There is no need to abandon your favorite foods to live plant-based. How about a soft and savory, mouthwatering dark chocolate cake? It's possible! We made one and will share our 4 simple steps to cake success.

Our masterpiece! this dark chocolate cake is made entirely of health supporting ingredients such as apple cider vinegar and raw cacao.

1. Find a recipe that inspires

There are many awesome plant-based baking recipes online and plenty of vegan recipes too. In vegan recipes, swap out oil or Earth Balance for water or unsweetened applesauce, or exchange sugar for maple syrup or stevia to eliminate oil and sugar. Turn to Google search and you'll find plenty of ideas for healthy versions of all sorts of desserts.

We found a recipe by the Minimalist Baker that inspired us and wasn't too far off from what was already stocked in our kitchen.

flax seeds, oat flour, coconut sugar... check to see if there is already something in the cabinet that can go into your recipe.

2. Take inventory of your baking supplies

Plant-based eating does not have to be pricey, but might seem like it could be when looking at a recipe with 13 specialty ingredients! Forkful of Love recipes typically are 5-7 ingredients. We like to keep it simple and omit anything that we don't have or seems too fussy.

A recent baking items sale at Vitacost helped us to stock up on more whole-food baking favorites and gluten-free flours at great prices. Our favorite substitute is just fresh filtered water! Basically free, water can substitute for oil, milk, or stock in all recipes.

stirring is hard work! see if you can find a friend and hand off that spoon.

3. Bake with a friend

Although I love to bake with my co-blogger and mom, Janet, who you know all about if you read this blog, we live in different states and "cake happens" in the in-between! So this time, I was fortunate enough to bake with my friend, Leah. Baking is always more fun with a friend, and two heads are better than one.

We made cupcakes, too, that are even better for sharing. No icing, no problem. We topped with strawberry quarters and 2 drops of organic peppermint oil.

4. Share the love with other eaters

I mean everyone loves cake. You don't have to open with, "eat healthy with my gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, preservative free, sugar-free, blah blah." Just say, "FREE CAKE!"

The more you expose others to the delights of plant-based eating, the less you have to fret over explaining why you like to eat this way. The taste speaks for itself.

Be an uninhibited plant-based baker. Recipes are easy, substitutions are plenty and affordable, and you and your friends will love the outcome! Share your baking adventures and pictures with us @forkfuloflove on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and please comment on this post below. We love to answer your questions!