With a moist and fluffy crumb and decadent vanilla flavors, you’ll fall head over heels for this Vegan Vanilla Cake recipe. It’s perfect for all kinds of occasions and no one will guess it’s vegan!
You won’t ever have to search for a vegan cake recipe again with my vanilla cake, Vegan Chocolate Cake, and Vegan Yellow Cake recipes in your back pocket.
Introducing the only vegan vanilla cake recipe you’ll ever need!
My Vegan Vanilla Cake is an extraordinary dessert that will ‘wow’ the vanilla lovers in your life. It’s moist and fluffy, has elegant vanilla flavors, and is paired with my Vanilla Vegan Frosting for just the right amount of sweetness.
With over 200 5-star reviews, this recipe is a proven favorite! Here’s what readers are saying:
“Love this cake recipe!! The best I’ve ever had!! The whole family loves it too.” – Melissa
“Absolutely amazing! Impressed all my non-vegan friends!!” – Brittany
“I have tried many cake recipes and this one is the best by far! It was perfect and the whole family loved it. I’m keeping this one. Thank you so much!” – Lauren
My favorite way to serve this moist vegan vanilla cake is with sprinkles on top, but you can use fresh fruit, vegan whipped cream, edible flowers, or any fun decorations you love. Bring it with you to the birthday party, bridal shower, or holiday party, and watch as everyone rushes to get a slice!
Why this is the best vegan vanilla cake
- It’s the type of cake you dream about – This bakery-style vanilla cake has a wonderfully moist and fluffy crumb and an elegant vanilla flavor. The best part is that it’s made without eggs or dairy but you’d never know it!
- Two secret ingredients – Aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas) and cake flour are solely responsible for this cake’s delicate, fluffy texture.
- Perfect for any occasion – Decorate the cake with vegan buttercream frosting and sprinkles so it’s ready for birthday parties, baby showers, weddings, holidays, or any special occasion. You will also love my super easy Vegan Funfetti Cake for birthday parties!
How to make vegan vanilla cake
This is simply an overview with photos. For the complete, printable recipe, scroll down to the recipe card.
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease 2 8-inch round cake pans. Place a round of parchment paper on the bottom for easy removal of the cakes later.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium-large bowl and set aside.
Make the vegan buttermilk by combining the milk and apple cider vinegar in a glass measuring cup. Stir a little, then set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk the aquafaba and cream of tartar vigorously until foamy, about 2 minutes. You don’t need this in stiff peaks, just get it a bit fluffy and foamy. OR, you can vegan yogurt, which works just as well!
Cream the softened vegan butter, canola oil, and sugar together in a large bowl until creamy. Next, add the aquafaba to the bowl along with the vanilla extract. Beat until well combined.
With your mixer on low speed, alternate between adding portions of the flour mixture and vegan buttermilk to the batter, mixing until just combined after each time.
Do not overmix the batter! The batter should be fairly smooth after everything has been incorporated. A few lumps left behind are okay.
Pour the batter into your prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean.
Set the cakes aside to cool while you make the Vegan Buttercream Frosting, Chocolate Frosting, Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting or Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
Or consider making this incredible Vegan Whipped Cream (that tastes like dairy whipped cream!) and serve with berries.
Frost the vanilla cake when the layers are completely cooled. Add some sprinkles on top for fun, then slice and serve!
Frequently asked questions
Cake flour works the absolute best in this recipe but all purpose flour is fine, too. You can also make homemade cake flour by mixing all purpose flour and cornstarch together. Check out this Cake Flour Substitute Guide from Sally’s Baking Addiction to learn how it’s done.
A quality gluten free flour mix, like Better Batter, will work as a substitute but just know that the cake will have a slightly different texture and it probably won’t be as fluffy and light.
Aquafaba is simply the liquid, or juice, from a can of chickpeas. That’s it!
Like egg whites, it does amazing things when it’s whipped up, such as making vegan-friendly meringues, mousses, whipped cream, brownies, and more. It’s also a rockstar egg replacer in vegan baking, including this recipe. It gives the cake a fluffy and moist texture and a crisp white color (no brown bits from flaxseed eggs!).
To learn more about the magic of aquafaba, check out my guide, Aquafaba 101.
I recently did some testing and discovered that the best substitute for aquafaba in this recipe is vegan yogurt! Use a higher protein/fat version that is unsweetened and unflavored for best results. You can also use 2 flax eggs, possibly JUST Egg or another egg replacer.
