Vegan Margaret Chase Smith Blueberry Cake

Margaret Chase Smith Blueberry Cake, Veganized

There was an old article linked on a Facebook page dedicated to people descended from common ancestors on the Chase family line. Margaret Chase Smith was an amazing person. If you do not know about her, please do a quick search and read about her life. She loved to bake and this was her cake. Really like a large blueberry muffin. I modified the recipe to make it vegan and add my notes and frosting.

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup vegetable shortening or vegan butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 flax eggs*
  • 2 cups flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 cup plant based milk (unflavored, unsweetened)
  • 2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 375.

Grease two 9- or 10-inch layer cake tins or one 9-by-13-inch cake pan.

Cream the shortening or butter and add the sugar, beating until creamy.

Add the flax eggs and beat until the mixture is light and foamy.

Mix together and sift the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternatively with the milk.

Fold in the blueberries.

Bake the layer cakes for 25 to 30 minutes or the single layer for 35. When done, allow to cool for 10 minutes then turn out onto cake racks. To remove the cakes from the pans, you may need to make sure the cakes are not stocking where the blueberries contact the pans. I used a spatula to separate the cakes from the pans (which was easier using springform pans).

When cool, put the layers together with frosting.

*One tablespoon ground flax and 3 tablespoons of warm water, mix and wait a few minutes. This equals ONE egg.


Frosting. I chose to use a vegan cream cheese based frosting. I probably did not wait long enough to start frosting, as it melted a little. A buttercream based frosting might work better, but I like the taste of a cream cheese based one as the cream cheese cuts the sweetness.

Vegan Cream Cheese frosting:

Ingredients

  • 7-8 ounces vegan cream cheese
  • 2 and 1/4 tablespoons vegan butter, slightly softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar, more for a stiffer frosting, sifted if lumpy
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth.
  • Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until smooth. If you prefer a stiffer frosting, beat in additional powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.