note the 1 cup water...

sorry the format isn't easily figured out...is was basically for my own use as a test recipe :o

thanks thhf!  i totally DID miss that 1 cup of water!

mdv- if you make it today lemme know how it goes and take pics!  i really wanna see the texture..

i blended some of my leftover cake up with some frozen banana chunks, chocolate chips and water.. it was good - especially for the edges that got a bit over cooked and dried out.  i'm excited to see all the reviews come in!

I didn't end up making it...hubby said "please do not make any more sweets this week"

It was just my son's birthday so we still have ..no cake but an apple pie, ice cream  and tons of cookies.

Maybe next week. ;D

that musta been torturous!  the search continues.....

Update- I think I have done it.  At least I am happy, although I was happy with vegan vanilla cakes already, this one is light, fluffy, moist and richly delicious.  I will post the recipe here and  in the recipe section...My family loved it...hope you do too. Makes one 8" cake. Obviously double for a layer cake. ^-^

Preheat oven to 375f
Prepare 8" pan

1 1/2 c flour                                                                               
1/2 t baking soda                                                                       
1/2 t salt
1 c sugar
1/2 c oil
1 c icy cold water  (important, although I don't know why..ask a scientist :o)
2 t  vanilla - (Madagascar vanilla gives a better vanilla flavor)
2 T lemon juice ( thought maybe the vinegar was giving the off-flavor that AC mentioned)

Sift flour, sugar, b. soda and salt together in a bowl until very light and airy..about 3 times.
In a small bowl combine oil, cold water and vanilla.  Add liquid ingredients to dry and combine. Once the batter is combined add the lemon juice and stir quickly and  pour into prepared pan.
bake for 25 to 30 minutes. 

It rises extremely well and is light,  fluffy,moist and rich at the same time. 

I hope you guys love it.

Sorry no pictures for this one.  I was so excited about trying it and then everyone finished it before I got the chance. :-[  I am going to make another one to take a pic for the recipe section.

eta: I guess I will try and submit it later...I think there is a problem.  I can't get  to the submit recipe page :-[

Thanks for the recipe! I wish I had seen this before I attempted to make the VCTOTW basic vanilla recipe. BTW that did not turn out as I had hoped. Way too dense.  Although I'm glad I experimented first instead of just making it for real.  My cake is for Saturday and it's for a bridal shower so it has to be good.

yes..I believe spelt would work...but you need to add a little more flour or a little less liquid. Pretty much everything I've attempted to make with spelt has come out great just need to get the liquid to dry ingredients right....

probably another 1/4 to 1/2 cup spelt flour.  Go with 1/4 cup and see what the texture is like then add more if needed.  Good luck. 

i have not tried this recipe before but i have heard great reviews! http://shmooedfood.blogspot.com/2006/01/fluffy-white-cupcakes.html

I have made those cupcakes and they are okay but you can not use that recipes to make a cake.

Look you guys, we need to get some professional help here.The cakes everyone wants to replicate are the old fashioned cakes made by creaming the fat and the sugar and then adding eggs and then the flour.  It is that whole process that somehow coats the flour, adds leavening and gives everything a fine crumb.  The oil based vegan cakes that we always see might be tasty but they do not have a fine crumb and have always seemed a bit muffin-y to me.

So I propose one of two courses of action:

1. We all collectively write to Cook's Illustrated to ask them to come up with a vegan white or yellow cake (not cupcake) which they can totally do since they have done it before with an excellent chocolate cake

or

2.  we start a scholarship fund to send some scientifically inclined vegwebber to food science school--maybe kelsi or the little chickpea

I'm not sure which would take longer.

PS:  The fluffly white cupcakes from the veganlunchbox blog was LA's favorite cake recipe and she highly recommended the fluffy frosting used in the twinkies but be sure to get the right kind of malt.

Hello,

This is for AllyChristine...love your comments by the way.  Very helpful.  For the Chocolate Vegan cake, instead of the cocoa powder I used vanilla soy milk powder and i tried it with the strawberry flavored powder also and it was nice.  The only problems I have also is how dense the cakes are.  but i found that it i whisk it with my mixer it's usually light and fluffy.  Oh, I also added 1 tsp of baking powder and used cake flour instead.  I always add the vinegar last and whisk quickly. 

Try this one....it looks nice, I haven't tried it yet, will do it when I get some time and let you know how it turned out :
from http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/cakes/r/Recipe_VeganYellowCake.htm
Makes one 8" layer cake or one 9"x13" sheet cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
•1/2 cup (1 stick) soy margarine
•1 1/2 cups plus 1 T. white granulated sugar
•8 ounces dairy-free soy sour cream ( Tofutti's Sour Supreme)
•1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
•2 t. lemon juice
•1/4 cup Egg Replacer powder whisked with 1/3 cup warm water until gooey
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•1 t. baking soda
•1/2 t. salt
•3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly oil and flour two 8" spring-form pans and set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the dairy-free soy margarine until creamy. Add the sugar and beat for an additional 3-4 minutes, or until the mixture is aerated and fluffy. Add the soy sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and Egg Replacer mixture and beat until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

3. In another mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in several additions, alternating with the coconut milk, until all of the ingredients have been added. Pour the batter into the prepared pans, dividing the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire cooling rack, then run a lightly oiled knife around the edges to loosen the cakes from the pans.

I always use the vanilla flavored soy milk mostly because i don't like plain soy milk.  I have an eggless recipe but it uses condensed milk.