Tomorrow is my sister’s birthday. I volunteered to make the cake – selfishly – so that I could eat it. I had been thinking about red velvet cake since watching an episode of Throw Down with Bobby Flay last week and decided to try my hand at a vegan version. While this one was tasty, I’d still like to try some variations without all the processed foods. I used less sugar than the original recipes in both the cake and the frosting but I’m sure there area tasty ways to make it even healthier. I’m looking forward to experimenting with a good nut-based cream cheese frosting in the future. In the meantime, I look forward to hearing your suggestions.

What you need

The cake (inspired by Bianca from Yahoo! Answers)

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup softened margarine
• 1 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 oz beet juice (I have a juicer and simply bought fresh beets – this was the juice of one beet)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla

 The frosting (inspired by MyVeganPlanet.com)

•  8 oz vegan cream cheese, softened (I used Tofutti brand)
• 1 cup margarine, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 4-6 cups powdered confectioner’s sugar

How to make it

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a cup pour the almond milk and add the lemon juice and vinegar. Let sit while preparing the next dew ingredients. This curdles the milk, making “buttermilk”. Cream together the margarine and sugar and then add the applesauce.

In a small bowl mix together cocoa and beet juice to form a slight paste. Add it to the creamed mixture. Mix the flours, salt, baking soda and powder together and add it to the batter alterately with the ‘buttermilk’ in three batches mixing after each addition. Add vanilla extract. Pour batter into 2 greased cake pans (I used rectangular) and bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool on racks while making the frosting. Simply beat the butter, vanilla, and cream cheese until smooth.  On a medium speed setting, mix in the sugar about 2 cups at a time.

This cake is great served in layers. Simply frost between the layers, then frost the top and sides.

Tags: non-dairy, vegan