Wyatt Baldwin

The best thing about having a cake party at your house is that you get to eat all the leftover cake. Or maybe that’s the worst thing. I don’t know. Either way, the cake party was on Sunday and I had cake for breakfast, lunch, and before-bed snack on Monday. The only other thing I had Monday was Olives and Nuts at Holocene. That was pretty tasty but awfully salty.

Anyway. It was a relatively small party, but it was fun. We played a game of team Scrabble. Isaac and I whooped ass with a bunch of multi-word plays. (Not that I’m bragging, because that would be unseemly.)

And then there was the cake. Mmm mm mm. (Did I spell that right?) Originally, I thought there were going to be several cakes and that at least one of them would be “normal” (that is, non-vegan). As it turned out, there ended up being only two cakes and both were vegan. I hadn’t been planning to make one, but I did.

Jason W. made a chocolate cake. I made a vanilla cake using the recipe on this page[1]. Of course, I modified that a bit by using spelt flour and Sucanat instead of normal sugar. Philip M. made some really excellent raw frosting that we put on both cakes. Both cakes came out well (we used the convection bake option) and were very tasty, though I liked Jason’s better, especially with Philip’s frosting; it reminded me of the German chocolate cake I loved so much growing up.

Most of my pictures didn’t come out well. This is maybe the best one:

Philip and Isaac watching me make cake. Actually, I don’t know what they’re doing or why they’re making those faces, but I was making cake right there at the edge of the counter. Jason was working on his cake to my left.

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[1] Here’s the recipe, in case that page disappears:

“This sure to be a party pleaser!

• 1/2 cup soft soy margarine [I used Earth Balance]
• 2-3/4 cups all-purpose white flour [I used spelt flour]
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda [I used 1 1/4 tsp b.s. and 1 1/4 tsp b.p. because the directions below say baking powder]
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1-3/4 cups sugar [I used Sucanat]
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Spray two round 8″ x 1-2/3″ pans with Pam, or lightly oil and flour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. Mix Egg Replacer and 1/4 cup water and set aside. Mix soy milk and 1/2 cup water, and set aside.

In large bowl of electric mixer, beat soy margarine until it is creamy, about a minute. Gradually add sugar until well creamed. Beat in vanilla. Add mixed dry ingredients and mixed soy milk/water alternately to creamed margarine, sugar, and vanilla, beating after each addition. Begin and end with flour mixture. (Add flour in 4 steps, liquids in three.) Add mixed Ener-G along with the third addition of liquid. Turn evenly into pans.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until done (wooden pick inserted into cake comes out clean). Remove from oven and let cool on cake rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool on rack until cold. Frost as desired.

• Total calories per serving (without frosting): 295
• Total fat as % of daily value: 12% Fat: 8 gm
• Protein: 5 gm carbohydrates: 54 gm
• Calcium: 69 mg Sodium: 298 mg
• Dietary Fiber: 1 gm”