Light fluffy and delicious vegan vanilla cake! Two layers of vanilla sponge, topped with a velvety vegan vanilla frosting and fresh strawberries.
This vegan vanilla cake is light fluffy and dreamy! But what you’re going to like most about it is how EASY it is.
I’m going to admit, I had to play around with this recipe for quite a bit before I got it right.
The first time it was delicious, but I used a flax egg and while a flax egg is GREAT for most cakes, in the case of a vanilla cake when you want it to have the glorious light color, well….it didn’t work out so well.
I ended up with a delicious cake that looked like a seed cake and nothing at all like a vanilla cake.
The next time I tried it, it ended up way too dry, so I knew I needed to adjust the flour ratio.
I’m happy to report that the recipe you see below delivers the ideal level of moistness and as you can see, the color is totally gorgeous!
The vanilla flavor comes through perfectly, and by pairing it with vanilla frosting, you get yourself a whole lot of vanilla heaven going on!
Strawberries on top add a dash of gorgeous color and offset the vanilla flavor just right. However, feel free to use whatever cake decorations you please.
The strawberry dilemma…
I love the fresh fruit, but of course it doesn’t keep. You also have the small problem of the strawberries running and making the cake soggy.
So it really only works if you’re going to serve it within minutes of placing those strawberries on top.
So if you’re going to keep the cake around for a few days, then choose a different decoration OR just add some sliced strawberries to the individual slices as you serve them.
Even kids can do it…
I made this with my niece when she came for a sleepover at her aunt and uncle’s house. Since vanilla is her favorite flavor for everything, she loved this cake.
So seriously – this cake is easy enough that a kid can do it (with supervision, of course).
It’s really quite petite.
Just a little note that this cake is quite a small petite cake!
I used cake pans which are 7 inches round. The layers on this cake are not very tall, but I think it’s a perfect size and you get 10 nice sized slices out of it.
If you want to adapt this cake to larger cake pan sizes, see our notes on how to do that below.
Vegan Vanilla Cake Q&A
Can I make this gluten-free? There are a few changes that are needed to make this cake really work great for gluten-free. We made the adaptations for gluten-free with our vegan gluten-free vanilla cupcakes and they came out beautifully. You can adapt that recipe from cupcakes to a layer cake (two 7″ layers) just like this one if you like.
Can I make this in 8″ cake pans? Yes, but because the maths can get a little tricky sometimes when you increase a recipe, I recommend you take a look at our vegan vanilla sheet cake recipe, that recipe adapts perfectly to two 8″ cake layers. Just bake it for 30 minutes instead of the shorter baking time recommended for a sheet cake.
You can also take a look at our vegan white cake which is made for 8″ cake pans. That recipe was adapted from this one and is basically a perfect vanilla cake, just adapted to be a little more ‘white’ in color (to fit the ‘white cake’ description) and to be 8-inches.
Can I make this in 9″ cake pans? This exact recipe will make a single layer 9″ cake. So if you want to make a single layer cake, you can make this vegan vanilla cake recipe exactly as is, but just have a single layer instead of a 2-layer cake. We did this for our vegan pineapple upside down cake. Alternatively, you can double this recipe for a 9″ cake with two layers. I have included the exact measures for doubling this recipe in the notes section of the recipe card below.
Can I make this into a bundt cake? Some have done it, if you read the comments below, it has been done. I don’t have a bundt cake pan so I haven’t got personal experience with that (yet!).
Can I make cupcakes from this recipe? Yes you can! We have already done it, check out our recipe for vegan vanilla cupcakes, which is adapted from this recipe.
I’m pretty sure you’re going to love this vegan vanilla cake! It is:
- Light and fluffy
- Perfectly moist
- Spongey!
- Frosted with velvety vanilla frosting!
Keep it covered at room temperature where it will stay perfectly fresh for a few days or keep it covered in the fridge to stay good for up to a week.
Love vegan cakes?
Oh my word, you are SO in the right place! We are crazy about vegan cakes and have made a bunch of them. Here’s just a few:
- Classic Vegan Chocolate Cake – also a 7-inch layer cake
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake – a 9-inch layer cake
- Vegan Lemon Cake – a divine 8-inch beauty
- Vegan Carrot Cake – our super popular 7-inch layer cake
- Vegan Red Velvet Cake – also 7-inches
- Vegan Banana Cake – a 9×13 sheet cake or an 8-inch two-layer cake, it’s up to you!
