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.
The cake looked as like it baked alright, was very white but then it showed cracking on the top and literally fell apart??? please help. Idk what could’ve gone wrong. I halved the recipe and made a 6 in single layer
I think the 6 inch pan was too small, even when cutting the recipe in half. It probably cooked too much on the outside (hence the cracking top) but probably did not get cooked all the way inside. Even if you cut it in half, which I haven’t tested, it needs to be baked in an 8 or 9 inch pan. Other than that, make sure you follow the recipe exactly for best results, with no substitutions.
Hi! I really would love to make this cake for a friends birthday, but it needs to be gluten free, I have made your chocolate cake with a few subs gluten free, do you think it would work with this cake. I haven’t baked gluten free with aquafaba before… thank! 🙂
I haven’t personally tried it, but I think a gluten free flour would work!
Want to try this recipe love your chocolate one! But my daughter has a legume allergy and cannot have aquafaba. Can I use 1 egg replacer with flax egg?
I haven’t tried it, but I would probably use 2 flax eggs worth. The cake might not be light and fluffy though, but you could also substitute cake flour to help with that. Hope that helps!
Wauw, no more words needed!
Finally the cake I always wanted.
Greetings from Belgium
Awesome recipe! The flavor was spot on to traditional vanilla cake. I’ve tried other vegan vanilla cake recipes and this was the first one I’ve found to taste non-vegan! Texture-wise I found it to be a bit denser and heavier than a traditional cake, and unfortunately, my layers didn’t really rise at all. Maybe I should whip the aquafaba longer or it’s just a feature of the cake? Nonetheless, this will be my go-to for vanilla cake! Thanks!
Thanks! Make sure you don’t over mix the batter, that is often the cause of a dense cake. You could also try using cake flour instead of regular, it will make the cake very light in texture. But some people don’t have access (I don’t usually keep it around).
Hi Nora! I loved your chocolate cake recipe! It was indulgent and such a hit in my house!
For this recipe, am I able to use applesauce like in the chocolate cake recipe instead of the aquafaba?
Thank you so much, I’m happy to hear that! So you could use applesauce here if needed, but it won’t create the same fluffy texture as aquafaba. It will work though!
Your chocolate cake is our go to for all occasions and everyone always comments on how delicious it is. This year my three year old wants a white cake for his birthday. Do you have any tips on making this in a 9×13 pan? I need a bigger surface area to create an entire dinosaur habitat!
I’m so glad to hear that! How fun, a dinosaur cake! You can make it in a 9×13 inch pan, I have done this. The cake will need more like 40-50 minutes to cook all the way through, just make sure to check the middle with a toothpick for any wet batter.
Hi Nora, I tried your vanilla cake recipe for my daughter’s birthday but it didn’t come out very well. Maybe the amount of aquafaba is the problem. Do I need 1/2 cup of pure aquafaba or of the battered version of it?
Greetings, Daniela
Perhaps you did add too much aquafaba. As stated in the third instruction bullet point, you will only use 1/2 cup of the whipped aquafaba. So if you measured it before whipping, then used all of it, that would be way too much. For best results, also make sure you follow the instructions exactly and use the ingredients and amounts called for. Hope that helps!
Amazing! Perfect! Fluffy! tasty! Well done with this recipe! It came out perfect ??
I added some sprinkles and made it I to a funfetti cake and used chocolate frosting and it was amazing! I will definitely add this to my recipe folder.
Thanks so much for the great comment! I’m so glad it came out great!
Hi Nora,
I love your site and have been using it !
This cake looks delicious and am hoping to make it this weekend but I’m a little concerned about the amount of sugar – any suggestions?
Thank you so much!
Cherie
Thank you so much, I’m glad to hear that! You could probably cut the sugar in half but I’ve never tried it so I’m not sure. It’s a cake so it should be sweet. 🙂 But if you need to cut back you can try!
Cant wait to bake. Can sunflower oil be used instead of canola?
Sure! Hope you enjoy it!
I have made this cake twice now because my son missed out the first time ! First I made with my 4 year old for her birthday. She enjoys cooking with me. She thought the aquafaba was so cool!! It was a very professional looking three tier 6″ to which we added liberal sprinkles and your vanilla frosting which is lick the bowl worthy. I made a crumb coating first and refrigerated it and that cake was lovely. The second one was two 8″ layers and it was plain and still a hit. Thanks for the help in making a successful vegan cake! Vegans (just me) and omnivores all loved it!
Wow, thanks for the great comment!! I’m so glad they cake has turned out so great for you!
Hi Susan,
How long did you cook the 6” cakes for?
I’d like to make this recipe as a three layer 6” but am useless at timings.
Thank you
I can’t wait to try making this recipe, however if I don’t use a hand mixer and just use a regular whisk will that still work?
It will be much harder, but it might work. Your hand will get a workout!
