't have animal products that it will taste bad." How wrong they are! Janeen's cake proves that you can enjoy an excellent chocolate cake and be kind to animals as well, and for that Janeen wins my prize for the "perfect" chocolate cake of 2009. CONGRATULATIONS JANEEN!