Fall Flavors: Vegan Birthday Cakes Through the Years

One of the reasons my family and I love the Fall is because it signals the start of one of our family's parade of birthdays.  It starts in late September with my Mother-In-Law, continues into October with my late Grandmother's and My Son's and ends just in time for Thanksgiving with my Oldest Daughter's and my November Birthdays.  So in celebration of those celebrations, this MOFO post will be a review of vegan birthday cakes through the years. 
First up is Sean's Ice Cream Cake with Oreo Cookie Crust from last year.  The recipe is on Dreena Burton's blog and is as delicious as it is easy.  Basically Oreo sandwich cookies are cut in half and used to line a Spring Form Pan.  Softened Ice Cream is layered above it with smashed cookie crumbs for the layer between your ice cream.  The whole meshuggana(sp?) gets frozen until firm and decorated when released from its spring form cast.  Yum!

Next up the Fabulous Raspberry Blackout Cake from Vegan With A Vegeneance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  This has been a default birthday cake for years in my house.  How can you go wrong with Chocolate, Chocolate Ganache, Rasberry Fruit Spread and Fresh Raspberries?  I mean really?

This year throwing tradition to the wind; the birthday boy went with Pumpkin Pie.  This is the Pumpkin Pie with Glazed Pecans from The Voluptuous Vegan and a pretty sexy little number it is.  This will also be showing up around Thanksgiving so it was nice to have another practice run with this recipe.

And lastly because I hate to leave anyone out the fun...The Gluten Free version.  The Gluten Free Rice Krispie Treats and Chocolate Gluten Freedom Cupcakes (from Vegan Cupcakes Takeover the World by Isa and Terry Hope Romero) are happy to drop on by as well.

So if you are having as dreary a day as I am--come on lets just build the ark already, jeesh!--here's hoping a little of my shared celebrations can cheer you up.  They sure are helping my mood!

Joan

Vegan Eats Rutherford NJ Part Deux

Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by jomarb

Behold the beauty that is the cupcakes from Sweet Avenue Bakeshop. Also located on Park Avenue in Rutherford, NJ. What is better after pancakes and tofu scramble? Why vegan cupcakes of course. The beauties in the photo are my family's Mother's Day desert that didn't quite make it until Mother's Day. The flavors are: Strawberry Fields, Lemon Rasberry(my choice), Carrot Cake and Jet Black(dark chocolate cake, dark chocolate icing and vermicelli). They were all incredibly rich and moist. I think the lemon frosting may be the best I have ever tasted! Sweet Avenue is open daily and features a different menu of flavors each day which is posted on their website, and can be tweeted to you if you follow them @sweet_avenue. These cupcakes were purchased the day of the PPK meet up which is now immortalized on the Sweet Avenue blog. http://www.sweetavenuebakeshop.com/. See they are not only bakers but new media darlings! Also they now feature gluten and soy free products. Every Friday and Saturday there are 2 gluten and soy free flavors available.