Happy Birthday, Auntie Ellie!: Vegan Raspberries n' Cream Cake

Yesterday was my Auntie Ellie’s birthday.  For her cake, I wanted something fresh and summery.  Raspberries and cream are a wonderful combination to help beat the heat during the summer months, so I thought I’d make it in cake form.

This recipe was relatively easy to devise.  All it took was substituting raspberries in my previous strawberry cake recipe.  I added more liquid to the recipe since raspberries tend to have less moisture than strawberries.  Careful, this batter likes to foam up.

This time, I didn’t add any food coloring to the cake, hoping that the raspberries would stain the cake red on their own.  No such luck.  After baking, the cake was a bluish grey color.  (Is that where blue raspberry slushees come from?)  To save my mishap, I crushed up some raspberries and added it to the filling.  Also, with the more acidic cake flavors, I find it almost necessary to soak the cake with syrup.  As you know by now, I enjoy adding liqueurs to cakes, and a syrup made with Chambord would be amazing in this.  My aunt isn’t a fan of alcohol, so I used a simple syrup to keep it moist and delicious.

Raspberries n’ Cream Cake

Dry Ingredients: 3 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour 2 tbs Corn Starch 2 tsp Baking Soda 2 tsp Baking Powder 1 tsp Sea Salt 1 pkg (3 oz) Raspberry Jel Dessert

Wet Ingredients: 1/2 cup Soy Milk + 1 tbs Raw Apple Cider Vinegar 3 tsp Energ Egg + 4 tbs Water 2/3 cup Canola Oil 1 1/2 cups Sugar 1 1/2 cups Raspberries (fresh or frozen) 1/4 cup Water 1/4 cup Raspberry Preserves 1/2 cup Soy Milk Creamer  2 tsp Vanilla Extract 1 tsp Red Food Coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 320ºF.  In a food processor, puree raspberries,  1/4 cup water and preserves.  Push mixture through a fine mesh strainer to get rid of most of the seeds, reserve.  Add vinegar to 1/2 cup soy milk, reserve.  Stir egg replacer and 4 tbs water, reserve.  Sift together dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl.

Pour oil and sugar into a large bowl and beat with a wire whisk until well incorporated.  Whisk in egg replacer, raspberry mixture, vanilla and food coloring if using.  Fold in dry ingredients.  Lastly, fold in soy milk and vinegar mixture.  Pour into two 9-inch cake pans and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Allow cakes to cool.

Simple Syrup 

1/4 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Water

Heat water and sugar in a small saucepan until sugar dissolves.  Allow to cool before brushing on cakes. 

Creamy Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup Earth Balance Vegan Margarine

1/2 cup Earth Balance Natural Shortening

3 cups Powdered Sugar

3 tbs Soy Milk Creamer

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Using an electric hand mixer, cream margarine and shortening until light and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar in stages.  Lastly, mix in soy creamer and vanilla.