This easy vegan vanilla cake is the perfect dessert for birthday parties, graduations, weddings or just because occasions. Nothing says happy like a soft and sweet vanilla cake and creamy frosting!
This white cake has it all--it's fluffy, has the most tender and moist crumb, and a deep vanilla flavor. Dress it up with some fancy buttercream work or keep it simple with a drizzle of chocolate ganache, this cake is sure to delight!
It's admittedly a lot harder to make a good vanilla cake vegan than it is to make a chocolate or other strongly flavored cake (carrot, apple, red velvet--you get the idea). Vanilla is a delicate flavor that is easily overpowered if you use the wrong ingredients or even the wrong proportions of ingredients. White cakes also have the propensity to come out dry, for whatever reason.
This recipe is everything you want from a vanilla cake and more! Even better that it just happens to be vegan. Making vegan cakes is a unique process from their egg and dairy counterparts, but the results are equally tasty!
How to make a vegan cake:
Traditional baking uses butter to whip air into a batter and eggs for structure, stability, and leavening. We switch out butter for a neutral flavored oil (like canola or safflower), and depend on leavening from baking powder and baking soda.
To start we clabber the plant milk with apple cider vinegar to make a quick buttermilk. While most non-dairy milk options will work, soy milk, almond/cashew milk, and oat milk will have the best results (and please don't use rice milk which is too watery).
Adding a little vinegar to the recipe does a few things: it reacts with the baking soda for leavening, it tenderizes the gluten formation for a softer cake, and it slows down browning as it lowers the pH of the cake.
Next, we mix together the dry ingredients. I'm a huge proponent of weighing your ingredients as there is very little room for error if you weigh. Kitchen scales are inexpensive and yet one of the best investments you can make if you love to bake!
If you're measuring by volume, I ask that you measure your flour in this specific way: First whisk the flour in its container to fluff and undo any settling of the flour. Then scoop with your measuring cup so it's overflowing.
Remove the excess by scraping across the top with the back of a knife. This is how I measure, so for best results you should do the same! Also keep in mind I use US standard measuring cups, which are a little different than UK and Australian.
With the flour we add in the granulated sugar (use organic or a certified vegan one if you're concerned about bone char in the mix), baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk everything together so it's fluffy and well combined.
Then to the buttermilk mixture, mix in oil and vanilla extract until smooth. Use a good quality pure vanilla extract, this recipe calls for a lot of vanilla and the flavor really shines through at the end.
We add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix with a whisk. While with egg-based cakes you have to be very careful to not over whisk, this is less of an issue with vegan cakes.
In fact, a little gluten development through whisking helps build the structure and stability of the cake. Don't over do it, just mix the cake batter just until it's nice and smooth.
Baking the cakes:
Do not add the wet ingredients to the dry until 1) your oven is preheated and 2) your baking pan(s) are prepared. Once the wet ingredients are added the baking soda will immediately begin to react, so waiting to bake your cake will result in a flatter and less desirable result.
The cakes are baked at 350 ºF. This relatively low temperature keeps the cake from browning too quickly on the outside, and helps lessen the doming of the cake.
Watch for visual cues that you cakes are done baking. When done, the edges of the cake will be golden and have started to pull away from the sides of the pan. A cake tester will also pull out clean, or with one or two crumbs. If there is any stickiness then continue baking it until done.
If you open the oven door too early in the baking process, this can cause the center of the cake to collapse. An oven light helps you keep an eye on the cake to watch for the visual cues before opening to test.
To prep your baking pans, I use a method I learned from the vegan dessert guru, Fran Costigan. I spray a coating of oil inside the pan, then add a piece of parchment to cover the bottom. I love buying the precut parchment circles, but you can also cut them out yourself. This method allows for easy release from the pan, then just remove the parchment paper from the bottom and you're good to go!
Decorating the cakes:
This post is more about baking the cake than decorating. But just a few quick notes to set yourself up for success.
Always chill the cakes before frosting. Cold cakes = less crumbs = a better finish on the frosting. This is also true if you plan on cutting off the top of your cake to level, or to cut it in half to create more layers.