Sure. This recipe makes enough cake batter for a 9×13, 10, or 12-inch cake pan or a sheet pan. Remember to add an extra 10 to 15 minutes to the baking time when using a larger pan. Two 9-inch round pans work as well, but the cakes will be thinner.
Wrap the baked and cooled cake layers in plastic wrap, then store them in the fridge for 4 to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
I recommend keeping the frosted cake in an airtight container, like a cake carrier, in the fridge or counter (it will get rather dry quickly in the fridge). You can also lightly wrap it with plastic wrap, but it may ruin your designs. At room temperature, it will last about 5 days.
Want more incredible vegan cakes?
I love making vegan cake recipes that taste just as good, if not better than the usual dairy and egg filled versions! Make any of the following recipes and become a vegan cake connoisseur:
And you can find even MORE cakes here! Vegan Cake Recipes. Happy baking!
Vegan Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Vegan buttermilk
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened soy milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Aquafaba (or sub 1/2 cup vegan yogurt)
- 1/2 cup aquafaba
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
The rest
- 1/2 cup vegan butter softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Frosting and sprinkles
- 1 Recipe Vegan Buttercream Frosting
- vegan friendly sprinkles optional
Instructions
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F place the rack in the middle of the oven.
- Grease 2 8-inch round cake pans with oil or vegan butter. Place a round of parchment paper on the bottom for easy removal later.
Combine dry ingredients
- In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Prepare vegan buttermilk
- Combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a glass measuring cup or small bowl. Stir briefly, then set aside to curdle. This is your buttermilk.
Whip the aquafaba (or use yogurt instead)
- In a small bowl, whisk together the aquafaba and cream of tartar vigorously until foamy, about 2 minutes. You don't have to whip it into stiff peaks, just get it a bit fluffy and foamy. Set aside.
Finish the cake batter
- Cream fats and sugars: In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer (or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment), cream together the softened vegan butter, canola oil and sugar until creamy and well combined, about 3 minutes, scraping the sides as needed.
- Add aquafaba and vanilla: Add the aquafaba mixture to the bowl with the creamed butter/oil/sugar, along with the vanilla extract. Mix until well combined, about 1 minute.
- Add flour and buttermilk: Alternate adding the flour mixture and vegan buttermilk in 3 parts, mixing until just combined each time. The batter should be fairly smooth (a few lumps are okay), but do not over mix.
Bake, cool and frost
- 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. These cakes come out pretty flat, so there is no need to slice off the top like some other recipes.
- 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.
- Frost with my Vegan Buttercream Frosting, Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting, Chocolate Frosting or even vegan whipped cream and berries. Add some sprinkles for fun, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Cake flour will make the cake much lighter with a fine crumb, but all purpose works fine if you can’t find cake flour. Or make your own cake flour.
- Gluten free? Try substituting a quality gluten free all purpose mix. I like Better Batter brand.
- Soy milk works best because of the protein and fat content, but you can use another milk if needed. Hemp, oat, cashew or almond all work quite well.
- If you can find it, unsweetened high fat or protein yogurt works well in place of the aquafaba.
- For cupcakes, bake for 20-25 minutes until done and fill liners half full.
- For a 9×13 inch cake, bake for 40-50 minutes, until done. Two 9 inch round pans will work, but the cakes will be thinner.
Hi Nora! How do you measure your flour? Do you spoon in the flour, and sift and level or do you scoop the flour in the cup and level?
The best way to measure flour is by weight (using a kitchen scale) but if you don’t have one, scoop the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife.
Okay, thank you!
Hi Nora! This cake came out amazing – I used it for your Boston cream pie recipe. I am making it again but will be traveling do you think if i wrap and store in the refrigerator for 3 days it will stay fresh? And then assemble with the fresh custard chocolate the day of serving?
I think that will work yes. So glad you enjoy the recipe, thank you!
Hi! excited to try this recipe. If using this for cupcakes as well, how many does the recipe render?
The recipe should yield about 18-22 cupcakes.
Best cake vegan or otherwise hands down. Made it for a friend’s birthday and he said I can never tell anyone but it was better than his mama’s…
I did accidentally double the butter because I read the amount on the label wrong, but it still turned out great!
