German Chocolate Birthday Cake
What a non-stop weekend we had! It began on Thursday, with E's friend J. coming to stay with us for the weekend while her parents were out of town, continued Friday night with an emergency trip to the optical shop to replace E's glasses (which the dog chewed up), followed on Saturday with an overnight trip with friends to a camp a couple of hours away, and ended Sunday with E. opening her birthday presents at home. That's right: my "baby" is officially ten years old! Unless you have kids, it's hard to understand how quickly those 10 years can go by. But I have to say that though I miss my baby E. a little, I really enjoy the funny, smart, and interesting person she's becoming.
Here she is in the woods at the camp we were visiting. Though it looks as if she's costumed for a Harry Potter movie, she was actually wearing one of my shirts because she was cold.
Since we were away most of the weekend, I made E.'s birthday cake on Friday and brought it with us to share on Saturday night. I didn't originally intend to make a German chocolate cake, but I had problems with the new cake recipe I used, and German chocolate icing hides a multitude of sins. I can't recommend the cake recipe, but the frosting turned out delicious, and better yet, it uses no oil or margarine. That's not to say it's even close to fat-free—it contains coconut milk, coconut, and pecans—but at least it avoids processed oils and the evaporated milk and eggs that traditional German chocolate recipes include.
Vegan German Chocolate Frosting
(click for printer-friendly version)
Start with a good chocolate cake recipe. I highly recommend my Crazy Cake if you're not concerned about fat. (Hint: you can substitute half of the oil in that recipe with apple sauce.) For a healthier cake, Beet-Chocolate Cake would taste truly decadent with this frosting.
1 cup plain soymilk
1/3 cup coconut milk (may use lite coconut milk)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water until smooth
2 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
In a medium saucepan, mix the soymilk, coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla together. Add the cornstarch mixture and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Cook for one minute after it boils. Remove from heat and stir in coconut and pecans.
Allow to cool for about 10 minutes (mixture should still be warm) before spreading on cake.
Makes enough for one 2-layer 8-inch cake.
Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food
Here she is in the woods at the camp we were visiting. Though it looks as if she's costumed for a Harry Potter movie, she was actually wearing one of my shirts because she was cold.
Since we were away most of the weekend, I made E.'s birthday cake on Friday and brought it with us to share on Saturday night. I didn't originally intend to make a German chocolate cake, but I had problems with the new cake recipe I used, and German chocolate icing hides a multitude of sins. I can't recommend the cake recipe, but the frosting turned out delicious, and better yet, it uses no oil or margarine. That's not to say it's even close to fat-free—it contains coconut milk, coconut, and pecans—but at least it avoids processed oils and the evaporated milk and eggs that traditional German chocolate recipes include.
Vegan German Chocolate Frosting
(click for printer-friendly version)
Start with a good chocolate cake recipe. I highly recommend my Crazy Cake if you're not concerned about fat. (Hint: you can substitute half of the oil in that recipe with apple sauce.) For a healthier cake, Beet-Chocolate Cake would taste truly decadent with this frosting.
1 cup plain soymilk
1/3 cup coconut milk (may use lite coconut milk)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water until smooth
2 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
In a medium saucepan, mix the soymilk, coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla together. Add the cornstarch mixture and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Cook for one minute after it boils. Remove from heat and stir in coconut and pecans.
Allow to cool for about 10 minutes (mixture should still be warm) before spreading on cake.
Makes enough for one 2-layer 8-inch cake.
Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food
Labels: higher-fat, life
posted by SusanV at 11:10 AM
28 Comments:
Curse you and your delicious looking German chocolate icing -- which happens to be the only reason to eat chocolate cake, in my opinion.
I may request that my wife make this for my birthday. (It seems wrong to make a special cake for myself for some reason...)
My daughter turned 10 on the 3rd. I feel your pain. I can't believe how quickly the years are flying by.
The first thing I thought was that the photo of your daughter was taken at Halloween in her Harry Potter costume. Cute :)
I'm not much of a cake eater... but I can see myself eating this frosting all by itself!
Susan,
My dog has done the same thing with my glasses!! BAD DOG. I ended up having to get a hard case to put them in so that dogs can't chew on them when they're laying around.
adorable. thanks for the recipe. and a very happy belated bday to your lovely young woman.
Happy birthday to E!! I remember being very proud to turn 10- there was just something magical about reaching 2-digit land.
Even before I read your description, the picture made me think, "Harry Potter!" Adorable.
oh that looks divine.
my son will be in the double digits next month...i know exactly what you're feeling!
moon
Happy Birthday E! My kids are 10 and 9. It's amazing how fast they grow.
