Cake, and other Stories

All right, so a few months ago I promised photos of cake.
I will now prove that I am not a (total) loser.
Behold! Cake! A chocolate vegan cake, no less!


Also, a snapshot I found of something I made last summer: Yakima Valley Polenta.
I got the recipe from 'Vegetarian Times,' and had to alter it a bit for what was (or wasn't) in the kitchen. So instead of port wine, I used brandy; and I put together my own herbes de Provence. Also, I think I used Soy Cheese.
I think I could've cut down on the sweetness of it some, but overall, a very good dish.

Vegan Cake

All right. So, in my quest to stay (mostly) vegan and still eat good desserts, I'm seriously loving the cookbook, Vegan with a Vengeance (by Isa, from the PPK). I especially love the Lemon Gem cupcakes, made nice and tart with lots of lemon zest in the batter.
There's an anniversary party coming up soon, and two of the kids can't have soy, milk, or eggs. So, I'm going to have to experiment with making some vegan, soy-free cakes.
I figure I can accomplish this by using rice-milk or almond-milk instead of soy, but I'm a little curious about the small amount of soy-protein in Earth Balance (my vegan butter substitute that is even better than, um... butter).
This is going to be a challenge.
Seriously, I'll need an award for this.
I'm also wondering if chocolate cake is the way to go, or to transform the lemon-gem cupcakes into a sheet cake. They're cupcakes, so the batter is light and fluffy and frothy; maybe I can add some density to it somehow.
Anyway. Chocolate, or lemon?