Prep Time: 15 minutes // Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total: 55 minutes // Serving: 8

If you are looking for a dessert with a good amount of protein, you will love my high protein vanilla cake. This cake is fluffy, soft and has about 7 grams of protein per serving. So, not only can you eat this as a healthy dessert, you can also eat it as your healthy breakfast! You can make a vegan and fat-free whipped topping using aquafaba from the can to go with the cake. My cake recipe also gives instructions on making this whipped topping. Give it a try, you will be amazed!  

I like fluffy and light cakes. I know cake flour is the best for making that type of cake. However, I wanted another option, because I did not want to buy and store another item in my kitchen pantry. From my research, adding corn starch to all-purpose flour and sifting them together is a way to mimic cake flour. I found if I sift the flour mixture less than four times, my cake would come out dense. So, sifting the flour mixture four times is a must. Another key ingredient to make my cake fluffy is to add whipped cream and gently fold it into the cake batter. This makes a big difference with the cake texture.

Instead of buying whipped cream, I made my own aquafaba vegan, fat - free whipped cream. This may sound strange, but it works and tastes great. For me, using ¾ cup of aquafaba whipped cream in this cake recipe is just right. Too little or too much whipped cream will make the cake very dense (not enough lift) or soggy (too much liquid) respectively. You can add other flavors to this cake mix such as cinnamon, nutmeg or even chocolate chips. The applesauce in this recipe provides moisture to the cake, and also acts as a partial fat substitute. If you use only applesauce without any fat, the cake will come out dry (yes, I tried). Keep in mind that the foam from the aquafaba whipped cream will get deflated after two hours. So, I would not use it as a whipped cream frosting on the whole cake if you can’t finish the cake within an hour. When you serve the cake, I recommend putting the whipped cream on the side or on top of each slice of the cake. The good news is that you can re-whip the aquafaba foam after it is deflated. Use your hand mixer and mix on medium high for a few minutes, and it will become whipped cream again. I re-whipped the same batch of deflated aquafaba whipped cream three times. Each time the whipped cream came back to its original shape and taste. Definitely no food waste!

 

Ingredients:

Cake Batter Ingredients

Wet ingredients:

  •   1 can chickpeas, 15.5 oz

  •   2 eggs

  •   ½ cup applesauce, unsweetened

  •   ½ cup granulated sugar

  •   2 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil

  •   1 ½ tablespoons vanilla extract

Dry ingredients:

  •   1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

  •  3 1/2 tablespoons corn starch

  •   2 teaspoons baking powder

  •   ¼ teaspoon salt

Whipped Cream

  • ¾ cup aquafaba (the liquid from the canned chickpeas)

  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • ¼ cup granulated sugar

Instructions:

  1. Pre heat oven at 350 degrees

  2. Open the canned chickpeas, reserve the liquid (also called aquafaba) from the can

  3. Rinse the chickpeas under cold water in a calendar until the beans do not feel slimy

  4. Make the whipped cream:

    • Place the reserved aquafaba from the can, vanilla extract and cream of tartar in large bowl

    • Beat the aquafaba mixture with a hand mixer at medium high speed for 6 minutes, or until you see soft peaks forming

    • Add the sugar slowly into the bowl and mix for another 4 - 5 minutes or until stiff peaks form (when you are able to turn your bowl upside down without the whipped cream falling down)

  5. Place all of the wet ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth consistency to create a wet batter

  6. Place all of the dry ingredients in a mesh strainer and sift 4 times in a separate bowl

  7. Place the wet batter into the dry ingredient bowl and mix thoroughly for 1 ½ - 2 minutes

  8. Fold ¾ cup of whipped cream into the batter

  9. Place the cake batter in a 7-inch cake pan

  10. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake

  11. Let the cake cool completely

  12. Serve with the remaining whipped cream