Vegan Yellow Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting (Happy Earth Day & The Ultimate Lawn Mower)

This cake has earned a spot in the Vegan Thyme cake rotation for sure! This is my fourth attempt at getting a vegan yellow cake that I liked to turn out. I have a great love for cake that bakes up in one layer: a 9 x 13 pan! I keep my cakes covered and can usually snack on them for a week or until my cake craving subsides, whichever comes first!

This was the vegan yellow cake after one night!

Serioulsy, I use this to mow an acre. . . of hills no less! But I love it! They got in three at my Home Depot--people looked at me like I was crazy when I was trying it out in the store (mostly old men who had not-so-fond memories of the Edsel and other motorized failures of their time). I bought this push mower because I like to mow my grass at 7:00 a.m.--this way I don't disturb the neighbors, have peace and quiet, can hear the birds and sort of meditate while mowing. Whereas before with my "goliath" motorized lawn mower, the peace and tranquility thing flies right out the window! And even better--it is the most "green" way I can think of to mow your lawn!

My irises. They are lovely.

My first asparagus sprout! From "alien roots and stems" to this beautiful first shoot--see the baby shoot coming up next to it? I am so excited about this asparagus thingy I have to look forward to!

In my "before vegan" life (but vegetarian at the time) I would keep at least one of every kind of box cake mix on hand. At any given moment you might find: yellow cake mix, chocolate cake mix, German chocolate cake mix, white cake mix, lemon cake mix--and the list goes on. I was a huge fan of the boxed cake mixes. Why?

Well, first of all, in case you haven't noticed, I love cake. But second of all,  my secret weapon in all things cake was found in this lovely cookbook called: The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn. You might know her name and have seen her recipes in the newspaper from time to time. I just loved that cookbook. Back then, my cake cup runneth over.

Fast forward to today. Alas, it has taken me at least four attempts to come to this vegan yellow cake conclusion. One share-worthy. One I also wouldn't be ashamed to share with say my neighbor, a contractor. And I did share it with him, as he has the propensity to tell it to me straight if something's off. Once I served him a piece of my ultimate chocolate cake, he tasted. Paused. Then said, "It needs more frosting." And since that moment, I have always made "more frosting" for the cakes I bake. Today, in the ultimate vegan yellow cake taste test challenge, my cake won a nod and a cleaned plate from "the neighbor". Whew! (Mr. Thyme loved the cake--no question)--but when you take a vegan sweet to someone on the "other side" of the eating spectrum, proceed with care. The neighbors all know we're vegan. And when I bake, I try to share. (Before we eat it all ourselves!) I hope they aren't eating and smiling to pacify me, I really do want them to enjoy it. Plus, it's probably the healthiest "sweet" they've ever had in their lives. And may ever have again. So here is my vegan yellow cake recipe--revised, revisited and ready!

Vegan Yellow Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting

1 1/2 cups Florida Crystals

1/2 cup unsalted vegetable margerine

1 cup unsweetened soy milk (if you'd like to use a "buttermilk"--simply add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the soy milk. I didn't with this one, but might try on my next go around)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon tumeric *the secret weapon for getting the "yellow" color to come out

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 6 tablespoons warm water (equivalent of 3 eggs)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray and flour a 9 x 13 cake pan. First, I always look for what kind of "egg" prep I might have. In this cake, I opted for the old Ener-G Egg Replacer--so I prepped this next. (You could experiment and try using 1/4 cup silken tofu in place of the eggs also.) In a medium bowl, mix your flour, baking powder, salt and tumeric together. In a separate bowl, mix cream together the veggie margerine and sugar. Add the vanilla extract to this. Next add the Egg Replacer mix--about a tablespoonful at a time. Mix until well incorporated. Add the flour in three increments alternating with the soy milk--beginning and ending with the flour, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.Spread cake mix into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle of cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely before frosting. 

Vegan Dark Chocolate Frosting

1/4 cup Earth Balance Butter (1/2 stick)

1/4 cup veggie shortening (4 tablespoons)

1/2 cup dark cocoa powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

3 cups powdered sugar (or a little less--depending upon how creamy you want the frosting)

Cream together the shortening and butter, then add the cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Then, about a half cup at a time, slowly add the powdered sugar. Keep blending until all lumps are gone. You want peaks to form, but you also want the consistency to match your own individual expectations.