I tried this cake for the first time and it’s without a doubt the best vegan vanilla cake I have tried and made. It didn’t rise as much as I thought it would and I think it is because I used pastry flour , but it says a lot that even if it was a little denser, it was still amazing. Can’t wait to try baking it again with apf. I made your lemon curd with it and the combo was fantastic!
I just made it again with all purpose flour and using US measurements for oil and it rose beautifully and deserves a 10/10! 1/2 canola oil gave me only 80gr versus metric says 108? Tried it will the smallest oil measure this time.
It’s so good!
Hey Nora,
I love your recipes especially the desserts. My favorites are chocolate chip cookies and chocolate cake.
I want to bake a cake that is layered at least 3 layers or more for upcoming birthdays. My question to you is can the cakes handle cake torting since they are vegan and very moist or do you recommend using each layer itself as a layer?
If the cakes can handle torting which would be the best ones?
Thank you so much! I have never tried torting the layers of this cake, but I do think it would work. Of course, hopefully you are familiar with how to do it very carefully, using a large serrated knife and being very gentle so the layers don’t break or fall apart. But I don’t think this particular cake is too fragile or moist. The chocolate cake might just be a little too moist to work, but I’m not positive.
Hi Nora,
This cake is awesome. I loved it. How can I translate the cake for 10 inch layered cake?
You could probably make it in two 10 inch cake tins, but the layers will be thinner. And it will need less time baking in the oven. If you want a triple 10 inch layer cake you’d probably double the recipe.
Thank you, I will try to make double the recipe for a 10 inch pan.
Just made this for my daughter’s birthday and I cannot express how lite and absolutely delicious this cake and frosting is! I was nervous about it since I’ve never made a vegan cake. They all had 2 slices! It wasn’t too sweet. It all worked perfectly and deliciously together! This will be our Go-To cake!!!
Wow, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for the great comment!!
This is my go to vanilla cake recipe!!! I have it printed out, now that should tell you something lol. The last two times I have made it, it sank in middle and did not rise at all. Also, this recipe never rises for cupcakes. The taste is amazing but what am I doing wrong?!
Thank you! I’m not sure why it sank in the middle the last few times you made it, it’s hard to know without being there with you. Are you using any substitutions at all? Make sure your baking powder isn’t bad, you are measuring carefully and not over mixing the batter. Cupcakes should rise well, I have made them from this recipe before and it worked great.
I am excited to try this recipe. My daughter is vegan and is graduating this month and I thought it would be a lovely cake to make for her. She does allow eggs from our chickens In her diet , so she is vegan except she eats our eggs. If I wanted to substitute eggs for the aquafaba how could I do that? One egg white? Two? Or will it alter the cake too much? Just curious if you have tried this! Thank you so much.
You know, I’m not totally sure! I think you would probably want to use egg whites only, perhaps 2 or 3, but I haven’t tested it as I don’t bake with eggs. It will probably work though. Thanks and I hope she enjoys!
Do you have a go to for converting the measurements? For some reason I can never make cup to gram conversions work!
There’s a tab that you click under the ingredient list that says ‘metric’ that should make the conversions for you. Hope that helps!
Thanks!
I made this recipe yesterday and used it as the base for fondant fancies – it was amazing!
I’m so glad to hear that!
Delicious!!!! I made this for my vegan daughter’s birthday and she was delighted. She couldn’t believe it was vegan and even her non-vegan Grandparents loved it. Definitely follow this recipe and the frosting recipe to the letter.. Thank you for posting this.
Non-vegan struggling Mom
Thanks for the wonderful comment! Glad it came out great!
This cake is amazing!!! Will be my go-to for vanilla cake from now on. Thank you!
You’re so welcome!
I would like to use 5 mini cake pans (6” diameter and 3/4” high). How would you adjust the baking time? Thanks!
I’m not sure exactly as the layers will likely be very thin. I would check them at 15-20 minutes. They are done when a toothpick comes out clean in the middle.
Hi, can I use rapeseed oil in place of the canola or coconut oil please
It should work, yes.
Thank you for your insights!
How would this receipt translate to a 9.5in x 13.5in rectangle baking sheet?…
Kind Regards
It will work, just bake it for 35-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle.
Hey can I possibly use applesauce as the egg replacer instead?
It will probably work, yes.
Nora, I am overwhelmed by the response you have received on this recipe and quite enthusiastic to try this. I came across your recipe while searching for an eggless vanilla cake. Would this recipe turn out good if I add regular milk and butter instead of vegan options? Also, what consistency of Aquafaba are we aiming for…soft peak, medium or stiff? As you mention that AF has to be added to butter, oil, and sugar mix and beated well, wouldn’t this deflate the AF? Looking forward to hear from you.
Thank you, I hope you enjoy it! I’m sure it would be similar if using regular milk and butter, though of course I haven’t tested it. Aquafaba should be light and foamy, but it doesn’t have to be stiff. I would say soft to medium. It all works out fine when added and beated.
Absolutely delicious!
Would this work for cupcakes?
Yes, or you could simply make my Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes. 🙂