Does your daughter enjoy most of the foods you prepare? My daughter is mostly vegan (she'll eat what's given to her if she's away from home) but my son wants nothing to do with it. He won't eat many veggies and he doesn't even like meat analogs (except tofu pups). If he doesn't like the food he just won't eat--even things that everyone else in the family enjoys. It makes me a bit crazy because I work very hard to come up with interesting and tasty foods.
By the way, my first batch of veggieroni just came out of the oven and the white bean stew is on the stove. I just tasted the stew and it is great!
Thanks for all the great recipes.
Happy Birthday to E! It sounds like a great b'day weekend, except for the part about the glasses....
I need to come up with something to celebrate so I can make your crazy cake with this frosting!
Oh god. German chocolate cake is my favorite!
I'm not vegetarian (let alone vegan), but my sweetie is so I try to make things that she can eat, too.
Next time I've got time free, I'm going to make this with the beet chocolate cake.
My daughter just turned 10 on Sunday too! It was dreadful - I hate her being 2-digits! She didn't seem nearly as upset as I was though!
Dana
Happy Birthday to E! What a gorgeous looking cake!
Thanks, everyone. I have passed on your birthday wishes to E. She had a great day and is very happy to be in double digits now.
SallyT, E likes most of the things I cook, though I do have a little trouble getting her to eat green vegetables that aren't broccoli or kale (with cashew sauce). Having been raised vegan, she's more adventurous about food than most kids, though she still finds plenty of occasions to say "yuck!" She's actually gotten pickier as she's gotten older, which is a result, I think, of imitating other kids.
Good luck with your kids. And remember, they won't starve themselves to death!
That icing looks amazing!
Happy birthday, E! :D :D :D
Susan, our "babies" have were born a week apart (mine on the 9th). I will totally agree that ten is just unbelievable... *sniff sniff*
happy birthday to your daughther, she is beautiful.
the cake looks good. i serve your pinnaple cake at one family reunion and everyone went crazy with it! great recipe.
wow. just wow. that must taste amazing. your daughter is a lucky little girl. and we're lucky too, to be able to see your great recipes.
happy birthday to your e and your cake looks fabulous! i love coconut and everybody loves chocolate, so i just need an excuse to try it out! thank you!
peace,
stonielove
Happy birthday to E! I too celebrated a b-day last weekend, but my daughter didn't make such a wonderful cake--maybe next year!
I wonder if the first part of that recipe would make a good sub for condensed milk? I love Hello Dollies, but they call for the dreaded milk product!
Happy belated birthday to E!! What a gorgeous photo!
The cake looks perfect. Ooooh my! Your children are so lucky to have such great and healthy foods around them! I think we all want you to adopt us, Susan!!
I just made the crazy cake cupcakes with the german chocolate frosting on top. I am usually disappointed by vegan baked goods but these are sooo good. Thank you.
PS When I turned 10, my dad said "now you'll be in double digits for the rest of your life unless you reach 100" which made it seem depressing instead of cool.
oh my, if I'd continued to read beyond E's picture in the I have known this was redundant:
I'm hardly fond of Harry Potter fan (shame on me, I know) but E looks just like Emma Watson!
Susan, now that I know how many canned beets to use for your "Can't be Beet Chocolate Cake" (I feel SO SILLY - if I'd just read the entire recipe, the answer would have been obvious!), I now have a question about this German Chcolate Frosting. I am going to make the Beet cake in a 9x13" pan. Will this frosting recipe be about the right amount of frosting for that? Also, once the cake has been frosted, should the entire thing go in the refrigerator - or is it okay at room temperature for a few hours? I am going to take the cake to an event tomorrow night, and I was planning to bake the cake in the morning, then frost it in the afternoon.
Hi Linda--The frosting should be enough for a pan that size. After it's frosted, I would keep it out of the heat, but you don't have to refrigerate it. Frosting it just before you go to your event would probably be best.
Hope you enjoy it!
We made this recipe last night for my husband's birthday and it was awesome! This frosting is so easy to make, which is wonderful since it's my husband's favorite cake. We used Namaste's chocolate cake mix, and while it cooked up beautifully, it wasn't chocolaty enough for us.
Hey Susan! Excited to make this for a family event tomorrow but just wanted to check if the recipe makes enough to ice in between the 2 layers. :)
Hi Jen--yes, it does. Hope you enjoy it!
Hey! Just wanted to let you know the cake was a hit last night! Not only did it impress everyone with its appearance but everyone totally thought it was delish! I told them that once again it was a recipe from your site (in the past they have been wow'd by your eggnog cheesecake, pumpkin cheesecake and green bean casserole). I made it with the Crazy Cake recipe and I loved how easy it was to make yet looked so fancy!
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