Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. In a cup, combine the nondairy milk and vinegar; allow to curdle in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. In another cup, prepare egg subsitute. (http://www.vegweb.com/recipes/egg-substitutes)

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In another bowl, whip the sugar and vegetable shortening until combined. Stir in flour mixture, milk-vinegar mixture, egg substitute, and vanilla extract; mix until batter is smooth. Pour half of batter into one cake pan and half into the other.

4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Let cool completely and remove the parchment paper. Cut each cake in half horizontally making 4 cakes total.

Frosting:

5. Sprinkle each of the four pieces of cake with kirsch.

6. In a medium bowl, cream the margarine until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, coffee, and salt; beat until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a couple teaspoons of pitted cherries juice.

7. Spread the frosting over cake layer and sprinkle with cherries. Repeat for all layers except the top one (so two more times). Top one layer with another layer of cake until all 4 are on top of one another. Continue frosting the entire cake.

8. Shave chocolate and cover the cake with it. Top with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.

For more information, please see my blog here: http://veganmiss.blogspot.com/2012/05/black-forest-cake.html