I’m pretty sure Ariel is a vegan because land mammals and bees don’t do well under the ocean…and her dad objected to the “fish eating barbarians”….although she does wear shells as apparel…which might be the human equivalent of leather shoes.
At any rate, here she is, against my better judgement in the form of two egg and dairy-free princess birthday cakes for my girls. The girls turned 6 and 4 this past week and had their neighborhood party together this weekend.
Basic Chocolate Cake
- Yield: 2 round layers 1x
Description
Makes 24 cupcakes, one large 9 x 13 rectangular cake or two 8 inch round layers.
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 2 cups dairy-free milk
- 1 T. cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cups oil
- 1 t. vanilla
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2/3 cups cocoa powder ( I used Nestle)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Prepare your cake pans by tracing and cutting out parchment paper rounds to line the bottoms and spray the pans well with oil.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, soda, baking powder and salt. My cocoa and baking soda are always lumpy, so I sift mine into the bowl through a mesh strainer to get out the lumps.
- Whisk soy and vinegar together in a medium bowl and let thicken. Then add the sugar, oil and vanilla. Mix well.
- Carefully dump and mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Just blend until most of the lumps are out. Don’t beat the heck out of it.
- Pour batter into your prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the center is set and you can poke a knife into the center and it comes out clean.
- Let the cake rest for a few minutes before lifting out and cooling on a rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Basic Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) dairy-free margarine, softened
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/8 teaspoon of salt, or a couple pinches.
- 1 cup cocoa powder (I use Nestle)
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup dairy-free milk( more if needed)
Instructions
- Cream the margarine and shortening until fluffy.
- Add the salt and cocoa powder.
- Add the powdered sugar slowly. You can add a little of the dairy-free milk as you are trying to mix in all the powdered sugar if things get too thick.
- Once all the powdered sugar is mixed in, you can start adding dairy-free milk until you get the frosting thickness you want. Sometimes I like it dense, sometimes I like it fluffy and mousse-like.
Notes
I used Silk Coconut Milk, Blue Bonnet Lactose Free and Spectrum Palm Oil Shortening for my milk and margarine/shortening options in this recipe.
Read my posts of Choosing the Perfect Dairy-Free Milk and Dairy-Free Butter Alternatives if you need product ideas.
Basic Lemon Cake
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 2 cups dairy-free milk
- 1 T. cider vinegar
- 2/3 cup oil (I used melted coconut oil)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 T. vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil (or 1 teaspoon fine lemon zest, don’t use lemon extract or the cake will taste like floor polish)
Dry Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Prepare your cake pans by tracing and cutting out parchment paper rounds to line the bottoms and spray the pans well with oil.
- Whisk dairy-free milk and vinegar together in a medium bowl and let thicken. Then add the sugar, oil and flavorings. Mix well.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, soda, baking powder and salt. My cornstarch and baking soda are always lumpy, so I sift mine into the bowl through a mesh strainer to get out the lumps.
- Carefully dump and mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Just blend until most of the lumps are out. Don’t beat the heck out of it.
- Pour batter into your prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the center is set and you can poke a knife into the center and it comes out clean. Let the cake rest for a few minutes before lifting out and cooling on a rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Notes
This is a great cake to try some coconut oil. The coconut flavor is very subtle and tastes rather buttery. Other vegetable oils work fine, but you’ll need to crank up the lemon or vanilla flavors or the cake will taste bland.
Lemon oil is amazing stuff, a little goes a long way. It lasts forever in the fridge.
Lemon Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) dairy-free margarine softened
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/8 teaspoon of salt, or a couple pinches.
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup dairy-free milk ( more if needed)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon lemon oil or 1/4 teaspoon fine lemon zest (not lemon extract)
Instructions
- Cream the margarine and shortening until fluffy.
- Add the salt and powdered sugar slowly. You can add a little of the dairy-free milk as you are trying to mix in all the powdered sugar if things get too thick.
- Once all the powdered sugar is mixed in, you can start adding dairy-free milk until you get the frosting thickness you want. Sometimes I like it dense, sometimes I like it fluffy and mousse-like.
- Add the lemon oil and vanilla at the end.
I am suddenly grateful I have a boy… good for you in making what they want, but still using the laffy taffy and nerds to, um, keep it from busting out of control. You always use candy in such creative ways, but I think this one tops it!
I'm suddenly aching to have a little girl. I agree that the candy bodices are lovely. Both girls look thrilled!
I had a Barbie cake when I was little, but she just got a frosting cover up. These cakes really look spectacular!
wonderful cakes, Mom ;-), they're so cute, wish I had a little one, mine is a big girl now, but I would have made one making that special birthday a great memory
Aw how beautiful! You're so clever, I'd love to make something like this for my daugther but I'm rubbish at cake decorating!