The Best Vegan Vanilla Cake – Fluffy and moist, this is a must have cake for all kinds of occasions! The only vanilla cake recipe you’ll ever need, and it’s vegan.
This Vegan Vanilla Cake has been a long time coming. Ever since I posted my Vegan Chocolate Cake, I’ve been wanting to create the most perfect vanilla cake, too. After a couple of tries, and a few tweaks here and there, I’ve done it! Moist and fluffy, golden vanilla cake layers paired with my Vanilla Vegan Frosting. Vanilla lovers will swoon over this cake! You could also frost it with Chocolate Frosting, if you prefer.
P.S. If anyone wants a slice, I’ve drowning in cake over here so come on over! 😉
What is Aquafaba and what purpose does it serve in baking?
Aquafaba is simply the liquid, or juice from a can of chickpeas. That’s it. Really.
It makes a great binder, similar to egg whites, and when you whip it, you can do amazing things, such as make meringues, fluffy mousses and more! I use it here in this Grain Free Granola, and in this Lemon Cake.
For this recipe, drain the liquid from a can of chickpeas, and pour it into a bowl. Whisk it for a minute or two, until it’s a bit foamy on top. It doesn’t have to have stiff peaks for this recipe, like it does for meringues. When it’s time to add it to the cake batter, measure out 1/2 cup.
I really enjoy using it for cake and cupcake recipes, because it makes them bake up so fluffy and moist, and there are no little brown bits from flaxseed eggs.
Tips on how to make the best Vegan Vanilla Cake:
- To prepare your pans, please use a small circle of parchment paper and place it in the bottom. Then spray or grease the pans all over, including the sides. Trust me, I’ve had many cakes ruined by not properly preparing my pans!
- Use both the vegan butter AND canola oil. This makes the cake super moist and fluffy, while giving it the best possible buttery flavor.
- Make sure to cool the cakes COMPLETELY before frosting. If it’s warm at all, you will have a big melty mess on your hands. Trust me, I’ve been there… If I’m in a rush, I’ll put the cakes in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.
- It’s best to store the cake in an airtight container, like a cake carrier. You can also lightly wrap it with plastic wrap, but it may ruin your designs.
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Tools that are helpful for making and decorating Vegan Vanilla Cake:
Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer – My mom had actually bought one of these years ago, in hopes she would do more baking. Well, that didn’t really happen so I’m borrowing it. Oh wow, you guys, it’s amazing! You can also use a hand mixer.
Icing Smoother – I recently got this little smoothing tool and I really like it.
Sprinkles, of course! If you want some really special, pretty sprinkles (that are safely vegan), check out Sweetapolita. They have such pretty ones!
Want more Vegan Cake and Cupcake recipes?
Vegan Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup aquafaba
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup canola oil, or melted coconut oil
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Recipe Vanilla Vegan Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prepare 2 round 8-inch cake pans by lining the bottom with parchment paper and spraying well with oil.
- Make the Vegan Buttermilk: Combine the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar. Stir a little, then set aside.
- Make the Aquafaba: Pour the liquid from a can of chickpeas into a small-medium bowl. Whisk well for a minute, until foamy and light. This acts similar to eggs. You can't taste it at all in the cake, don't worry! You will use 1/2 cup of this, and the liquid from 1 can is just perfect.
- Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the softened vegan butter, canola oil and sugar until creamy and well combined.
- Measure out 1/2 cup of the aquafaba, and add it to the bowl, along with the vanilla extract. Beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Using the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and vegan buttermilk, mixing until just combined after each time. The batter should be fairly smooth (a few lumps are okay), but avoid over-mixing.
- Pour the cake batter evenly into the prepared pans, and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, the surface looks and feels set, and a toothpick comes out mostly clean, with no wet batter.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then carefully invert them onto a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before frosting. You can place them in the refrigerator to speed the cooling process along if you need to.
- Frost with my Vanilla Vegan Frosting or use the Chocolate Frosting from my Chocolate Cake Recipe. Add some sprinkles for fun, if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- May use any kind of unsweetened non-dairy milk, such as soy, almond, cashew, coconut or rice milk.
- Earth balance brand of vegan butter is preferred. You can use another brand, but make sure you like the flavor of it, as it may come through in the cake.
- Aquafaba is simply the liquid from a can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans. It sounds weird, but when it's whipped up a bit it has many great uses! It works like eggs, eggwhites and can even be used to make vegan meringue! You can not taste it AT ALL.
- You could make cupcakes with this recipe, if desired. They will need less baking time, 20-25 minutes.
- Calorie estimate is with 1/12th of the cake with Vanilla Vegan frosting.
Barb
I have made this cake and it is so good. However, the liquid from one can of chic peas (once you beat it) is way more than 1/2 cup of whipped acquafaba. So, not sure I’m making this correctly or not. Can you confirm once whipped, how much to add? or is it all of it from 1/2 cup of liquid acquafaba? By the way, your recipes are my family favourites! Everything I make is awesome and converting an entire family of 5 to plant based eating has been a breeze. Thank you.
Nora
You are correct, depending on your aquafaba, you may have much more than 1/2 cup whipped. Which is why I say to measure 1/2 cup of the whipped aquafaba and add that to the mixture, not all of it. So 1/2 cup of whipped aquafaba. This is the only way I know to make sure it is accurate, as different chickpea liquids can make different amounts when whipped. Hope that helps! I’m so happy you have been enjoying the recipes, thank you so much!
Tatiana
What is the measurements for a three tier cake?
Nora
I’m not sure, it would depend on how large your pans are. You could 1.5 times the recipe to get 3 layers if you are using 8 inch pans.
Kristy
Hi
I make your chocolate cake all time and get rave reviews, thank you! I wanted to make your white cake for my sons 1st birthday, but I think I may have over mixed the Aquafaba😬 is this possible. When I went to “pour” the cake out, I really had to scoop it out.
Thanks!
Nora
Yes, it should pour a little easier than that, but hopefully it still turned out okay! I’ve noticed when I use coconut oil, that often happens but then it works out. I guess it’s possible if the aquafaba was really thick, your cake batter would be as well, I’m not totally sure.
amelian
wonderful cake, this is a awesome recipe thank you so much!
Nora
You’re so welcome!
Kinara Fender
Oh my heck. This cake was mind-blowing. It tastes like amazing white cake meets sugar cookie because the edges of the cake get caramelized and chewy. I added poppyseeds to the batter, filled with homemade cherry filling, and used your vanilla frosting recipe tinted with cherry juice.
Nora
Sounds delicious!!
sherry
I can’t wait to try this recipe, thank you for posting. I just wanted to make a mention about the oil. I have heard canola oil is not good. I substitute light olive oil in my cakes and it has worked great so far.
Korrin
What would you say is the egg (#) equivalent of 1/2 cup of aquafaba foam? If I wanted to make a different cake which calls for eggs, please?
Nora
Well, 3 tablespoons of whipped aquafaba is about the same as 1 egg, so that might be an easier reference than 1/2 cup. Hope that helps!
Marci
I don’t like using vegan butter can I replace with oil or another alternative, like fruit?
Nora
I’ve never tried this cake oil free, often people will substitute applesauce so you could try that, but the cake will taste much different. Coconut oil or more canola oil should work quite well. For the frosting you really need vegan butter though.
Marci
Would I replace the vegan butter 1:1 with oil?
Nora
Yes, that’s right.
Marci
Thank you, your cake looks so amazing. I can’t wait to try it.