Vegan with a Vengeance

mixing bowl, mix together the pineapple, oil, sugar, maple syrup,
and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches, and combine well with a hand mixer or strong fork. Fold in the macadamias, ginger, coconut, and carrots.
    Divide the batter evenly between the two round cake pans, or spread in the rectangular pan, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pans. Remove from pans and put a layer of coconut icing (page 227) between the layers, and another layer of coconut icing on top; I like to leave the sides free of frosting because it looks pretty.

Raspberry Blackout Cake with Ganache-y Frosting
    SERVES 12
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    This makes a great birthday cake and I have found that even people who think that they aren’t crazy about chocolate and raspberries go crazy over it. The recipe calls for a lot of frosting (recipe follows) because I’m hoping that you will get some cake decorating bags and have some fun decorating the top with chocolate roses. If I am wrong and you absolutely will not, then you can get away with halving the frosting recipe.
    1½ cups all-purpose flour
    Â½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
    1 teaspoon baking powder
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    Â½ teaspoon salt
    1½ cups plain rice or soy milk
    Â½ cup canola oil
    1 (10-ounce) jar raspberry preserves (reserve ½ cup for the batter)
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    1¼ cups sugar
    Fresh raspberries for decorating and yumminess
    Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 8-inch round springform cake pans with cooking spray. If you don’t have springform then use parchment paper rounds on the bottom of two ordinary 8-inch round cake pans to prevent sticking.
    Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Combine the rice milk, oil, ½ cup of the preserves, the vanilla, and the sugar in a large bowl and mix with a hand mixer or strong fork. The jam should be mostly dissolved with the rest of the ingredients; some small clumps are okay. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches and mix until everything is incorporated. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in pans.
    When the cakes have cooled fully, spread one layer of cake with a thin layer of the reserved raspberry preserves (give the preserves a quick mix with a strong fork to get a spreadable consistency); spread a layer of chocolate frosting on top of the preserves. Place the other layer of cake on top and spread its top with preserves. Carefully spread the chocolate frosting over the top, then ice the sides. I like to put
a circle of fresh raspberries around the circumference of the top. If you happen to have a decorating bag and tips around, you can alternate a rosebud or star flourish with a raspberry, and a few raspberries in the center will finish it off.
Chocolate Ganache-y Frosting
    Â¾ cup soy creamer (I use Silk Soy Creamer but if it’s not available plain soy milk will do)
    6 tablespoons nonhydrogenated margarine
    10 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
    In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the soy creamer to a low boil. Add the margarine and melt, turn off the heat, and stir in chocolate chips until smooth. Let sit for at least 1 hour. It should still have a pourable consistency at this point. If you want a spreadable consistency then refrigerate for an hour. (If you refrigerate it for more than a few hours, it sets too much to spread easily, so you will need to reheat it, then let it sit at room temperature before using.)

Orange-Rum Tea Cake
    SERVES 8
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    This is a nice intensely orange cake perfect as an afternoon cake whilst you take tea with your other white-gloved socialite friends. There’s no frosting, just a simple orange rum syrup that takes all of three minutes to put together, and it forms a nice caramelly base for the slivered almonds. If you don’t have a 9-inch springform pan, a brownie pan, or a smaller round pan works well; just increase the baking time by about 10 minutes and use parchment paper to prevent sticking. You will need about six Valencia-size oranges to get the amount of juice needed.
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    FOR THE CAKE:
    1 (6-ounce) container soy yogurt
    â…“ cup oil
    Â¾ cup sugar
    Â¼ cup soy milk
    Â¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
    4 teaspoons finely grated fresh orange zest
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1¼ cups all-purpose flour
    Â¼ cup yellow cornmeal
    1½ teaspoons