Pomegranate Vanilla Cake

The sunrises around here have been really spectacular lately!  Every time I go out for a run, and am blessed with an electric pink sky, I am glad I am a morning runner!  The other day I was out and the sky made me think of some sort of fruit smoothie... strawberry!  It made me hungry for the moment, but later on I was thinking a cake that looked like a sunrise would be fun to create!  But since strawberries and raspberries aren't in season and I needed something red or pink, pomegranates came to mind!  I love their jewel like seeds...every time I see them I think they look like sparkling rubies!  They beautify any fall or winter salad, which I often use them in, but had never made a dessert featuring them before!  I could have made the cake chocolate since it goes well with the red pomegranates, but then that wouldn't look like a sunrise, so I decided to pair the lovely red fruit with vanilla.  The cake itself was very delicately flavored with the vanilla notes and the sweet tart pomegranate!  I decided some delicious filling was in order to compliment it!  I wanted to include pomegranate in the filling as well in some way, and what first came to mind was jam, but I do not like how commercially made jams are too sweet, so I came up with a pomegranate curd instead!  It tasted delicious, but was an ugly brown color...not like a sunrise.  Nothing a bit of beet food coloring couldn't fix however! 

To cover the outside of cake, I used a vegan cream cheese based frosting laced with some of the curd.  It was the perfect contrast to the tart sweet filling!  The cake did look like a sunrise when I was finished!  The alternating layers of cake and filling and frosting!  But more importantly it tasted wonderful!  The perfect balance of flavors, heaven on a plate!  Here is the recipe if you wish to recreate it!

Pomegranate Vanilla Layer Cake

Makes 1 6 inch 4 layer cake

2 6 inch cake pans

Cake:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup maple sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
8 drops beet based red food coloring
2 Tbsp cider vinegar

Pomegranate Curd:

1 1/2 cups organic pomegranate juice

1 cup maple sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup full fat coconut milk
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp earth balance vegan butter
 a few drops beet based red food coloring

2 pkgs tofutti cream cheese

1/2 cup reserved curd

6 Tbsp maple sugar
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
a few drops red beet based food coloring

about 1/2 cup organic pomegranate seeds

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and position rack in center of oven. Line two six-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with parchment paper. Coat parchment paper and pan sides with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, sea salt, and sugar in a large bowl to blend well. Whisk oil, juice, vanilla extract and food coloring together in small bowl to blend well, then whisk into the flour mixture until well blended. Whisk in cider vinegar and stir quickly (pale swirls will be in the batter, which is the baking soda reacting with the vinegar, which allows the cake to rise since there are no eggs). Transfer cake batter to prepared pan and bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour. Cut around sides of pan to loosen. Turn cake out onto platter; peel off parchment paper. Let cool completely, then place in the fridge to chill until very cold to make slicing easier (since cakes with no eggs crumble easier). When chilled, slice cakes horizontally in half so that you have 4 layers.

To make the curd, combine maple sugar, cornstarch, and sea salt in a medium pot, and whisk until combined.  Add the juice and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium high heat whisking constantly until thickened to a curd or pudding like consistency, about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and whisk in coconut milk, earth balance, vanilla and food coloring.  Pour into a bowl, and let chill in the fridge until cold before using to fill cake.
To make frosting, whip cream cheese until smooth, then add half a cup of the pomegranate curd, maple sugar, vanilla and a few drops of food coloring and beat until smooth.  Set aside in the fridge while you fill the cake. 
To assemble cake, place one layer on a plate, and top with about a heaping 1/2 cup curd mixture.  Spread out on layer but not all the way to the edge, because you don't want it to ooze.  Top with another layer and repeat, then the next 2 layers ending with a top layer of cake.  To frost cake, spread frosting over top and sides, smothing out as you go.  Place a few more drops food coloring in the remaining frosting and pipe decoratively onto cake using a pastry bag or plastic ziplock with a hole in the corner.  I piped the frosting around the top and bottom edges of the cake, but feel free to be creative!  Arrange pomegranate seeds decoratively around on the cake frosting.  Let chill for a few hours, and serve!
*if you would like a 4 layer 9 inch cake, double this entire recipe and bake in two 9 inch cake pans.