If you make this cake (and I hope you do!) then please let us know how it goes by rating the recipe and leaving a comment. It’s so helpful and we love to hear how it worked out for you. Thanks so much.
And sign up to our email list for a gorgeous (and free) recipe ebook containing 10 delicious vegan dinner recipes and you’ll also stay updated with all our latest recipes.
Vegan Vanilla Cake
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 10
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Light fluffy and delicious vegan vanilla cake! Two layers of vanilla sponge, topped with a velvety vegan vanilla frosting and fresh strawberries. Ideal for special occasions.
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cake:
- 1 and 3/4 cups (220g) All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup (200g) White Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 cup (240ml) Soy Milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/3 cup (80ml) Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or sub canola oil or other vegetable oil)
- 1 Tbsp White Vinegar (or sub Apple Cider Vinegar)
For The Vanilla Frosting:
- 3 and 3/4 cups (450g) Powdered Sugar
- 3 Tbsp (45g) Vegan Butter
- 4 Tbsp Soy Milk (or other non-dairy milk)*
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
For Decoration:
- Fresh Strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C)
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl.
- Add the sugar, baking soda and salt and mix together.
- Add the soy milk, vanilla, oil and vinegar and give it a quick whisk with a hand whisk until just combined.
- Grease two 7 inch round cake tins with coconut oil (or spray with non-stick spray) and cut parchment paper into circles to fit the bottoms.
- Divide the batter evenly between them.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and using a toothpick, insert into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean then your cake is done.
- Move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Prepare your frosting.
- Add the powdered sugar, vegan butter, vanilla and half of the soy milk.
- Beginning on low speed, mix with an electric mixer, slowly increasing speed. Add the rest of the soy milk, only as much as needed until it is smooth and creamy. If your vegan butter has a higher water content, you may not need to use all of the soy milk.
- If your frosting is still a little thin, add more powdered sugar, if it’s a little thick, add more soy milk (a drop at a time). The consistency must be thick enough that it doesn’t slide off the cake, but thin enough to be spreadable.
- When your cake is completely cool, add frosting to the top of one of the layers.
- Add the second layer on top and frost it completely, using a knife to carefully frost the sides of the cake.
- Decorate with fresh strawberries and serve right away.
- If you’re not serving right away, then omit the strawberries or serve them on a plate alongside the cake, so it doesn’t get soggy.
Notes
*I highly recommend you weigh the flour for the best results. Flour measures can be tricky, so weighing it on a food scale is the best way to ensure accuracy.
*The cake tins used in this recipe are 7 inches round. If you want to make this cake for 8-inch cake pans, see our vegan white cake recipe which is an 8-inch cake or our vegan vanilla sheet cake which adapts perfectly to two 8-inch cake layers. If you want to adapt it to 9-inch cake pans see our full instructions below.
*If you want to double this recipe for a 9-inch layer cake, then the ingredients list will be as follows: 3 and 1/2 cups (438g) All Purpose Flour, 2 cups (400g) White Sugar, 2 tsp Baking Soda, 1 tsp Salt, 2 cups (480ml) Soy Milk, 4 tsp Vanilla Extract, 2/3 cup (160ml) Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Canola Oil, 2 Tbsp White Vinegar. Everything else including baking times, remains the same. The frosting as listed in the recipe above will be enough to spread generously onto the top and middle of a 9-inch layer cake but not enough to frost the sides as well. Take a look at our vegan buttercream frosting recipe which is enough to frost this whole cake when made as a two layer 9-inch cake.
*Only add fresh strawberries to this cake if you’re going to be eating it right away. The strawberries are a fabulous addition to the flavor of this cake, BUT they run and can cause sogginess. So if you are keeping this cake for a few days, then either don’t use strawberries at all or just add some strawberry slices directly to the individual cake slices when served.
*Nutrition information is based on 1 serve of 10 with a very generous amount of vanilla frosting.
*Vanilla Frosting is from this recipe.