Use cake boards when wrapping up your cakes to refrigerate as they will keep the bottom of the cake nice and flat. While you could cut up clean cardboard or foam core board to size, you can also just buy pre-cut cake cardboard.
I used my Vegan Aquafaba Strawberry Italian Meringue Buttercream on this cake, minus the strawberry part. Feel free to use that recipe (and check out that post for a step by step photo tutorial of frosting a cake). You can make the buttercream in advance--it freezes well--and then rewhip (defrost in the fridge if frozen) to fluff it back up for easy spreading.
I sprinkled mini-chocolate chips between the layers after adding the buttercream. These led to a nice textural contrast to the cake, and I love me some chocolate! If you're unsure where to find them, Enjoy Life Foods makes vegan chocolate chips in full size and minis.
Lastly I drizzled some Vegan Salted Caramel Sauce over the cake, and used the recipe from my friend Cupful of Kale. The salted caramel is made from brown sugar and is sooo delicious, we found ourselves drizzling it over each slice of cake to serve!
If you're going to use fresh flowers to decorate make sure to do so in a food safe manner! Here's one nice article on How to Decorate a Cake with Flowers by Olive and Artisan. Just make sure you do your research on how to safely use flowers if you are going to do so!
I made this cake as a tiered cake because it was a test for the cake I am making for my friends' wedding. It held up beautifully sitting out on the counter overnight, and the ultra moist and tender crumb makes for the most delectable cake! There are plenty of tutorials online if you wish to do the same. Or if you ask nicely, maybe I'll make one too 🙂 !
If you make this cake, please let me know! Give the recipe a rating and leave a review below! Also don't forget to share your creations with me on Instagram, tag @thecuriouschickpea and #thecuriouschickpea, I absolutely love seeing your photos!
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Note:
- Vegan cakes have a tendency to be stickier than their non-vegan counterparts, so keeping the cake cold before decorating is extra important. The cakes should be refrigerated until thoroughly chilled before leveling or torting (cutting the cake into 2 or more layers) and before frosting.
- The cake shown here has a bottom tier of three 8" cakes and a top tier of three 6" cakes. The batter for one 8-inch cake is divided in half to make two 6-inch cakes. So to make this exact set up use the ingredients to make two 8-inch cakes plus one 8-inch cake. Then make another one of the one 8-inch cakes to divide into two 6-inch cake pans. For a third cake, the 8-inch cake ingredients in half.
Easy Vegan Vanilla Cake
This vanilla cake has a soft, tender, moist crumb and just happens to be vegan. It's easy to make and the perfect cake for birthdays and celebrations!
Ingredients
One 8-inch cake or Two 6-inch cakes
- 2 teaspoon (10g) apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoon (270g) plant milk
- 1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon (210g) all purpose flour*
- ¾ cups + 1 tablespoon (170g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon (6g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (2g) baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon (5g) salt
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon (82g) oil
- 1 ½ tablespoon (16g) vanilla extract
Two 8-inch cakes
- 1 ½ tablespoon (20g) apple cider vinegar
- 2 ¼ cups (540g) plant milk
- 3 cups + 2 tablespoon (420) all purpose flour*
- 1 ½ cups + 2 tablespoon (340g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (12g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (5g) baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon (10g) salt
- ¾ cup (164g) oil
- 3 tablespoon (32g) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 ºF. Prepare the baking pan(s) by spraying with oil then placing a parchment paper circle to cover the bottom of the pan.
- In a mixing bowl add the plant milk and vinegar and set aside to clabber for 5-10 minutes.
- In a second mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until fluffy.
- Add the oil and vanilla extract into the clabbered milk and mix to combine. Add to the dry ingredients and whisk until the batter is smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan (or divide in half if baking 2 cakes). Bake the 8" cakes for 36-38 minutes, bake the 6" cakes for 31-33 minutes. The cakes are done when the edges are golden and have pulled away from the sides of the pan and a test comes out clean or with one or two crumbs.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Then working gently, turn over the pan with a wire cooling rack to catch the cake. Remove the pan, then peel off the parchment paper. Turn the cake back right side up and leave to cool fully on a cooling rack.
