Emma’s friend, Lily, had her 2nd birthday today. We took along our own cupcakes, which Emma helped me make. Her most important job was licking the paddle after I made the frosting.

The Joy of Vegan Baking is one of my favorite vegan cookbooks. You wouldn’t believe the amount of recipes in it and I refer to it often. The chocolate cake recipe is also available online and is the best chocolate cake that I have ever had. It’s also so easy to make. When I made the recipe for the chocolate buttercream, I waited until the end to add the cocoa powder. Once the frosting was made, I scooped out about half so that I would have some white frosting to decorate with. Then I added in the cocoa powder (the full amount that the recipe calls for) and it was super chocolatey and delicious! Since it was a Hawaiian themed party, I went with a flower design on the top. Writing this post is making me want to eat another one… good thing we had a few leftovers!