Also love your chocolate cake and frosting
What a wonderful compliment to receive about my cake recipe! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback and review! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Hi there! Looking to make this for a birthday party and wondering if you have any insights on baking a double batch in a 9×13 pan? I’ve had some success switching pans
with other cakes, but have not tried with vegan cakes. Thank you!
Hi Gretchen. Yes, you can bake this cake in a 9×13 pan. The recipe does not have to be doubled for this size pan. Happy cooking!
Hi! I made this cake for my daughter’s birthday party and it was so good!! So I’m making it again for my next daughter’s party tomorrow. Thanks so much for having recipes that make people with allergies not feel like they’re missing out! My daughter has a severe egg and dairy allergy so this recipe was so nice to find!
Does this recipe double well? I’m trying to make it a unicorn cake and I think I might need 4 layers instead of 2 to pull it off. Thank you!
Hi Vicki. Happy birthday to your daughters! I’m so glad they are able to have a fun and delicious birthday cake! I have not personally doubled the recipe, however, others have indicated that it doubles well. Thank you for sharing your great feedback!
Hi Nora,
The nut butters available here in goa, india as a vegan butter do not whip or get creamy . May I use canola, vegetable oil or hydrogenated vegetable oil( dalda) as a substitute?
Thank you kindly.
Elvina
For the cake itself you can probably substitute oil, but this won’t work for the frosting unfortunately.
Hi, I wanted to make this 3 days before the event that it will be served at. What is the best way to store it?
Hi Yasmin. It would be best to store the cake in the refrigerator. Hope that helps! Enjoy your event!
Thanks for your response Nora!
I made 2 cakes for my kids birthdays with this and Nora’s icing recipe.
My daughter is dairy/egg allergic and will rarely eat actual cake. She’s had a lot of overly dense or gritty vegan cupcakes.
This is light as a feather and rose like it was made with eggs. Easily the best vegan cake we’ve had from a bakery or recipe.
I used presidents choice vegan butter substitute unsalted (the block kind, I live in Canada). For one cake I put fresh strawberries between the layers middle and for One I added cookie crumbs to the icing and chunks of press go the middle.the Oreo one, I upped the salt a tad in the frosting and it was much yummier.
Hi Kathleen. Thank you for sharing your awesome feedback on the vanilla cake and frosting! The strawberry between the layers sounds so delicious and fresh! Happy birthday to your kids!
Hi Nora. If I don’t want to make it totally Vegan and would like to use eggs, how many eggs should I use? Thank You.
Hi Dana. I’ve never made this with eggs, so it’s hard to know for sure. It would probably work okay, though I would use cake flour so the cake isn’t too dense. I would say 4 eggs worth. Let me know how it works for you!
Hi Nora!
I am strugling with the measurement of butter. How much is half a cup in metric? I don’t really understand the cup measure since cups can have different sizes and I’m a beginner here. =)
Hi! 1/2 cup of butter is 125mL or 1/4 of a block. Hope that helps!
Hello! I’ve made this cake a few times now and I’m making it for my mothers birthday but was planning on baking it as cupcakes and then frosting it a few days later.
Do you think the cake will still be moist and light if I bake it a few days before the event?
Absolutely! Just wrap the unfrosted cupcakes in plastic or store them in an airtight container to keep the moisture locked in.
I love your vegan chocolate cake recipe and use it often. Could I use apple sauce in this vanilla one too instead of aquafaba?
Hi Kelley. I’m glad you are enjoying the chocolate cake! Applesauce will work in the vanilla cake, however, it won’t create the same fluffy texture as aquafaba.
I made this for a bridal shower. The bride had requested a vanilla, lemon and raspberry cake. I frosted the cake with vegan lemon frosting and interspersed vegan lemon and raspberry purée between layers. I did a naked look and topped it with raspberries. Thank you for the recipe, it was amazing.
Thank you for sharing your fantastic review and comments!
Hello, I’m actually allergic to aquafaba. Is apple sauce the only thing I can replace it with?
And is there anything at all I can replace to make it super fluffy?
Applesauce is the best replacement because of its light texture and ability to keep the cake moist. 2 flax eggs could also be used, but they won’t fluff up the cake much.
followed the recipe exactly as is and came out perfectly!! with the buttercream frosting too, mm mmmm so good! will definitely make this again with some flavor experimentation!
Thanks for sharing your great feedback! I’m glad the cake turned out perfect for you!
Hi Nora, I cannot tell you how excited I am to make this cake for my daughter’s third birthday!!
