"Happy Birthday" with Carrot Cake

My husband requested carrot cake for his birthday.  Happily, I had recently checked out How it All Vegan from the library and they had a delicious looking recipe.  (I had previously planned to try the one from Peaceful Palate but it required too much time and I was in a pinch to get it made after work before a big family dinner on Friday night.)  I'm happy to say it turned out great and met the birthday boy's expectations! ;-)  Alas, I forgot to snap a picture in all the hub-bub, but it looked marvelous, all golden and lovely, and like a proper carrot cake!  In addition to the basic recipe, I added raisins and chopped walnuts as I've seen those featured in other carrot cake recipes and know he likes them.  I was surprised at the differences in the amount of shredded carrot in the recipes; the How it All Vegan recipe called for only half a cup, whereas the Peaceful Palate wanted two cups!  I might have to try a few more recipes out of curiosity down the road but the one we made was a definite success!

As for the frosting, I modified one of the traditional cream cheese frosting recipes substituting Tofutti and Earth Balance for the cream cheese and butter, respectively.  I didn't think it tasted *quite* as good as the "real stuff" and had a slightly odd aftertaste but it was still pretty good. I've seen some other recipes recommended, such as one that uses tofu, so I will definitely try some of those and see if I can find one that fits my tastebuds better since real cream cheese frosting was always one of my favorites!