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.