whole foods, Mrs. Greens, or most natural foods stores.
and Amazon of course! http://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Naturals-Organic-Vegetable-Shortening/dp/B004T33K42/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=grocery&qid=1303352338&sr=1-3
My favorite vegan frosting consists of spectrum shortening, confectioner's sugar, coconut flour, pure vanilla and coconut milk. Use the same proportions as you would a buttercream recipe, but substitute about 1/3 of the confectioner's sugar for coconut flour. You can add cocoa powder to make it chocolate, lemon zest to make it lemon, or chopped berries to make it pink. Very versatile.
It is not a good idea to serve this straight out of the fridge, since shortening becomes harder than butter when its cold. I tend to add a little extra coconut milk in the mixing process to make it just slightly looser than I would a regular buttercream, and leave the cake out of the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Thanks ladies. Look like two cakes to solve my issue! Mrs.Larkin. The client wants a layer cake to feed about 10. Can I make two batches, put them 9-inch pans and frost them with some vegan frosting? Got a favorite vegan frosting BTW?
We love this one. It's my kids' favorite cake: http://www.food52.com/recipes/3057_fudgy_chocolate_stout_cake
Most of those "Crazy Cakes" or "Amazon Cakes" are vegan, and very similar. They are all super easy and delicious. You'll do well with any of them.
One thing though, they are very dense and fudgy, so I'm not sure how well it would stack as a layer cake. If you're dead set on layering, you'll have to keep looking.
Here is a recipe from the Moosewood site. (It looks really easy--similar to Kelsey's chocolate cake.)
Vegan Chocolate Cake
No one would ever suspect that this dark, elegant, scrumptious cake is both egg-less and dairy-less. It's economical and low-cholesterol, and what's more, it goes into the oven in 6 minutes with no mixing bowl to clean because the batter is mixed directly in the baking pan. You may be surprised to see vinegar in the ingredient list, but it's not a mistake. The combination of vinegar and baking soda helps the cake to rise. When cool, cut and serve the cake directly from the pan using small metal spatula or pie server; it cannot be easily turned out onto a serving plate.
However, if you have time for a 12-minute cake, you can mix the batter in a bowl, line the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper, and generously oil the sides of the pan and dust with flour. Then the cake can be removed from the pan with no trouble at all, for a more elegant presentation or for a layer cake.
For the chocolate glaze, use a good-quality chocolate, such as Callebaut or Valrhona. Or try it with your favorite frosting or a dusting of confectioners' sugar or topped with whipped cream, ice cream, or sliced fruit.
Serves 8
Preparation time for cake: 6 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Preparation time for glaze: 15 minutes
Chilling time (if using glaze) 30 minutes
Equipment: 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake pan, 2-cup measuring cup, double boiler
Cake Ingredients
1 ½ cups unbleached white flour
? cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup cold water or coffee
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Chocolate Glaze
½ pound semi-sweet chocolate
¾ cup hot water
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 375º.
Sift together the flour, cocoa, soda, salt, and sugar directly into the cake pan. In the measuring cup, measure and mix together the oil, cold water or coffee, and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients into the baking pan and mix the batter with a fork or a small whisk. When the batter is smooth, add the vinegar and stir quickly. There will be pale swirls in the batter as the baking soda and vinegar react. Stir just until the vinegar is evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and set aside to cool.
To make the optional glaze, melt the chocolate in a double boiler, microwave oven, or reset the oven to 300º and melt the chocolate in the oven for about 15 minutes in a small ovenproof bowl or heavy skillet. Stir the hot water and vanilla into the melted chocolate until smooth. Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake. Refrigerate the glazed cake for at least 30 minutes before serving.
7 Comments
and Amazon of course! http://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Naturals-Organic-Vegetable-Shortening/dp/B004T33K42/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=grocery&qid=1303352338&sr=1-3
cheese, I would do the spectrum shortening, 10x, cocoa, a touch of espresso powder and vanilla.
It is not a good idea to serve this straight out of the fridge, since shortening becomes harder than butter when its cold. I tend to add a little extra coconut milk in the mixing process to make it just slightly looser than I would a regular buttercream, and leave the cake out of the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Most of those "Crazy Cakes" or "Amazon Cakes" are vegan, and very similar. They are all super easy and delicious. You'll do well with any of them.
One thing though, they are very dense and fudgy, so I'm not sure how well it would stack as a layer cake. If you're dead set on layering, you'll have to keep looking.
Vegan Chocolate Cake
No one would ever suspect that this dark, elegant, scrumptious cake is both egg-less and dairy-less. It's economical and low-cholesterol, and what's more, it goes into the oven in 6 minutes with no mixing bowl to clean because the batter is mixed directly in the baking pan. You may be surprised to see vinegar in the ingredient list, but it's not a mistake. The combination of vinegar and baking soda helps the cake to rise. When cool, cut and serve the cake directly from the pan using small metal spatula or pie server; it cannot be easily turned out onto a serving plate.
However, if you have time for a 12-minute cake, you can mix the batter in a bowl, line the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper, and generously oil the sides of the pan and dust with flour. Then the cake can be removed from the pan with no trouble at all, for a more elegant presentation or for a layer cake.
For the chocolate glaze, use a good-quality chocolate, such as Callebaut or Valrhona. Or try it with your favorite frosting or a dusting of confectioners' sugar or topped with whipped cream, ice cream, or sliced fruit.
Serves 8
Preparation time for cake: 6 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Preparation time for glaze: 15 minutes
Chilling time (if using glaze) 30 minutes
Equipment: 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake pan, 2-cup measuring cup, double boiler
Cake Ingredients
1 ½ cups unbleached white flour
? cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup cold water or coffee
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Chocolate Glaze
½ pound semi-sweet chocolate
¾ cup hot water
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 375º.
Sift together the flour, cocoa, soda, salt, and sugar directly into the cake pan. In the measuring cup, measure and mix together the oil, cold water or coffee, and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients into the baking pan and mix the batter with a fork or a small whisk. When the batter is smooth, add the vinegar and stir quickly. There will be pale swirls in the batter as the baking soda and vinegar react. Stir just until the vinegar is evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and set aside to cool.
To make the optional glaze, melt the chocolate in a double boiler, microwave oven, or reset the oven to 300º and melt the chocolate in the oven for about 15 minutes in a small ovenproof bowl or heavy skillet. Stir the hot water and vanilla into the melted chocolate until smooth. Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake. Refrigerate the glazed cake for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Reprinted from Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts , Copyright © 1997 by Moosewood, Inc. Clarkson N. Potter, Inc. New York, publisher.