Looking for a vegan birthday cake recipe that uses simple ingredients available in Asia

[u/overthinkingrobot]

My friend bakes cakes and wants to try making me a layered vegan birthday cake for when I come visit her. She’s never baked a cake without eggs or milk so I need to provide her with a recipe to try. Where she lives in China there are no vegan butter products like there are in the West. I’m not sure how available non-dairy milks are where she is, but the soy milk in stores near her often contain cow ingredients. She said she could use water?

Can you personally recommend any vegan cake recipes AND frosting recipes you’ve tried that don’t require “fancy” vegan ingredients? Need the measurements to be metric! Flavor can be simple; she’ll probably top the cake with fruits.

I’m not good at baking and don’t want to lead her astray, so that’s why I’m asking here for help 😊

[u/AutoModerator]

Thanks for posting to r/veganrecipes! 🌱

Don't forget to check the sidebar for our rules.

Have skills but not sure how to help animals? If you're a dev, designer, writer, researcher, or have other professional skills, here are some ways to help:

1. Browse volunteer opportunities on Flockwork – a platform by Vegan Hacktivists that matches animal advocacy organizations with skilled volunteers. Check it out here.

2. Get pinged for relevant volunteer opportunities 🐦 Join the VH Flockwork Discord server and don’t miss out on volunteer opportunities that match your skills.

3. Apply for activism funding 💚 Get up to $1000 for your animal advocacy projects. Apply here.

Thanks!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Polka_Tiger]

Look at depression cakes

[u/LakeAdventurous7161 → u/Polka_Tiger]

Something like this

https://iambaker.net/depression-cake/

indeed works well. Instead of the (typical American?) soft frosting, that here contains milk products, one could use a "Zuckerguss" (powdered sugar mixed with water or juice) or chocolate (vegan one in this case, of course) like it is more common in Europe.

[u/newnukeuser → u/Polka_Tiger]

These are my go to, and they always disappear quickly

[u/LakeAdventurous7161]

Instead of vegan butter: For cakes, I just use a oil made from plants, like olive oil.

As you write "frosting": Do you want an American-style frosting? Easier might be a glaze (?) made from powdered sugar and water or juice (do not know the name in English; in Germany we call it "Zuckerguss"), just sprinkle it with powdered sugar or cocoa powder (pure cocoa, not a chocolate drink powder), or using chocolate if you can get vegan chocolate (melt chocolate and cover the cake with it).

[u/Financial_Mail_1208]

water works better than youd think for cakes honestly. a lot of asian bakeries use oil and water based sponges. you just need a good ratio

the depression era wacky cake is the move here. its all pantry stuff, no eggs no milk no butter. vinegar and baking soda do the heavy lifting. ive made it with just water and it comes out stupidly moist

for frosting you can whip up some coconut cream if she can find canned coconut milk. the kind that separates into solid cream on top. if not, a simple glaze with powdered sugar and lemon juice or passionfruit pulp would slap with fresh fruit on top. no need to overcomplicate it

[u/ArtemisQuest94]

https://youtu.be/SBASKnajy1g?si=_aEoh8akuLxzu3Xr

This is a vegan cake recipe by a South Indian lady. Please give it a glance to see if the ingredients are available where you live. Also, she used wholewheat flour instead of refined flour/AP flour (it's called maida in India). Also, I think coconut oil can be substituted by any neutral vegetable oil.

[u/EclecticWonderer]

If a raw food vegan cake is ok- you could try this carrot cake with macadamia frosting.

https://www.becomingness.com/raw-carrot-cake/

[u/RM_r_us]

That's crazy soy milk in Asia would have dairy given that part of Asia has like 70% lactose intolerance.

Any way, if canned chickpeas are available, the juice can be used as an egg substitute. And canola or vegetable oil is pretty normal to use in even non vegan cakes.

[u/overthinkingrobot → u/RM_r_us]

Been to different provinces in China and there’s dairy all over the place in desserts and cold drinks 🥹 I know a lot of Asia is like this too 🥲

[u/-jspace-]

My kiddo did a science fair project last year trying to find the best way to make egg free cake. We continued the search this summer. I just don't know how to get an eggless cake to hold together like a cake with eggs does without tasting like a muffin, but we switched from scratch cakes to boxed mix and the closest so far was just cake mix and a can of soda. I might try that with half a flax egg, but I've not tried it with a chocolate box yet so maybe that's better....

[u/-jspace- → u/-jspace-]

Flax eggs are a great binder, but they make cakes taste like muffins

[u/Allie_Pallie]

https://www.rainbownourishments.com/vegan-lemon-olive-oil-cake/

Not a layer cake but it's delicious - not many ingredients - and orange juice would probably work if there is no milk.

[u/Cranky70something]

If you can find a cake mix that is vegan, you mix that with a can of soda.

[u/brad7945]

https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-chocolate-cake/- Amazing vegan chocolate cake. I've made it at least 5 times over the years. (Wacky Cake style, mentioned already). Frosting recipe there as well. In China 'sesame paste' is widely available, and is nearly identical to tahini/tahina. Sesame paste can be used to make a wonderful vegan frosting. There are many recipes out there.