Happy Birthday Wade!

With only two days until Wade's Birthday, we had lots to do.
The balloons were up, as well as the traditional Happy Birthday sign, but where was the cake?
And could I make a vegan version of the classic birthday cake we've been eating every birthday for the past 19 years of my life?
I decided to give it a try...

I've searched high and low for vegan angel food cakes - or something like it - and have come across many others, like me, who are desperate for an egg-free recipe. It's obviously close to impossible, as an average recipe for angel food cakes contains 12-16 egg whites, foamed until triple in size - a property difficult to create with egg replacers and the like. Anyway, with only 2 days until the big day, I didn't have time to experiment, so I used a basic vanilla cake recipe from http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/food/veganbdcakes.html (which has great tips and recipes for vegan baking). We'll see how close this gets...

Vegan Vanilla Cake


Ingredients:
1/2 cup soft soy margarine
2-3/4 cups all-purpose white flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons egg replacer
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup water
1-3/4 cups sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Spray two round 8-inch x 1-2/3-inch pans with Pam, or lightly oil and flour. Preheat oven to 375-degrees.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. Add 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 four steps, liquids in three.) Add mixed egg replacer 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 ten minutes. Remove from pans and let cool on rack until cold. Frost as desired. Recipe makes eight servings.

I used two silicone baking pans, and will make a frosting and filling to finish. Yay! Layer cake!
To be continued after the cakes cool....