Red Tea Layer Cake with Rose Frosting

My favorite cake will always be chocolate but I also enjoy experimenting with different flavors. For my Grandma's birthday gathering I baked this lovely layer cake flavored with red tea, vanilla, and orange. The rose frosting is light, delicate, and not only tastes delicious it also smells wonderful!

A quick note about the cake recipe: I adapted this from a recipe I found years ago on a site called Cat Tea Corner. This site has since disappeared but I kept a printout of the recipe. If the person/people who used to maintain Cat Tea Corner read this please contact me; I miss your site and the fantastic recipes you posted on it!

The finished cake, assembled and frosted!

The batter in a 9" round pan.


Red Tea Cake with Orange and Vanilla

2 cups strongly brewed red tea, cooled to room temperature
2 TBSP vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp orange extract (if you don't like orange use more vanilla instead)
3/4 cup safflower oil or other vegetable oil
2 cups cane sugar
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 tsp salt (optional)
2 tsp baking soda
vegetable shortening, palm oil, or Earth Balance for greasing pans
additional flour for pans


Combine in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl if you plan to use a hand mixer) the tea, vinegar, vanilla, orange, oil, and sugar. Mix these ingredients on low until combined. In a separate bowl stir together the sugar, flour, salt, and baking soda before adding them to the wet ingredients. Once everything is in the bowl of the stand mixer begin mixing on a low speed until the dry ingredients are somewhat incorporated and then increase the speed. Periodically stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and then resume mixing until the batter is uniform and any lumps are gone. Prepare two 9" round cake pans by greasing them with vegetable shortening or Earth Balance and then flouring them. Pour the batter into the pans, dividing it evenly between the two, and bake them at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes. They are done when the middle springs back if poked gently and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing it from the pans.

The remains of the frosting in my stand mixer's bowl after I assembled the cake.



Rose Frosting

1 cup palm oil or vegetable shortening
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp rosewater
1/4 cup room-temperature water
8 drops of India Tree red food coloring (optional)

Place the palm oil or vegetable shortening in the bowl of your stand mixer and set it to a medium speed for a minute or two. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the food coloring, and mix on a slow speed and gradually increase it to high. Periodically stop to scrape the sides and bottom to ensure there are no lumps of fat or sugar. The frosting should reach a light, whipped consistency. Add the food coloring 1 or 2 drops at a time, mixing thoroughly with each addition, until you reach the shade of pink you would like. I used 8 drops of India Tree plant-based food coloring for a nice light pink but if you use a different food coloring you may need more or less.

The frosting that will be situated between the top and bottom layers of the cake.




To assemble the cake just place the bottom layer on your serving dish and spread it with frosting, place the second layer on top, and then spread the remaining frosting around the sides and on the top. It helps if you use a wide knife so you have a greater flat surface with which to smooth the frosting.

Hazelnut Coffee Cookies

1 1/2 cups vegan margarine, softened (I use Earth Balance soy free)
1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
large-ish pinch of salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP instant coffee (regular or decaf)
1 cup ground hazelnuts (finely ground but not enough to become a paste)
extra margarine or nonstick cooking spray

Beat margarine on medium high with a mixer until it looks whipped. Add powdered sugar and salt and beat again until well combined and fluffy-looking (like a very light frosting). Add flour and start the mixer on a low speed, gradually increasing the speed until it is thoroughly mixed. In a small bowl or measuring cup combine the vanilla and instant coffee and stir until dissolved. Add the hazelnuts and vanilla-coffee solution to the dough and mix. The dough should turn a light coffee color evenly throughout. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets lightly with margarine or nonstick spray. Roll balls of dough about 1" wide and place 2-3" apart on cookie sheet. Mash the balls down to about 1/4" thick. Bake for about 15 minutes and allow to cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to brown paper* to finish cooling.


*The reason for cooling the cookies on brown paper is that the paper absorbs some of the excess oil and when laid completely flat puts less stress on delicate cookies than a wire rack does. Paper grocery bags cut into flat sections work perfectly for this!

Banana Bread

When I was little I always looked forward to bananas getting past their prime because that meant my mother would make banana bread. I still love the way it smells when it bakes and the way it tastes when still warm from the oven; this is a comfort food! Although I couldn't find her recipe to adapt, I did manage to create one of my own and the resulting banana bread is possibly the best I've ever had.

1 cup Earth Balance or other dairy-free margarine
2 cups sugar (can be partly brown sugar)
1 package firm Japanese style silken tofu (Mori Nu)
4 cups flour (1 can be whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
5 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 10-oz package of dairy-free chocolate chips (Enjoy Life work well)
2 cups chopped walnuts
cooking spray

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar. Mash the tofu then mix thoroughly into the creamed mixture. In another bowl of a measuring cup, stir together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda; add this to the large bowl and mix until lumps are gone. Stir in the bananas (you may have to use a hand to do this) and then the chocolate chips followed by the walnuts. Distribute this batter into 2 glass loaf pans sprayed with cooking spray or greased with margarine. If you prefer, bake as muffins in lined muffin pans. Bake at 325 degrees until the top is golden brown and the center is cooked, about 1 hour to 75 minutes.