It looks like the cake of my dreams just like the non vegan cake!!
Can you please answer this one question for me? I have two 6 inch pans so how much quantity of everything should I take?
Awaiting your reply pretty plesse…
Hi Netra. This will be a fun cake for your daughter’s birthday! Happy birthday to her! I have made a triple layer 6 inch cake with this recipe, so you could do that, and perhaps just freeze one of the cakes for another time. I’m afraid if you cut the recipe in half you won’t have quite enough batter. I hope this helps!
This cake is absolutely fantastic. I also used the vanilla butter cream frosting and that was amazing too. My vegan sister, and my non vegan wife loved it!! I’m so glad I came across this! Great recipe
I’m so glad you all loved the vanilla cake with the butte cream frosting! You picked a good one! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and feedback! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Hi Nora.
I have been on this seemingly endless quest to find the perfect vegan vanilla cake. I have tried just about every one out there. The ones I have tried are always way too oily and stodgey ! Ugh! May I tell my search is over!
This cake is fantastic love the combo of butter and oil and the aqua faba . I made your frosting as well and flavored it with lemon essence and topped the cake with choc ganache . The flavour combo is amazing. Thankyou for coming up with this amazing recipe.
Those flavor additions sound sooo delicious, Lindsay! I’m so glad you loved the cake! Thanks so much for using my recipe and for sharing your wonderful feedback 🙂
Hi there May I know how much is 1/2 cup of butter in metrics? Thank you
113 grams.
I was looking for a sponge cake that would work for a Japanese styled Strawberry Shortcake and this was absolutely perfect! I have tried a few different vegan vanilla cakes but they were never right until this one. It is the perfect level of fluffy/spongy/delicate/moist with a coconut whipped cream and fruit in the centre and top. I will definitely make this again. Thank you so much!
Your cake sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback and ideas! Wishing you happy cooking!
I’m still very confused. Do you take out the 1/2 cup of liquid aquafaba and whip that or do you whip the aquafaba first and then only take out 1/2 cup? It seems as if you take it after it’s shipped is so little.
You’re going to whip all of the liquid aquafaba until it’s foamy, then scoop 1/2 cup out of that foam to add to the batter. It may not seem like a lot, but it really helps the cake to become light and fluffy while binding everything together!
Wonderful recipe! How many eggs is the aquafaba equivalent to? I have the Bob Mill egg replacement. So how many of those “eggs” would I use for this recipe?
1/2 cup of aquafaba is equal to just over 2 eggs (3 tablespoons of aquafaba = 1 whole egg) so use as much egg replacer needed for 2 real eggs.
I had this same question! Thanks for asking it and thanks for clarifying, Nora.
You are welcome!
This cake was really good even though I used rice flour and lemon juice instead of apple cider vinegar. I used my own vanilla frosting recipe and topped it with strawberries.
I’m glad the cake turned out good for you! Thank you for sharing!
Hi! Would I need to modify any of the ingredients if I added crushed Oreos to the cake batter, or can I just throw them in at the end? Thanks!!
I’d just throw them in at the end! Enjoy!
Hi! Your recipe sounds delicious! I was wondering, the vegan butter, do you meen the ‘stick’ (hard) butter? I haven’t found a delicious vegan butter in my country, but I could use soft vegan butter (meant for cooking/frying). It works really well in my non-vegan vanilla cake recipe. Will it work in your recipe too? Many thanks in advance!
Yes, it should work just fine, especially if you’ve used in in cake recipes before. I prefer the sticks of vegan butter for easy measuring when baking, but that should work too.
This is the absolute BEST ever vanilla cake. I am an experienced cook (only vegan for the last 6 years).
I have tried LOTS of different recipes and this one WINS – it’s light, moist, fluffy, not too sweet, and deliciously vanilla.
Thank you!!!!!
Hi Christine. You are welcome! Thank you for your wonderful vote and comments for my vanilla cake! I’m glad you loved it!
Hi Nora, I would love to try your recipe as it will be my daughter’s first birthday on Friday and I’d just like to ask what size cup I should use. I usually follow recipes that state grams and ml. Thank you in advance. Kristina
Hi Kristina. If you scroll down to the bottom of the recipe ingredients, you will see a tab that reads ‘metric.’ If you click on the tab, it will show the measurements in metric. I hope this helps! Happy birthday to your daughter. What a fun birthday! Enjoy the cake!