Any birthday celebration needs a birthday cake, so I decided to make Vanilla and Agave Nectar Cake from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World . . . except as a cake instead of as cupcakes. To convert from cupcake recipes to cake, just add about 10 to 15 minutes of extra time. The recipe says to bake for 20-22 minutes; the cake came out at 35 minutes perfectly cooked.
The only snag with the cake was that my dad was out of normal flour and I used what he had -- pastry flour. It wasn't until the cake was finished and I tasted it that I realized there was even more to it than that; it was whole wheat pastry flour. Whole wheat pastry flour is fine for many baked goods, but the agave nectar cake has a very subtle flavor that was overpowered by the whole wheat taste. If I'd realized, I would have added cocoa powder and made a chocolate-y cake that could stand up to the taste of the flour.
The orange glaze that covered the cake was made simply from cornstarch and pure orange juice. I whisked together the cornstarch and orange juice, then brought it to a boil -- still whisking. Once it reached a boil, I turned off the heat and whisked a bit more. It had a nice consistency, very glaze-like. And no need for any added sugar, since oranges are plenty sweet on their own!
All in all, this sugar-free cake was dandy; moist, sweet-but-not-too-sweet, and flavorful. The only thing I'd change next time is the flour -- or I'd add another flavor to compensate for the flour.