- Place the cooled cakes on a cake board and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge or in freezer-safe ziplock bags in the freezer until ready to decorate.
Notes
*To properly measure the flour: whisk to undo settling, scoop, then level. Measuring any other way could result in too much or too little flour. If possible it is best to use a kitchen scale.
This cake was decorated with my vegan aquafaba italian meringue buttercream (minus the strawberry sauce), with mini chocolate chips between the layers, and a vegan salted caramel sauce drip by Cupful of Kale.
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This cake is so stunning Eva! And I love that it is easy! Thank you so much for using my salted caramel, you make it look incredible!! xo
Wow Eva, gorgeous and I bet its delicious ?
Just made this. Beautiful, luscious cake! The flavor is great, it is moist, beautiful color. Everyone loved it. Your instructions were clear (I read thru everything) and resulted in this great success. Thank you!
Thanks Holly! I'm so glad you enjoyed the cake!
I have 9 inch pans....how do I revise measurements
Hi Marci, a 9" pan is about 25% larger than an 8" round pan, so I would increase the measurements by 25% (this is easy if you can use a scale--multiply the weight by 1.25). They will also most likely bake a bit longer because of this. I can't say exactly as I have not tested it. I would start checking the cake at the 36-38 minutes by looking through the door of the oven with the light on, and when you see the center is looking done and the edges are starting to pull away test at that point. This article might be helpful as well: https://food52.com/blog/13239-how-to-make-your-baking-recipe-fit-your-pan-size
Hi! Thank you for the great recipe, made this yesterday for my daughter's birthday, paired with a chocolate frosting, was so yummy!
Wanted to mention that I used 2, 9inch pans and just made the same recipe for 2, 8inch cakes, didn't increase measurements or anything and they came out fine and well risen.
@thecuriouschickpea, Just to confirm I have made this with 9 inch pans and have previously just done the same measurements and it worked ok.
However i just recently made it again in the same pans and increased by 1.25 and they came out much better risen. I cooked at 150C as we have a fan oven and they took 40-45 mins
This is a wonderful recipe. I made three tiered 10 inch and 6 inch cakes for a baby shower and they came out absolutely lovely and the guests just loved it. I waited for the compliments to roll on before blowing their minds by telling them it was all vegan.
The cake bakes just beautifully and the flavor and texture is very good.
Thank you for such a great recipe.
I have to tell you that I had practiced another vegan vanilla cake and I wasn’t thrilled by it, but I was running out of time to experiment. I decided at the last minute to make yours instead because I liked that it had both soda and powder. I am so glad I did. The couple things that are different in your recipe made all the difference!
Hi Katie, I'm so glad you and your guests enjoyed the recipe so much! Thank you so much for reporting back!
Hi Katie, I'm hoping to find success (after a couple fails with other recipes) with this vegan vanilla but I too have 10 inch pans. Could you possibly post what ratio conversions or what formula you used to convert? TIA!
Beautiful tasty recipe! However my middle sunk 🙁 it happened when I did the toothpick test at the 30min mark (6-inch cake). Do you have any advice for where I might have gone wrong? I weighed everything using scales. Thanks so much!
Hi Emma,
Hopefully you'll see this. I don't see where I can reply directly to you!
I believe I used the recipe for two 8" cakes to fill one 10" pan. It's been a few months ago, and I can't remember exactly now. So sorry! But I stuck with her provided measurements and didn't change anything. (Well, I added some orange flavor along with the vanilla, and it was very tasty, but other than that, I followed the recipe.)
The good news is that if you end up with a little too much batter, you can make yourself a couple bonus cupcakes or something. =D
Hi Katie, thank so much for replying! Going to try this today as you suggested, and I'll be more than happy to have a couple cupcakes if I have extra batter, great idea!! Thanks.
@Katie, Hi Katie! Just wondering what the cooking time when you made the 10 inch cakes?
