Vegan Vanilla Cake

As I told you in my last post, this past weekend we had my little sister’s baby shower, and I got to make three different kinds of cakes.  I’ve given you the recipe for the delicious strawberry cake, and today, I’m giving you the vanilla one!

This cake is so simple to make and really turns out well.  I’ve made it a few times as the non-vegan version, making a strawberry layer cake, with fresh strawberries and whipped cream…mmm…strawberries must be on my mind lately.  I think I made the original version for a jewelry party, and if memory serves, I was much more interested in the cake than I was the jewelry…layers of cake with strawberry jam, fresh cut strawberries, sweet cream…my mouth is watering.  I am definitely going to make that again and figure out an option for the cream.  I saw online a vegan version of whipping cream, or maybe I’ll use coconut whipped cream.  Oh my!  Stop my beating heart.

Ahem…now that I’ve got you all excited for something else…sorry.

Back to the purpose of this post!  Because the cake itself has always turned out so scrumptiously, I thought I’d try a vegan version of it as my vanilla cake with “butter”cream frosting.  I love flavored cakes (can I get a holla for some chocolate!), but sometimes it’s nice to just have a simple vanilla.  I made two round cakes, layered with buttercream and decorated with peace signs and hearts (hippie girl, remember?).  I had the cake looking pretty good, if I do say so myself.  I was in the final stages of frosting the third, chocolate, cake when I heard a little thump and an “Ohhhh noooo….” from behind me (there may have been an expletive in there 😉 ).  I turned around, and bless Aaron’s heart, he was trying to put the cake and cake stand into a box for me to transport it to the baby shower when he dropped the cake into the side of the box!!!  All I can say is thank goodness for frosting and some creative covering!  I don’t think anyone was the wiser! 😉

Vanilla Cake

(adapted from Martha Stewart Living)

2 sticks Earth Balance butter, softened to room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 ¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 ¾ cups sugar
4 Ener-G eggs (6 tsp egg replacer mixed with 8 TBSP warm water)
1 1/3 cup almond milk
1 TBSP vinegar
1 TBSP vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Spray two 9 inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper on the bottom.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
3. Combine the almond milk and vinegar and set aside.
4. Beat the Earth Balance butter and the sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, for about 2 minutes.  Reduce the speed and slowly pour in the egg replacer, beating well.  Beat in one-third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the almond milk, one-third of the flour mixture, the other half of the almond milk, and ending with the final third of the flour mixture.  Beat in the vanilla.
5. Divide the batter between the two pans.  Bake, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.  Transfer to wire racks and cool in the pans for 20 minutes.  Invert onto wire racks, remove the parchment paper, and allow to cool completely.