Look for a recipe for wacky cake. It's a chocolate cake that was made during the great depression when eggs and dairy were limited. And maybe a coconut-based frosting?

Happy birthday! And, I'm so glad to hear you haven't yet introduced cow's milk. Anyhoo, About.com has a list of vegan frostings:

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/veganfrostingrecipes/Vegan_Frosting_Recipes.htm

I was just going the say wacky cake - I just saw and LA times article and they had a recipe for one that wasn't chocolate as well - I know I didn't introduce my daughter to chocolate until she was well over a year old. Also - I thought of an apple cake with grated apples would be yummy!

you should def check out vegweb.com they have a bajillion recipes !

Joy the Baker has some tasty vegan recipes that are drool worthy: http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/07/vegan-chocolate-avocado-cake/

I highly recommend anything from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. You can check them out at www.theppk.com.

Also, I've been making the Moosewood Cookbook Six-Minute Chocolate Cake since I was a kid. It's incredibly easy and doesn't require any "weird" ingredients. The recipe is widely available on the internet, so just google it!

For frosting, I usually use a simple frosting of vegan powdered sugar, Earth Balance, shortening, soy milk, vanilla, and whatever flavorings or colors I feel like. You can find a recipe in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, by Isa and Terry.

Good luck, and I hope the cake turns out great!

Here's my go-to cake (cake pan cake aka wacky cake) - http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/king-arthur-flours-original-cake-pan-cake-recipe

I've made it without the cocoa too, and usually make it with one individual-sized unsweetened applesauce cup and 1 T oil instead of the 6 T oil.

And for frosting, you could sweeten greek yogurt with a little brown sugar, it would be nice and thick.

If you made a double-layer cake (double the above recipe, omit the chocolate if you'd like), mash up some fruit (berries or bananas) and combine with a bit of greek yogurt and use that as a filling. Then spread the top with the lightly sweetened greek yogurt. You could decorate with a bit more fruit, and candles of course! :)

wacky cake all the way...i'm actually making one this weekend for a bday party.

I just had this exact same dilemma! My preeemie just turned one and i did not want to use egg or milk in the cake.... i ended up using the apple pie crumb cake recipe from vegan with a vengeance (google search found it here: http://tiny.cc/msjxC )

i doubled the recipe and made two 8" cakes. I subbed apple sauce for the oil and brown rice syrup for the sugar. used water for the apple cider and grated all the apples instead of using chunks. i baked and mashed some apples to use as a filling between layers.

since my guy has had some yogurt and cheese, i used a bend of yo baby apple yogurt and cream cheese mixed with a bit of brown rice syrup as the frosting. it turned out really well and people were surprised that it was egg, sugar and oil free. most importantly the birthday boy loved it.

hope this helps.

oh- and i omitted the suggested crumb topping.

Vegan Chocolate Cake:

3c flour
2c sugar
6T cocoa powder
2t baking soda
1t salt
2c cold water
3/4c veg oil
2T vinegar (I like balsamic, it adds a certain depth of flavor)
2t vanilla

whisk up the dry ingredients, add the wet. bake @ 350 for ~ 30-40 min

Anything from Joy of Vegan baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. There's a chocolate cake and chocolate frosting recipe sample here: http://www.joyofveganbaking.com/sample_recipes

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions! I forgot to add that i am at high altitude (6000 ft) so i will probably have to test some recipes before the big day. How fun! :)
-jessica

I am planning on making this cake for a fundraiser - vegan chocolate cake with avocado frosting.

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/07/vegan-chocolate-avocado-cake/

You can use an organic box mix and use mashed bananas in place of the eggs and half the oil. IT WORKS LIKE A CHARM! It creates this dense flavorful cake that is just so moist. I made a vegan wedding cake this way. It was so simple.

I'd have to vote for the 'Lower-fat Deep Chocolate Bundt Cake' from Veganomicon. The cake on it's own is absolutely super. I topped it with Coconut Oil, powdered sugar, cocoa and some coffee mixed together, but I've also just powdered it with some sugar. Makes for super cup cakes as well (a part from those m&m's that accidentally topped themselves there):

http://tinyurl.com/ykd3y3o

I second jordanpattern's recommendation of "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World." I am not vegan (and I LOVE baking with butter), but I have a friend who is, so I've done some experimenting. Their buttercream frosting (Earth Balance, veg shortening, powdered sugar, etc) is really amazing, and the chocolate cupcake recipe from that book was just fantastic.

Happy birthday to your twins!

I'd vote for either one of the chocolate ones above, or my favorite vegan cake currently, http://unrelentingambiguity.wordpress.com/2008/01/19/delicious-ginger-macadamia-coconut-carrot-cake-recipe/

I made it for my mom for her birthday (as she detests soy, and my gf who was going to also be there is allergic to milk/eggs), and we all loved it. My mom normally eats just a little ritual slice, but this one she couldn't get enough of.

This is totally off-the-wall but fun for everyone and avoids baking. Cut a watermelon into two, cake size, ring sections. Lay one on the plate, coat with fruit yogurt, place the second ring (layer) on top, finish "frosting" the watermelon "cake" with fruit yogurt and sprinkle granola or berries on top. A few festive, fresh flowers around the base and a few candles on top will delight any birthday person. You can cut wedges from the watermelon "cake" and celebrate in style.