My 10 inch cake have a gluey streak at the bottom that I noticed already on the cooling down :/ It passed the toothpick test too so just wondering if it’s on the baking time.
Thanks!!
Does this cake freeze well? Hoping to bake in advance...
Hi Rebecca, yes it does freeze well. You can see the instructions for freezing in the last step of the recipe. Double wrapping the cakes is important for avoiding freezer burn!
Hi! There is a recipe for 1 8” cake or 2 6” cakes, and one for 2 8” cakes. Does the number of cakes signify each layer it makes or a full, 3 layer cake as shown in the picture?
I would like to make one 8” cake with three layers. How would you recommend I approach this?
Thank you!
Hi Morgan, I'm sorry it's not clear! I tried to give options so you can make the size and amount of cakes as you want. Yes, each number of cakes refers to the number of layers you get. So bake three cakes to get a final 3-layer decorated cake.
The batter for the "One 8" cake or Two 6" cakes" can be used to make either one 8" cake or two 6" cakes (if you look at the volume of an 8" cake it's about equal to the volume of two 6" cakes). So, for your 8" cake with three layers, make one of the 1 8-inch cake amounts of batter plus one of the 2 8" cakes.
All I did was multiply the first one by two for you! If you have three pans and can bake all at once, just multiply the 1 8" cake recipe amounts by 3 to do so.
Hopefully that's clear? If not I can try to clarify further!
Hey! This was from a long time ago, but wanted to say that your explanation really helped. Thanks! This is still a go to recipe for me. 🙂
Could you please help me with the calculations of two, 5 inch cakes.. Making a mini cake and can't seem to get it right.. Please advise. Thank you..
What do you think about using applesauce in place of the oil?
Hi Lori, so typically apple sauce works pretty well as a substitute for oil. You don’t get the same exact results but if you need to bake oil free then I suspect it would work. I personally would just substitute half the oil for apple sauce if that’s the route I was going. Also, apple sauce is sweet so I may cut back just a little with the sugar so the cake doesn’t get too sweet. If you do try it please report back so we know how it came out!
Hi I was wondering is there any way to also make this cake Gluten Free by replacing the flour with Gluten Free flour? I would love to know. Thank you in advance! 🙂
Hi Rosie, I'm sorry to say I don't have a lot of experience with gluten free baking so I'm not sure if you could substitute an gluten free flour and get the same results. If I were going to try it, I would use a gluten free all purpose blend, but it's probably best to start with a recipe that is already gluten free.
Hello,
I tried this cake and I used all purpose Gluten free flower and it came out perfect
I just tried it but unfortunately it didnt work for me. I used the King Arthur's AP gluten free blend and it looked just fine int he oven. I took it out and the center collapsed and all of the oiled was concentrated in the middle. Also the texture was...very odd....like a mix between a egg white fritata and jello LOL!! Maybe i did something wrong but please let me know if you are successful.
@thecuriouschickpea,
I made this cake GF, and it still came out wonderful. I always use King Arthur GF flour as Bobs Red Mill has xanthum gum in it and my baked goods kept coming out raw in the middle.
This looks absolutely divine! Can I use cake flour instead of all purpose flour?
Hi Vanessa, I haven't tried this recipe with cake flour, but cake flour is finer and has a lower protein content than all purpose. So if substituting, you'll want to use the same amount by weight, which is going to be a bit more volume than all purpose flour. If you try making it with cake flour let us know how it comes out!
@thecuriouschickpea
I’ve made this cake with king Arthur’s cake flour every time, and it always comes out amazing. I just add 3 tablespoons per cup in the recipe.
Do you have the weighted ingredients listed instead of measured for this recipe? I really want to give it a go but prefer to weigh my ingredients.
Thanks!
Nevermind, right beside the measurements!
Which recipe should you use if you only have a 13x9 pan
Hi Ayla, make enough batter for two 8" round cakes. A 9x13" pan is going to be pretty close in volume to that! It'll just be a bit less tall.
