Brooklyn
Blackout Cake by
Fran Costigan
My family moved from Brooklyn to Long Island when I was five years old, but my father traveled
back to Brooklyn every weekend to buy the iconic Ebinger Bakery Blackout Cake we adored. This cake was composed of three fudgy layers, each slathered with a rich and creamy chocolate pudding, frosted with the same pudding, and then showered with chocolate cake crumbs made from a fourth layer. When I set about creating a vegan version, I knew it had to be a perfect rendition for the New Yorkers— especially Brooklynites— who grew up eating this beloved cake. I am proud to say I’ve served this cake to friends who were Ebinger fans and Brooklyn natives, and they all swear it is as good as the original.
This showstopper of a cake is easy to assemble, requiring only that creamy chocolate pudding be spread between the layers and on the sides and top. There’s no need to be fussy about smoothing the pudding, since it’s the thick covering of crumbs that creates the final “WOW!” The cake layers can be made ahead and frozen, and the pudding can be made a day ahead and refrigerated.
Recipe adapted from Vegan Chocolate: Unapologetically Luscious and Decadent Dairy Free Desserts by Fran Costigan (Running Press) Photo by Hannah Kaminsky VEGWORLD
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November/December 2021
