Fur Ninja's Ridiculously Radical Red Velvet Cake

Holy crap.....try this cake.  No seriously.  Try it.  Mike said it was the BEST red velvet cake he's ever had (presumably that includes non-vegan ones baked by grandma) so I think that's a pretty strong endorsement.  And it wasn't just Mike scarfing it down either.  The Bills (we have two friends named Bill) each scarfed down a couple of pieces.  AND Mike's kids all loved it, which is good, because the reason I made it was it was his daughter Monnet's 16th birthday.  It's delicious and ridiculously moist and flavorful and everything a red velvet cake should be.  If you never make anything else that I post on here, make this cake.  MAKE IT!  MAKE IT NOOOOOW!

Ahem....

Here's the recipe:

Fur Ninja's Ridiculously Radical Red Velvet Cake

I'm drooling right now

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 1/2 cups canola or other light vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 Tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ninja Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour a 13x9" pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa.  Combine the non-dairy milk and vinegar in a small bowl or measuring cup and allow to sit for a few minutes to curdle.  In a large bowl, combine the non-dairy milk mixture, canola oil, applesauce, red food coloring, and vanilla and mix well.  Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix until a smooth batter is formed.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.

Ninja Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 - 8 ounce package plain Tofutti or other cream cheese substitute
2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup non-dairy butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip tofutti, non-dairy butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add the confectioners sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition.  When all of the sugar is added, beat at high speed for 5 minutes until icing is fluffy.  Ice the top of the cake once cooled.

Tips and Tricks:

1. I made this as a sheet cake because it was A. easy and B. I can't find my round cake pans.  You could most definitely make this into a layer cake or cupcakes, although you may have to adjust baking times.  I'll try to make these in the future and edit the recipe to include baking times for both.  Or feel free to comment and let me know how long you baked them if you tried this!

2. I love Tofutti cream cheese.  LOVE IT.  Smeared on a toasted "everything" bagel and topped with thin sliced tomato, salt, and pepper....drooooool.....it's simply the best there is.  However, there are other vegan-friendly cream cheese subs out there, so feel free to use whatever floats your ninja boat.  If you do use Tofutti, try to find the stuff in the yellow package rather than the white, because it has no trans fats.

3. This requires a LOT of red food coloring.  Don't get the little package with all 4 colors in it....you need the big single bottle of red.  And you'll use most of the bottle.  Just a warning so you don't find yourself short of red coloring in the middle of the recipe.


Well, there it is.  An amazingly awesome cake recipe just for you.  It's horribly fattening, but that's just a reason to share with friends.  I hope you enjoyed it!  I'll be returning soon with my now-perfected homemade vegan mayo recipe, veggie-full mac and cheeze, and curried vegetable soup.  Until next time!

Love,

The Fur Ninja <3