- Category: Dessert, Baking
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serve (of 10)
- Calories: 441
- Sugar: 65g
- Sodium: 290mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 1.6g
- Carbohydrates: 83g
- Fiber: 0.8g
- Protein: 3g
Keywords: vegan vanilla cake
Karen says
April 20, 2019 at 5:50 pmCan you use cake flour in this recipe or any of your other cake recipes?
Pamela says
May 2, 2019 at 5:19 pmI used it in all of her recipes, I swap have of the ap for cake, just don’t over stir or it will fall in the middle. It makes for a super light cake. You sand use all cake flour, I’ve done this too, just seemed to be perfect crumb with half and half. Good luck ?
★★★★★
Pamela says
May 2, 2019 at 5:22 pmSorry about the typos, it was supposed to say you can use all cake flour, just be very gentle when stirring. I tried both and half cake flour and half ap seems perfect ?
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
May 3, 2019 at 6:15 amThanks for helping out Pamela, really good info! 🙂
Gram says
April 30, 2019 at 11:15 amMy son the absolutely loved this cake. This was my first experience with baking a vegan dessert. Used a bundt pan. Added the zest from a lemon and turned the frosting into a glaze(made my own powered sugar; 2 cups of sugar 2tsp of cornstarch)Can’t wait to try the chocolate cake recipe.
★★★★
Gram says
April 30, 2019 at 11:22 amI forgot. The variation between cooking times due to using a bundt pan I think. Baked for 50 minutes.
Shams says
May 29, 2019 at 9:03 amWhen a recipe asks for sugar, do you mean granulated or castor sugar?
Alison Andrews says
May 29, 2019 at 10:47 amIt’s granulated sugar. 🙂
Robin Ross says
May 1, 2019 at 5:17 pmCan you use maple syrup instead of sugar in the recipe? I need an immediate answer
Alison Andrews says
May 2, 2019 at 6:15 amSorry, no you can’t.
Divisha says
May 5, 2019 at 3:15 amMy daughter loved this frosting and cake. The only thing for us that was a splay was the top layer sliding off lol! Other than that it was a great experience for her to make her own cake and frosting.
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
May 5, 2019 at 4:18 pmSo happy to hear she loved it! Haha about the top layer sliding off, but glad it didn’t ruin the experience! Thanks for the wonderful review. xo
Cheryl says
May 5, 2019 at 4:14 pmHi there! Should I follow the recipe using weight or cups measurements? From what i know 1 3/4 cup flour isn’t equal to 220g…
Thanks :))
Alison Andrews says
May 5, 2019 at 4:28 pmHi Cheryl, a cup of flour weighs 125g so the measurements are correct. It will be most accurate if you do follow the recipe by weight, especially if you are in a country where the cup sizes may be different (we use US cup sizes).
Cheryl says
May 6, 2019 at 7:46 amOh right! Thanks Alison :))
Aviva says
May 14, 2019 at 1:11 amI made this cake for mother’s day this year. I was a bit nervous as I always get when serving a recipe I’ve never made before. My kids are not a fan of cream so made vegan royal icing and sprinkles to decorate instead. I only made it as single layer cake in a slightly larger tin (I think it’s a 9″) and cooked it for 45-50 minutes.
OMG it was incredible!
Will definitely be using this recipe from now on for my vanilla cake cravings. Everyone loved it!
Thank you!!!
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
May 14, 2019 at 10:25 amThat’s wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing and the fantastic review. xo
MNNice says
May 16, 2019 at 3:07 amThis is one of the most delicious and moist cakes I’ve ever baked. It turned out great on my first try and it was so easy! Will be making it again and again. I cannot wait to try your other vegan cakes as well.
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
May 16, 2019 at 8:44 amAwesome! Thanks so much for the great review! 🙂
Veena says
May 22, 2019 at 5:02 amHi Alison,
I want to bake a small cake. Can the recipe be halved?
Alison Andrews says
May 22, 2019 at 12:46 pmHi Veena, sure, just be really careful with your calculations and it should be fine. 🙂
Aurelis says
May 26, 2019 at 10:11 pmHi Alison, can I substitute all purpose flour with garbanzo bean flour?
Alison Andrews says
May 28, 2019 at 9:51 amHi Aurelis, we have options to make this gluten-free discussed in the post. Garbanzo bean flour will not work.
