Black Forest Cake

I don't usually post dessert recipes on here because I feel like there are so many amazing cookbooks and blogs already dedicated to vegan baking and desserts. I'm not expert in that area so I leave it to the professionals. Sometimes, I do feel like trying to make my own goodies and I don't think I've ever seen a vegan black forest cake. So, I went with it! I modified the recipe off of this one. Also, excuse the frosting in these pictures. I should have put the cake in the fridge to let it set before I took the pictures!

Black Forest Cake

* Prep Time: 30 minutes
* Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
* Ingredients (for cake batter):

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder  
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 cups sugar*
• 2 egg replacers, follow box directions*
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk*
• 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar

* Ingredients (for frosting materials):

• 1/2 cup kirsch*
• 1 cup soy butter*
• 7 cups powdered sugar
• 2 pinch salt
• 2 tsp brewed coffee
• 2 (14 oz.) cans pitted cherries, drained
• 1 can vegan whipped cream, to top*
• maraschino cherries, to top
• 1 bar semisweet chocolate, shaved, to top  

* Recipe (for cake batter):

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix.
3. Combine the non-dairy milk with the vinegar. Place in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. 
4. In another bowl, whip the sugar and vegetable shortening until combined. 
5. Mix the egg replacers in a small bowl until frothy. 
6. Combine the dry ingredients with the sugar mixture, egg replacers, butter milk, and vanilla extract. Mix until batter is smooth.
7. Line the bottom of two round 8 in. pans with parchment paper. Pour half the batter in each. 
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
9. Let cool completely and remove the parchment paper. Cut each cake in half horizontally making 4 cakes total. 

* Recipe (for frosting materials): 

1. Sprinkle each layer with the kirsch.
2. In a medium bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add confectioners sugar, pinch of salt, and coffee. Beat until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a couple teaspoons of cherry juice. 
3. Roughly chop up the cherries.
4. Spread the frosting over each layer. Add cherries. Repeat for all layers except the top one (so two more times).
5. Top one layer with another layer of cake until all 4 are on top of one another.
6. Continue frosting the entire cake.
7. Shave chocolate and cover the cake with it.
8. Top with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.

* Note: Make sure all your sugar is vegan. For egg replacers, I used Ener-G. The non-dairy milk I used was almond milk. Feel free to use whatever you prefer. Kirsch is cherry liquor. You can find it in the alcohol section with other liquors. For soy butter, I like Earth Balance with olive oil. Lastly, Soyatoo makes an amazing canned whipped cream. I can usually find it at Whole Foods here.

Vegan London: Part Two

By far my favorite restaurant in London was Eat and Two Veg. It has a modern throw back to a retro diner plus cocktails! What can get better? Also - it is not too far from Piccadilly Circus and all the hub bub. I went a couple times and I had a burger and the Thai Satay for an appetizer. While it is a bit pricey, most of London dining is.

The picture is of the Apple and Sultana Crumble made vegan. And me awkwardly eating it, haha.

A really interesting find is The Place Below. It is in the crypt of a church, St. Mary-le-Bow. Lucky me, I was taking an architecture class and my tutor took me right to the church! No searching for me. Anyways, it's a vegetarian cafe/restaurant in the crypt of this very old church. Creeppy! Guess we should not praise seitan then, huh?

Their menu changes daily, so get ready to be surprised!

For fast food, there is Wagamama. London LOVES Wagamama. They are in every direction. And delicious! I just browsed the website and found out they have them in the USA, two in Boston and one somewhere near Harvard. Interesting. Anywho, I recommend the miso soup, yasai itame, yasai yaki soba (without egg), and the yasai nasubi salad. I think I went there like a good half a dozen times when I lived there. One time was quite hectic, I thought I lost one of my diamond earrings! Thankfully, I did not and found it. Hoorah.

A great place to read a book and eat, by the way. :]

Okay, so this is not an original to London place, but it is worth note. When I was living there, the city had its first large Whole Foods put in. They had a smaller one already in Soho. Anyways, my 20th birthday was while I was in London, so I went out in search of a vegan birthday cake. I had one made at the Whole Foods in Kensington.

It was a pretty decent cake if memory serves right. It was also the only cake that I could get at Whole Foods that they could make vegan, just to note.

Two really great local natural grocery stores are Wholefoods Ltd and Chelsea Health Food Store. Wholefoods should not be confused with Whole Foods. I found that out the hard way. To my surprise, when I found Wholefoods, it was a quaint place. I ended up getting one of those recyclable grocery bages there so now I can proudly shop and let people know I appreciate this little place in London! Now, I'm not too sure about Chelsea Health Food Store. I lived on King's Road, so this was just up the road. It might have been a different establishment that I was going to, but this place was near it. I'd have to go look at my credit card statements, haha. Either way, go to the little place near Chelsea Heath Food Store!

Random Information: most convenience stores have vegan grub to go and it has labels stating it is vegan, there is a lot of Indian and Pakistani food in London (most can be made vegan or already is vegan), Cheezly Vegan Cheese is the best faux cheese ever created, and ANYTHING from Alpro Soya is absolutely grand and you should eat it all. Oh my goodness, Alpro... I miss you! Most chain grocery stores (Tesco, Mark & Spencer, Sainbury's) have vegan products, so it isn't too hard to keep up your lifestyle.

Caffe Nero is an excellent place to get coffee in London. Starbucks is not very good in the U.K. in my opinion, plus this is real Italian coffee! Who can resist? I have my punch card still in case I go back. :]

They are everywhere too. Think about how Starbucks are on every corner of America. Well, that's Caffe Nero in London.

Point taken! Those punch card's are awesome!

Basically, you will have no problem at all being a vegan in London. Go visit the Brits! God save the Queen!