The Fire House birthday party hosted by real firefighters was deemed "The Best Birthday Party EVER!" by the birthday boy.
This was the month I was going to get settled in. This was the month I was going to attack my to-do list and feel my full power as a Stay-at-Home-Mom. I had such high hopes and big plans. This was the month! Then the Polar Vortex hit and closed school for three days. Then there was the Polar Vortex-redux that closed school for another day. Then there was the virus that left the three of us hacking like cats with hairballs. And now, it is the end of January. So many undone things, hiding out in the corners of my house, stalking me in my dreams at night like zombies. This month will forever be known in my house as the month of The Undone.
I have to-do lists, on the back of to-do lists, stapled to to-do lists. Here is one thing I can mark off of my list. Here is the recipe for the Best Strawberry Birthday Cake Ever! (I named it.)
Butterbean's birthday is in November and when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday party he stated straight out - "Strawberry!". Now we try to eat with the seasons and strawberries are not so prevalent in Indiana in November, so while I tried to persuade him that a nice chocolate would be delicious, he stuck to his tastebuds and declared, "Strawberry!". What's a mom to do? Strawberry it is!
When I tried to find a recipe for a vegan strawberry cake, the results were not inspiring. Nothing looked like a birthday cake. Birthdays come around once a year and they deserve a special kind of happy cake- not just a "good-enough but it's healthy" cake. We want spectacle. We want delicious. We want celebration! So, as usual, I had to wing it. I found a recipe online at NamelyMarly and adapted it. The results were pretty awesome and I have had several requests for the recipe, so here it is. You can now mark this off of my to-do list.
Note - this cake is not low in oils, but it's a once a year birthday cake. Eat it that way.
The Best Strawberry Birthday Cake Ever
Ingredients:
1 cup sifted whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 pkg. strawberry vegan gelatin
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 banana mashed
1 can coconut milk (don't use the light or low-fat version)
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 cup strawberries (I used frozen and barely thawed them in the microwave)
Icing:
1/2 cup vegan margarine, softened (I use Earth Balance Soy-Free)
3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp. Strawberry puree
1/8 tsp vanilla
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 3 9-inch round cake pans.
In a large bowl, mix whole wheat and all-purpose flour, sugar, strawberry gelatin, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.
In a blender, mix banana and coconut milk for about 30 seconds until the mixture is fairly smooth. Add the vegetable oil, vanilla, apple cider vinegar and strawberries and blend until thoroughly mixed.
Combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and beat with a mixer at medium speed for 3-4 minutes.
Pour batter evenly into the three pans. The layers will be a bit thin, but the cake will rise nicely.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until lightly browned and slightly springy to the touch. Remove cake pans from oven and place on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and place cakes on cooling rack until cool to the touch.
Ice the thoroughly cooled cakes. I iced between each layer and on the top. Decorate the top with sliced strawberries, sprinkles or like we did - 8 birthday candles.
Enjoy!
