Blue Velvet Cake

Blue Velvet Cake

Ingredients

• 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup non-dairy buttermilk (soy, rice, or almond milk combined with 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar)
• 1 1/2 cups Earth Balance margarine (sliced into 1″ thick pieces)
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch (or tapioca starch if you have that on hand)
• 6 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

Directions

1. Heat your oven to 350F and prepare two round cake pans by greasing bottoms and side and coating with flour.
2. Place the blueberries, non-dairy buttermilk in a food processor and pulse for several seconds. Do you see how blueberries really lend more of a purple color? Oh well, whatever color they are, they taste mighty fine.
3. Next in a medium bowl combine the margarine and brown sugar and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, flax seed, cornstarch, and water, and pulse until the ingredients are well-incorporated. Add the purple blueberry mixture and mix some more until everything is consistent in color. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir these ingredients until well-combined.
5. Get ready to say bye-bye to the purple while you pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture. Use a spoon to stir these ingredients together. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is all mixed together. You can even use your mixer on low speed to help this process along.
6. Pour the batter into your prepared cake pans, dividing it equally between the two pans. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes. You can always use the old toothpick (or for me…a dried piece of spaghetti) inserted in the center of the cake to see if it’s done or not. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If there’s still some batter, it needs to bake a few more minutes.
7. Once done, remove the cakes from the oven and set a timer for 10 minutes. When the timer goes off, you’re ready to turn the cakes onto wire racks or plates for cooling. Once they’re completely cooled, then you’re ready for the frosting.
8. While the cakes are cooling, prepare your frosting. Above is a link to Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting which works perfectly on this cake!