Yes, as a vegan you can have your cake and eat it too

Ed. note: This is a special blog post written by my girlfriend, who was wonderful enough to make me a vegan cake for my birthday. I know that sounds preposterous, but it's not! In fact, it was positively delicious. And if you don't believe me, you should see the empty plate in the Times' kitchen that previously held the cake. 

Since my adventure in veganism began two years ago, I have had my fair
share of baking disappointments. Everything from collapsed blueberry
cornmeal muffins to melting layered birthday cakes.

My most recent foray into baking arrived this past week with the
celebration of my boyfriend’s 29th birthday. His request for a vanilla
birthday cake with vanilla icing made me a little nervous, but I took
the challenge head on. I sought the advice of my skilled, baking,
vegan cousin and prepared for the sweet results. The outcome was my
most successful cake, by far.

I know some people think that you can't bake without eggs or dairy,
when in fact it is quite easy.  You even have the added bonus of being
able to enjoy the raw dough or batter (in this case) without the fear
of salmonella. All you need is a little know how and preparation.

Icing
For the icing, take 1/2 C softened Earth Balance and add some powdered
sugar and beat with a hand mixer. Add about a teaspoon of vanilla.
Add 1/4 C soy/almond milk and beat together. Keep adding milk and
powdered sugar until you get the consistency and amount of icing that
you want. You can add more vanilla too if you want a more vanilla-y
flavor.

For the cake recipe, check out the link.