I’m trying this now in a 9x13’pan (with purple food coloring) for my youngest child’s birthday. She loves all things vanilla. Crossing my fingers it works. Vanilla cake is not my specialty.
I hope the cake came out for you Joy!
So I made this today including the vegan IMBC...the IMBC was amazing! But the cakes I found were way way too sweet...if I drop sugar down to 300g instead of 340g, do you think I'll need to lower the flour or it should work with all things being the same?
The cake definitely had lovely fluffiness and tender crumb but it was just so sweet ?
Hi Leny, if you want less sugar you need to lower the sugar without changing anything else, otherwise you'll end up with the same concentration of sugar. However, sugar is an integral part of the cake recipe and the moistness of the cake, so just note that if you change the amount of sugar the recipe will not come out the same. I would start with smaller changes.
One other thing, is that I find vanilla to be a sweet taste, and I use more vanilla in my recipe than the average yellow cake, so you could try to reduce that a bit to see if it's more to your liking.
Eva, thanks for your response! Even though i found it a bit too sweet initially, with the buttercream and my sour cherry jam, it worked so well!! Workmates devoured half and my husband and I polished off the other....it was amazing!! Made this as first trial and will be making this for my baby's 1st birthday next week! Thank you!! ❤❤❤
I made two 8 inch layers for a “Harriet the Spy” themed book club where we had Harriet’s favorites, cake and milk, and tomato sandwiches. The recipe worked perfectly as written. Cakes turned out nice and flat, no trimming needed. Sturdy enough for layering and icing, but not too dense. Good flavor and texture. Basic ingredients that I always have on hand, no special shopping trip needed. I will definitely keep this recipe in my pocket for making vegan layer cakes!
How would I make a 3 6 inch layer cake?
Hi Nikki, if you have 3 6" pans and can bake them all at once, then multiply each of the first set of ingredients (for 2 6-inch cakes) by 1.5 to get the correct amount. If you have just 2 pans, then bake one batch of the 2 6-inch cakes, and then when your pans are cool and clean, divide the amounts by 2 to get the amount for 1 6" cake.
I highly recommend you do it by weight, but I did take care to develop the recipe so you could divide the 2 6-inch cake recipe in half pretty easily (keep in mind 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons). If measuring by volume, make sure to use the same method as me, as described in the notes of the recipe!
I have been dying to make a vegan Chantilly cake with berries and other fruits in the center, I believe I have the whipped coconut cream frosting all set out but I was wondering if you believed this cake would pair well enough with such a light frosting?
Hi Rosie, I can't say with 100% certainty, but if you can make a stiff vegan whipped cream it should work.
I wouldn't do more than a 2-layer cake, and you can also try to make thinner layers (do this by using less batter in each tin--you could bake the 8" cake in a 9" pan for example), or cut a single cake in half to make the two layers so there isn't too much weight.
The vegan italian meringue butter cream I used in this photo wasn't particularly stiff when frosted (firms more when cold) and the cake layers stacked fine!
This looks like a great recipe can't wait to try it!
I've only got rapeseed oil and coconut oil would using either of these get a similar result with the sponges?
Hi Lauren! I would use the rapeseed oil, any neutrally flavored vegetable oil should work out just fine in this recipe! Coconut oil could change the texture as it is solid at room cool room temperature.
This is, hands down, the best vegan vanilla cake. This is moist, tender, flavorful, and it doesn’t leave a bitter aftertaste like most vanilla cakes. Yummmy!
Beautiful cake - cant wait to give it a go. Please can I ask, is this cake sturdy enough to be covered in fondant please?
Hi Shamina, I don't have much experience with fondant and haven't tried it on this cake to be sure, but I believe it would hold up, as long as you chill the cakes really well, like for several hours, ideally overnight or the day before. If you do try it, please let us know if it worked under fondant!
I just made this tonight for my son's first birthday. I made the recipe for the one layer, and used it to make 12 cupcakes. I baked them for 28 minutes, and they came out perfectly! Very moist and light! So excited to have a vanilla vegan cake in addition to the chocolate ones I have!