Vegan Two-Tiered Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Icing/Frosting

​Seattle's spring blossomed with some of the most beautiful white and pink flowers on the planet. Inspired by these petals, I felt as if nature transformed into a vat of fluffy white frosting. 

Once the petals fell, I desired to lie in the pool of petals and do “frosting angels” while devouring a cake. 

The flowers were so pretty, I wanted to create a cake that had two layers so I could “plant” the flowers on the side. As always, inspired by nature, I wanted to create a traditional cake that uses less sugar than normal. 

Frostings that use powder sugar are beautiful. The frosting is lovely, fluffy and most certainly delicious. However, sometimes a person can use up to three to four cups of confectionary sugar. I try to avoid this style of sugar, although it’s easy to work with.

Making vegan frosting can be hit or miss based on the brand of the butter. It must be at room temperature and I’ve found pre-frozen butter can sometimes look more like icing than the fluffy white stuff. Either way, different vegan butter brands can create different results. Also, I have found because soymilk handles heat better than other non-dairy milks, I recommend soymilk for the frosting. Whenever I’ve used almond milk the frosting sometimes doesn’t fluff as well.

Baking is an art and a science that takes time, practice and patience. Once you get a few perfected recipes under your belt, you’ll feel like a Michelin-star baker. 

Two-tiered cakes are perfect for birthdays and celebratory events. Enjoy!

Vegan Two-Tiered Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Icing/Frosting
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 28-30 minutes
Equipment: one 6-inch and one 8-inch spring foam pan

Cake Ingredients:
3 cups + 2 tbsp of flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
½ cup cane sugar
1 cup + 1 tbsp nondairy milk (used almond milk)
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ cup applesauce
1 tbsp vanilla
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Frosting Ingredients:
1 cup nondairy milk (see paragraph above)
5 tbsp flour (+up to 3 more tbsp)
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup cane sugar
2/3 cup vegan butter at room temperature

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit. For the cake, start by placing the apple cider vinegar and milk into a bowl and let it stand for several minutes. Place the remaining wet ingredients into a bowl and mix in the sugar until it dissolves. Then combine all the wet ingredients together. 

Place the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix until blended. Make a well into the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet, folding the dry into the wet until combined. 

Grease the two pans with either oil or butter and distribute the batter in nearly half into each pan. I put a bit more batter into the 8-inch pan. Bake for 28-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, create the frosting. Whisk together the milk and flour into a pan. Begin to cook on medium heat and continue to mix until it looks similar to a thick batter (if chunks begin to form, it means it is done). Set to the side and let it completely cool. 

Place the room temperature butter, sugar and flour into a bowl or mix. Use an egg beater to mix the batter until the sugar dissolves or is well blended. Once the flour and milk mixture is cool, add it to the butter mixture and blend until it forms the white frosting. If the mixture is runny, add up to three additional tablespoons of flour. 

*The type of milk and vegan butter (if the butter is too cold) will determine how fluffy or runny the frosting is. *
Next, test the cake with a toothpick or fork. Once the toothpick comes out clean, it means the cake is done. Let the cake cool completely before frosting. 

Once cool, remove the spring foam and frost the bottom cake. Next, add the six-inch cake on top and then add the frosting. Store in the refrigerator. 

Yum