Vegan German chocolate cake

My husband and I are not vegan, but it's nice once in a while to cut back on animal products. the cake recipe is one i've used many times, when i'm making something just for me and the husband. it's a really great recipe. i also use whole grain flour, turbinado sugar and try to use organic products. I think lots of people prefer the boxed cake, which is fine for me. since i need to practice cake decorating more i'd rather use the boxed cake mixes and ready made frosting because it's cheap and people want to eat it. so most cakes/cupcakes/icing you see on this blog is probably from a box mix unless otherwise stated.

the recipe is taken from here at AllRecipes.com

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 cup water

dry ingredients

sugar with the wet ingredients

i mixed it up and poured the batter in two six inch pans lined with parchment paper

here they are out of the oven after baking for 30 minutes in 350 degrees

here they are unwrapped

here are the ingredients for the German chocolate frosting. I made half the recipe since i made a small cake.

I found the recipe here

1 cup plain soymilk
1/3 cup 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

mix the cornstarch, soymilk, coconut milk, and sugar on medium high heat until boiling.

after one minutes take it off the heat. it will be nice and thick now

mix in the coconut and nuts. i didn't have pecans on hand so i just used walnuts

the frosting between the 2 layers

here is the recipe for the ganache

1/3 cup soymilk
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 T maple syrup

bring the soymilk to a light boil. remove from heat and add chocolate and syrup and mix until smooth.

i wanted to put the frosting inside the cake and cover with vegan ganache. but i didn't mix the ganache well or wait for it to cool and thicken up (i was in a rush) so it's not so pretty. the cake was moist and delicious and i was pleasantly surprised because the German chocolate frosting was REALLY yummy.