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.
Elena
Can you use whole wheat flour? That’s all I have
Nora
You could if needed, but it will taste like a whole wheat cake (denser, with a different flavor). I know regular flour is a little hard to find right now!
Sepi
Hello,
Is it possible to make this recipe with gluten free flour?
Nora
It works pretty well, but the consistency will be a bit different. I have made it with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Mix with good results.
Freda
Hi Nora, are there any other vegan alternatives to aquafaba for this recipe? Would like to make it next week for my daughters 4th Bday. Thanks!
Nora
Sure! I’ve made it before just leaving the aquafaba out, and it’s still quite good. You could sub applesauce as well, or just add an additional 1/4 cup of oil.
Freda
Thanks a million!
Nora
You’re welcome!
Lindsay
This looks amazing! I plan to make next week but want to add in fresh strawberries. Will I need to make any adjustments to the recipe? Thank you!
Nora
I don’t think you need to make adjustments if you simply add fresh strawberries to the middle layer or something and on top, but I’m not sure how it will change it to mix strawberries into the batter. Might make the cake too moist and watery.
Nicole
I just made this for my daughter’s 2nd birthday last week and I’m telling you, it was a HUGE hit!! Absolutely perfect consistency, although I used cow’s butter bc that’s all I had. I can’t wait to make it again and I’d love to send you a photo so you can see how cute it turned out with the sprinkles! Thank you so much! Now I’m inspired to try more recipes on your site and will make the sweet potato + black bean burgers tomorrow for dinner 😀 Thank you so much!!
Nora
You’re so welcome! Glad it was a hit!
Lacey
I made this today and my family and I loved it but the top was slightly crispy making it a little bit hard to slice and I’d just like the whole thing to be soft. Have you ever had this happen and will cooking it less than the 30 minutes be enough to fix the problem? I used soy milk so maybe a different milk would make a difference? Thank you so much for this delicious cake recipe!
Nora
I don’t think a different milk will make a difference here. Perhaps your oven runs a bit hot; you could try baking it for less time, just check with a toothpick in the middle to make sure there is no uncooked batter left. Glad you and your family enjoyed the cake!
Kate
I made this cake for my dad’s birthday and it was amazing!! I can’t remember the last time I’ve enjoyed a cake this much. Everyone loved it! The flavor is almost like a sugar cookie (aka absolutely delicious) and the texture is perfect. Looking forward to trying some more of these recipes!!!
Nora
I’m so glad you enjoyed this for your dad’s birthday! Thank you for leaving a comment!
Elisa
I love love love this cake. I love using aquafab. I know you have a chocolate cake recipe but it doesn’t use the aquafab. Can I make this one chocolate? And if so what would I do? Thank you! All of your recipes and fantastic, my family and I love them!
Nora
I’m glad you love this cake! Have you tried my vegan chocolate cake as written? It’s pretty amazing! I’m not sure how you would make this one chocolate, it’s not quite that easy unfortunately. I think you’d be better off making the recipe as written. I’m so glad you enjoy the recipes, thank you!
Stephanie
Hi how would I adjust this to make a 9×13” cake? Would love to make it for my sons birthday 🙂
Nora
That will work, it will just take a bit longer to bake, more like 45 minutes. I would just check the middle with a toothpick until it comes out clean. Hope your son enjoys!