Vegan Vanilla Cake
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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:
- Cake flour works the absolute best in the recipe if you can find it. The cake will have a fine crumb and be very light and fluffy, but all purpose flour does work, too.
- 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.
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.
2 8-inch Round Cake Pans
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 cake flour OR 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!
Video
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.
- 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.
Nutrition
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867 Comments on “Vegan Vanilla Cake”
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 back 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!