Gluten-Free, Vegan German Chocolate Cake

 What was left of the cake after Amanda and Mark's reception.

I made this cake recently for Miss Amanda's wedding. She had this fantastic dessert bar made of two 8-foot banquet tables with the wedding cake as the centerpiece. The tables were packed full of brownies, cookies, cakes, cupcakes, cheesecake, homemade truffles, mini muffins, coffee cake and so much more! The idea was that the desserts would act as the wedding favors for guests and boy-o-boy were there plenty of yummy things for take home.

One challenge in all of this, of course, is that there are typically few (or no) options for us vegan kids. The same is true for several of my very good friends who do the gluten-free thing. We feel generally left out of the party because we can't enjoy the same things everyone else is having. Harumph!

Even though Miss Amanda specifically asked me to make things "the normal way," I took matters into my own hands and directly disobeyed her request. Sorry, my friend, but I wanted to have a slice of something yummy for all of my efforts - and I wanted our gluten-free pals to have options, too!

If you follow me on Twitter, you should know by now that I have a serious cook book habit...but when I stumbled upon a recipe for Babycakes' German Chocolate Cake, I knew I had to buy yet another cook book. Their recipes are, "Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free" and fan-fricken-tastic!

The cake part of the recipe is all Babycakes but the frosting is mine. I like their frosting recipes but they melt really quickly if not refrigerated and, since these had to sit out for much of the day while I got ready, attended the wedding, and then partied until it was time for dessert, the Babycakes frosting simply would not do.

I have no idea why German Chocolate Cake has coconut (as far as I know, coconuts don't come from Germany and never have) but it's delicious, if geographically incorrect.

For the cake, you will need:

2 cups brown rice flour

1/2 cup potato starch

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (the darker the better)

1/4 cup arrowroot

1 1/2 TBSP baking  powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp xantham gum

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups agave nectar

1 cup melted refined coconut oil, plus more to brush onto your baking pans

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup vanilla extract

1/2 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 325. Brush two 9-inch round cake pans with melted coconut oil and set aside (you only have to do the bottom of the pans).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, potato starch, cocoa powder, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, xantham gum, and salt. Add the agave nectar, coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla and mix with a rubber spatula until fully incorporated (It's going to look more like cookie dough than cake batter - just go with it). Add the hot water and mix until a loose batter forms.

Divide the batter evenly between the two baking pans. Bake for 15 minutes and rotate. Continue baking 15 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pans for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, turn the cakes out onto a cake plate or wire rack and let cool one more hour (at least) before frosting. Remember, I like to let my cakes chill over night. This is definitely one of the fridge-only kinds of cakes.

For the frosting, you will need:

12 TBSP Earth Balance, softened

1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

3 TBSP non-dairy milk

Just like when we made the plain buttercream frosting, you'll want to beat the Earth Balance until it is soft and fluffy. Next you'll add both extracts and beat again until combined. Add the milk and powdered sugar a little at a time and beat until combined. Once this tastes like the best buttercream frosting you've ever had, add in the coconut at the very end and mix until fully incorporated.

Frost using the techniques you learned in my last post and garnish with more shredded coconut and some pecans.

In addition to making this cake, the blueberry coffee cake, and the wedding cake, I also helped coordinate the desserts and set up the dessert bar. In all of that, the best compliment I got the whole day was from my friend Jack who, after sampling the German Chocolate Cake and the Gluten-Free, Vegan Blueberry Coffee Cake, gave me a giant hug and exclaimed, "I feel like a real boy!"