Happiness is a warm baked good.

Can Vegan really be better than the original? Uh, yeah! 

From the same diet rules that brought us Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies I introduce you to Vegan German Chocolate Cake. This recipe comes from a New York tea spot known as Alice's Tea Cup, who subsequently put out a cook book with recipes both vegan and omnivorous. 

By the way if you have a chance to visit Amazon.com I recommend you "flip" through the book.... they're apparently known for their scones (Ryan....). I want the book, do not yet have the book, but I found out about the book and this yum yum of a recipe from a blog (of course). So without further ado:

CAKE!

Vegan German Chocolate Cake

Cake

3½ cups all- purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups soy milk

1½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder (use good stuff!)

1 cup canola oil

3 cups real maple syrup

1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

*Side note: 3 cups of real maple syrup is expensive! I used half maple syrup and half a homemade sugar syrup (equal parts sugar and water, or even 1 1/2 parts sugar to 1 part water, simmered over stovetop until dissolved). And as a second side note I will say that this recipe makes more cake than you can fit into only two 8" round pans. The cake pictured above was made by halving the cake batter, using the full amount of the yummy stuff below and it was perfect for me)

Coconut- Pecan Frosting

½ cup soy milk

¼ cup cornstarch

1 pinch kosher salt

2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar

1½ cups coconut milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 cups sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Vegan Chocolate Ganache

½ cup soy milk

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate

¼ cup real maple syrup

Even the most passionate German chocolate cake lover will love this rich, dark vegan treat. It’s sweetened mostly with maple syrup and loaded with dark chocolate. You won’t miss the dairy at all, we promise. . . .

1. To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350°f. Have ready two 8- inch round nonstick cake pans.

2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. Heat the soy milk in a small saucepan to slightly bubbling, and then add the cocoa powder. Remove from the heat and whisk well.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the oil, maple syrup, vinegar, and vanilla. Whisk well. Pour in the soy milk–cocoa mixture, and whisk until smooth.

5. Using a mixer or by hand, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth.

6. Pour the batter evenly into the two cake pans, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean. Set the cake aside to cool thoroughly.

7. To make the coconut- pecan frosting, whisk the soy milk, cornstarch, and salt together in a small bowl.

8. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the brown sugar in the coconut milk. Cook, whisking, until the mixture comes to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

9. With the mixture on the stove still over low heat, pour in the soy milk mixture and stir continuously until the mixture is very thick and smooth. Remove from the heat and beat in the vanilla, coconut, and pecans. Cool before using.

10. To make the chocolate ganache, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, and stir continuously until the glaze is smooth. Remove from the heat, stir for another 2 minutes, and then cool to room temperature.

*My "five cents" is to add a bit of corn starch and let this sit for a LONG time to firm up - I even put mine in the refrigerator and it took a few hours before it reached a satisfactory thickness

11. To build the cake, place 1 cake layer on a cake plate or stand, and spread a layer of the coconut- pecan frosting over the top (but not the sides). Place the second layer on top of the first, and spread a very hearty layer of the frosting over the top. Using an offset spatula, ice the sides of the cake with a thick layer of ganache. Then warm about ¼ cup of the ganache in a small saucepan, or in a micro wave oven, and drizzle it across the top of the cake (or use a pastry bag to pipe it).