How to Make a Vegan Red Velvet Cake

I've lived in the south for all of my life, and one of my favorite treats is red velvet cake. I've seen several recipes for vegan red velvet cake on the Internet, but it seems like most of them use red food coloring. Since artificial food coloring can be full of chemicals, I think it's better not to use them if you're goal is to have a healthy, natural eating lifestyle.

This recipe calls for beet powder to create the red color of the cake. Where can you find beet powder? Try your local healthy foods market or buy it online at Amazon or The Great American Spice Company.

Vegan Red Velvet Cakewith Creamy Fuchsia Icing(courtesy of Extraveganza by Laura Matthias)

Cake Ingredients:

2 ½ cups sifted spelt pastry flour

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

4 tablespoons of cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

5 tablespoons beet powder

1 ½ cups chopped, boiled beets

1 ½ cups water (from boiling beets, if possible)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

8 tablespoons of canola oil

1 ½ cups maple syrup

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Cake Preparation:

Preheat to 350F

Boil beets in several cups of water for 10-15 minutes until the water is reduced to about 1 ½ cups. Hang on to the water for later.

In a big bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda and beet powder. In a medium bowl combine oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and vinegar. Whisk the wet ingredients until emulsified. Put the beets and 1 ½ cup beet water in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the beet mixture into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour the wet ingredients into the middle of the dry ingredients and stir gently until thoroughly mixed. Pour the finished mixture into two oiled and floured 8-inch springform pans. Place pans in oven on middle rack. Bake for about 50 minutes. The cakes are done when a toothpick poked in the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before removing from the pans.

Icing Ingredients:

1 ½ cups soy margarine

2/3 cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups organic powdered sugar

2/3 cup cashew butter

4 teaspoons beet powder

Icing Preparation:

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until very smooth and creamy. Chill frosting for at least an hour. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve after icing. This recipe will make more than enough icing for the two layered cake. Garnish cake with cocoa, chocolate curls, strawberries, or finely chopped walnuts.