How to make a vegan chocolate cake

Vegan Chocolate Cake Ingredients:

* Unsweetened cocoa
* All-purpose flour
* Sugar
* Baking soda
* Salt
* Vegetable oil
* Vanilla flavoring
* Vinegar
* Water
* 9-by-13-inch baking pan
* Large mixing bowl
* Whisk
* Spatula/scraper
* Electric mixer (or wooden spoon and strong arms)
* 4 oz. non-dairy margarine (1 stick)
* 1 lb. powdered sugar
* 1 tbsp vanilla
* 1-3 tbsp soy or rice milk

Make the Vegan Chocolate Cake

Step 1:
Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil baking pan, then dust lightly with flour or cocoa.

Step 2:
Add 3 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 tsp. salt and 2 tsp. soda to mixing bowl. Stir thoroughly with whisk to combine and add air to dry ingredients. (That means no sifting!)

Step 3:
Add 2 cups of cold water, 1/2 cup of oil, 1 tbsp. vanilla and 1 tbsp. of vinegar to bowl. Stir gently and quickly with whisk, until almost completely combined. There may still be a few small lumps or streaks of flour, but it should be mostly mixed.

Step 4:
Pour batter into pan, scraping bowl with spatula to get as much batter as possible. Put cake in oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Cake will spring back when touched gently in the center, and a toothpick should come out clean if inserted in the center.

Step 5:
Cool and serve. If you don't frost it, decorate by dusting it with powdered sugar, and if you put a doily on top first it will leave a nice pattern in the sugar. Serve cake from the pan.

Make the Vegan Chocolate Frosting

Step 1:
Allow margarine to come to room temperature, or microwave for 10 to 15 seconds, until soft but not melted. Add to mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy.

Step 2:
Add sugar, vanilla and 1 tbsp liquid to bowl, and beat until thoroughly combined. Add more liquid if necessary to make it spreadable. Continue beating until frosting is as fluffy as you like.

Step 3:
Frost cake and serve. You can decorate by dusting the frosting with cocoa powder in a sieve.