Seeking a recipe for vanilla cake and vanilla frosting

[Erin Pavlina]

It seems like chocolate cakes always come out better than vanilla cakes when I try to bake.

Does anyone have a really great, tried and true, recipe for fluffy, cakey, vanilla cake, with fluffy, creamy, vanilla frosting?

I am willing to use unbleached white flour on this cake. I don't need a WW pastry flour recipe. Those come out all wrong for me.

And what about like a "butter" cream frosting? Any ideas?

[reb_granger]

Chef Deb from Vegsource posted a recipe the other day. I haven't tried it, but her recipes are generally good. Here goes: -

White Cake

1 & 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup soymilk or other "Milk"
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup melted margarine or oil
Ener-G Egg Replacer for 1 egg, prepared as per package directions*


Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease a cake pan.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and baking powder, and salt.
Combine remaining ingredients, and add to flour mixture.
Beat for 2 minutes.
Bake for 30 minutes or util a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes dry.

Makes one cake.

Multiply amounts as needed.

* If Ener-G is not available, use 2 tsp tapioca flour or cornstarch, mixed with 2 Tbs water.

[Erin Pavlina]

Okay, I think I can handle that. Thanks for retrieving that for me. I'll let you know how it turns out!

[sophie]

I don't have a recipe but could I please have a slice of that cake when it's made? My mouth is watering. :p

[Queenie]

I don't know if you're willing to use confectioner's sugar or not. I do, because there really is no substitute (that's acceptable to me) and I was reading on J. Stepniak's website (I think) that it has a 75% chance of being vegan anyway.

So if you are: I use two pounds of confectioner's sugar, two sticks of vegan stick margarine, two teaspoons of vanilla and start beating with the electric mixer. Then I put in as much soymilk as needed to make it into an acceptable texture. This makes a lot, but I use it to frost one layer cake. :p

Supposedly, you can make confectioner's sugar by putting turbinado in the blender with cornstarch and blending it into a powder, but this never worked for me. I made my first two vegan cakes (using this kind of sugar) to bring to my parents' anniversary party a couple of years ago, and they were the only desserts available but no one took more than a bite. The frostings were crunchy , runny , and disgusting . :p

[KayKay]

SO have you made the cake Erin?I would like to make it if it's any good!I believe there's also a vanilla cake recipe at Veganchef.com.

[Lucy S]

Queenie,

We have been (or were) discussing confectioner's sugar in another thread. I think it works best to make vegan confectioner's sugar in a blender or in small batches in an electric coffee/spice grinder. I agree it doesn't work out very well using a food processor.

I'll be making a vanilla cake this weekend; I'll let you know how it works out and what the recipe is if I think it is worthy!

[Erin Pavlina]

Either I'm the worst baker on the planet (which is possible) or this recipe just sucks.

I poured the batter into the pan and there wasn't enough batter to even make it to the edges! Even when I spread it thin as a cracker.

This is looking more and more like a matzah cake. What did I do wrong? What size pan is this supposed to fit in, because to me it seems like a thimble might be closer to the proper size...

[reb_granger]

Oh man, that's so disappointing. I was going to try out this recipe on the weekend, but now I don't think I will.

[reb_granger]

I just checked - Chef Deb recommends baking it in a 9" by 9" pan. Erin, I suppose it was you who asked Chef Deb the question? :)

[Erin Pavlina]

Yep that was me.

Actually the cake tasted pretty good, it was just way too short.

I'm going to make this cake again in a 9 x 9 pan and see what happens. i definitely think that will be better!!

[Lucy S]

I've got another recipe for you all, too. I made it this weekend for my daughter's birthday party and I got lots of very positive feedback (from non-vegans, I might add). I'm not a big cake fan but I enjoyed it as well. Good texture. It makes a 9x13 cake or 12 very large cupcakes. I believe I originally got it from the Cat Tree Corner website. The vinegar, I understand, helps to loosen up the gluten in the flour.

Vanilla cake

2 cups water
3/4 cup sunflower or other light oil
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
4 teaspoons vanilla
3-1/2 cups unbleached flour
2 cups Sucanat® or sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
vegetable cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl. Combine the flour, sweetener, salt, and soda, stirring well. Add the flour mixture to the water mixture. Beat at low speed of an electric mixer until well blended. Pour the batter into a 13x9x2 inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

I made a simple "buttercream" frosting - about 1/4 cup margarine, 1 tsp vanilla, ~2 cups confectioner's sugar and several tablespoons soy milk (you could use water). I make the confectioner's sugar myself - I find starting with beet sugar and using a blender makes a sugar that is fine enough to make a good frosting.

[Erin Pavlina]

Excellent. I'm going to try this recipe too.

the other recipe I had tasted good, but was just too little for the pan I used. 9x9 is what Chef Deb says. I used 9 x 13.

[infinity]

The How It All Vegan cookbook has a great vanilla cake recipe on page 147. I made it for my sons birthday. It was so good I had to make an extra because my daughters and I ate 1/2 of it straight out of the oven.

[Erin Pavlina]

I'm gonna have to check that out!

Their zucchini bread came out so perfect I couldn't believe my luck. I love that book!

[Compsognathus]

Did the cake from How It All Vegan use regular white flour? Every time I try to make a vanilla cake with regular white flour, it comes out heavy or gluey or something. Cake flour works, but I haven't found an organic cake flour and I try to avoid the mainstream kind.

[infinity]

The recipe just calls for flour. I used unbleached white flour. I know you can get this in organic form. Here is the recipe

1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baing powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup dry sweetener
3/4 cup soy milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup oil
egg replacer (to equal 1 egg)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl , stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the sweetener, milk,vanilla, oil and egg replacer and mix together until "just mixed". Pour into a lightly oiled cake pan and bake for 25-35 minutes. Check with a knife to see if done. Frost when cool if you want. It is good by itself. I used a chocolate frosting from the same book but I don't think it needed it. It would be good with some kind of fruit on top. If you don't let it cool it will stick to the pan.
Enjoy:)

[vegma]

I finally found this thread again! Does anyone know what size pan to use for the How It All Vegan white cake? I may have to go with an untested version:eek:

[infinity]

I use one standard round cake pan . I guess it is about 9 inches. When I want to make a round layer cake I double the recipe. I hope this helps.

[vegma]

Infinity, thank you!!!!!!!!

[infinity]

my pleasure. It is my family's favorite cake recipe.