Pooja says
May 26, 2019 at 4:37 pmHi Alison, Made this cake last week. It was delicious! Can I use the same measurements to make a chocolate cake?
Alison Andrews says
May 28, 2019 at 9:57 amHi! So glad you enjoyed it! I really recommend you check out our classic vegan chocolate cake, it is very similar to this recipe, just adapted to be chocolate! 🙂
Julie Johns says
May 27, 2019 at 6:38 amCan this cake be frozen?
Alison Andrews says
May 28, 2019 at 9:47 amSure!
Cheryl says
May 27, 2019 at 2:02 pmHello! was wondering why isn’t baking powder used in this recipe? and is it okay to add it? 🙂
Pamela says
May 28, 2019 at 5:54 amTrust me her recipe rises up beyond perfectly the way she has it. The buttermilk and baking soda together are leaving agents so normally if a recipe calls for buttermilk or vinegar you would just use baking soda 💕
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
May 28, 2019 at 9:44 amThanks Pamela! 🙂
Pamela says
May 29, 2019 at 3:35 amYou are very welcome!! You are so amazing to share these with us and I love the fact that they’re not all weighted down with egg replacements, I know there are times when we need them, but thanks to enlightening us when we don’t, this his how my grandma did it when she was out of eggs 💕
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
May 28, 2019 at 9:44 amHi Cheryl, it’s really not needed in this recipe, the baking soda and vinegar combination does all the work and it rises wonderfully. 🙂
cheryl says
May 30, 2019 at 3:55 amThanks Alison 🙂
Shireen says
May 31, 2019 at 2:17 pmMy daughter has an egg allergy. I was wondering if I could use regular milk instead of soy or other non-dairy milk in the recipe?
Alison Andrews says
May 31, 2019 at 2:45 pmHi Shireen, any milk would be fine. All the best!
Liana says
June 7, 2019 at 1:23 amHi Alison,
I tried this recipe last night and it didn’t turn out quite as I expected. The texture of the cake was a bit coarse and the flavor reminded me of cornbread, funnily enough. I didn’t have white vinegar or soy milk on hand, so I used apple cider vinegar and ripple (pea milk). I also wanted to avoid using my expensive EVOO so I used regular vegetable oil, and I was feeling lazy so I used Pam instead of coconut oil to grease the pan. I cooked the batter in a single, 9 inch round tin. I followed everything else to the letter. I’m not sure what I did wrong. Is there anything I can do to improve the texture or flavor? Would using cake flour help? Any suggestions would be appreciated, as it seems like a really handy recipe to have, and I’d love to try it again!
Alison Andrews says
June 7, 2019 at 12:18 pmHi Liana, sorry to hear it didn’t work out this time. This is one of our most popular cakes that has been made so many times, so I know it definitely works and I hope you’ll try it again! 🙂 I’ve never used ripple, but I don’t think any of those subs sounds like it would have been the issue. Check for freshness of your baking soda, and also don’t overmix the batter, these are things that can potentially cause an issue. Otherwise using too much flour (which is easy to do unless you measured it with a food scale?) can also affect the texture. Hope it works out better next time you try it! 🙂
Kate says
June 7, 2019 at 6:01 pmHi Alison, I’m on the hunt for a vegan vanilla chocolate chip cake recipe. I haven’t come across many options. I really love your vanilla cake recipe. Do you think mini chocolate chips could be added to the batter? Thanks so much.
Alison Andrews says
June 8, 2019 at 11:17 amHi Kate! My only worry would be that the chocolate chips all sink to the bottom. I would adjust the recipe to make the batter as thick as possible, so I would make vegan buttermilk (1 Tbsp lemon juice + soy milk up to the 1 cup line and let it curdle) to use instead of regular non-dairy milk and then I would use melted coconut oil instead of a different oil as that is thick and as you mix it into the batter it gets even thicker. And then add chocolate chips in last. If you do that, I think this would work as a a chocolate chip cake. Let us know how it goes! All the best! 🙂
Mitz says
June 13, 2019 at 2:38 pmJust wondering how far in advance you can make this cake and what’s the best way to store it to keep it fresh. Thanks
Alison Andrews says
June 13, 2019 at 3:21 pmIt can be stored at room temperature (covered) for a few days, or in the fridge for up to a week, but it’s definitely going to be at its best in the first couple of days.