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. You can also make this cake as a three layer 6-inch cake, or a single layer 9-inch cake.
To adapt this cake to different size cake pans, see our notes on how to do that below.
Vegan Vanilla Cake Q&A
You can try simply swapping the regular all purpose flour for a gluten free all purpose flour blend.
Yes, this recipe makes a perfect three layer 6-inch cake cake. Bake for 20 minutes.
Yes, but the layers are just a little thinner. You can also take a look at our vegan Victoria sponge cake recipe which is this recipe, adapted for 8-inch cake pans. 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.
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.
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!).
Yes you can! We have already done it, check out our recipe for vegan vanilla cupcakes, which is adapted from this recipe.
Storing and Freezing
Keep it covered at room temperature where it will stay perfectly fresh for a 2-3 days or keep it covered in the fridge to stay good for up to a week.
The cake is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. You can freeze it either frosted or unfrosted (but definitely don’t add strawberries if you plan to freeze it).
More Vegan Cakes
- Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Red Velvet Cake
- Vegan Banana Cake
- Vegan Strawberry Cake
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cake:
- 1 ¾ cups All Purpose Flour (220g)
- 1 cup White Granulated Sugar (200g)
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 cup Soy Milk (240ml) or Other non-dairy milk
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ cup Canola Oil (80ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
For The Vanilla Frosting:
- 3 ¾ cups Powdered Sugar (450g)
- 3 Tbsp Vegan Butter (45g)
- 4 Tbsp Soy Milk or Other non-dairy milk*
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
For Decoration:
- Fresh Strawberries Optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray two 7-inch round cake pans (*see notes) with non-stick spray and cut parchment paper into circles to fit the bottoms.
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
- Add the soy milk, vanilla, oil and vinegar and give it a quick whisk with a hand whisk until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between your two prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire 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.
Video
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. This cake recipe as is will also make a three layer 6-inch round cake (bake for 20 minutes) or a single layer 9-inch round cake (bake for 30 minutes). It can also be made as a 9×9 square sheet cake (bake for 20-25 minutes). 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 the cake recipe for our vegan Victoria sponge. If you want to adapt this recipe to fit two 9-inch round cake pans see our full instructions below.
- If you want to double this recipe for a 9-inch round two layer cake, then the ingredients list will be as follows: 3 and ½ 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, ⅔ cup (160ml) Canola Oil, 2 Tbsp White Vinegar. Everything else including baking times (30 minutes), 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.
Molly says
Hey there! I’m a big fan of your recipes and am so excited to give this a try. I’m eloping in October and am making my own cake. How would you recommend adjusting this recipe to make three 6″ sponges? Thanks for your help!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Molly, the recipe as is can make three 6-inch layers, but I would recommend trying it out first and if you find the layers too thin then increase the recipe by half. 🙂
Ficus says
Hi! This recipe looks like just what I’m looking for! Questions though- Earth Balance tends to taste so salty ordinarily, is it going to impart an unpleasant flavor? This is usually what’s available. Do you have good experience with that (/will it work for this cake)? Prefer another kind? Also, we tend to use refrigerated Silk soy milk for baking, which does typically turn out nicely but it has added sugar in it. Will that added sweetness be too much? What type do you usually use? Curious if anyone on here has used coconut oil instead of olive oil too for flavor. (And maybe will make it with monkfruit to make it sugar free once I’ve tried this version….) Okay thanks so much for any insight into milk and butter substitutes!!I Don’t want it to taste too salty or crazy sweet.
Alison Andrews says
Earth Balance is great to use and won’t make the frosting too salty. Sweetened soy milk is also completely fine. Melted coconut oil works great as well. All the best!
Zoe says
Hi! I am thinking of making this cake for my sisters birthday and I was wondering if I could use margarine instead of vegan butter for the frosting. Would it have the same results?
Alison Andrews says
Yes, this is completely fine.
Tharan says
Hi can I use self raising flour in this recipe
Alison Andrews says
Hi Tharan, yes I think you can, but in that case, reduce the baking soda by half and omit the salt.
Jackie says
Just made this to celebrate my girlfriend’s college graduation! We’ve tried to make vegan cupcakes before with little success, so I was a bit skeptical, but this turned out amazing! It “doesn’t taste vegan”, as people say, as well.
Alison Andrews says
Fantastic! Thanks so much Jackie!
Yalini says
I’ve never had a cake turn out so perfectly, I can really tell how much work has been put in to make sure all the ingredients and values are right. The cake was delicious and enjoyed by my non vegan family too! Thanks so much.
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that Yalini! Thanks for the great review!
Brodie says
Love this cake!! It doesn’t taste vegan at all. So delicious. How long would you recommend baking it for if I wanted to make it in 1 cake tin (like a Bundt pan)?? I’m guessing it will need longer than 30 mins. Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Brodie, glad you liked the recipe! A bundt cake would take in the region of 50-60 minutes, you’d just need to keep a check on it.
Elizabeth says
I’ve made my share of vegan vanilla cakes and this one is a keeper. We did add about 1/4 teaspoon of lemon extract and we used 50/50 olive oil/coconut oil as our oil. We did not use this frosting. Instead we used powdered sugar and used raspberry freezer jam in the middle after it baked. We also added a middle layer of vegan custard. It was very delicious!
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing Elizabeth!
Irini says
Hi Alison!
I am about to make the cake and wanted to divide the batter in 3 pans so that I have 3 thinner 9 inches layers. I saw the instructions about the 9 inches recipe but i was wondering also if I can bake the 3 pans in two different racks in the oven in the fan function since they don’t fit in one rack. Is it better if I wait for the third pan and bake it after the two first are ready? Also I was wondering if the baking time changes in that case. Thanks in advance!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Irini, yes you can switch your oven to the fan setting and bake it on two different levels but the temperature for fan needs to be lower to equal the same as a regular oven. So for fan oven you would bake this at 320°F (160°C) for the same amount of time. It’s better to do this then to have one cake layer waiting to bake, as this cake batter doesn’t do that well if it sits, it can affect the texture of your cake.
Renee says
Hi!
I was wondering for the frosting just mixing it by hand? Or is that not possible?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Renee, yes you can probably do it with some arm power. Let your vegan butter soften at room temperature before making it, also sift your powdered sugar, to make it as easy as possible.
c.s.thorn says
Super simple, super yummy, great directions, helpful side notes. Thank you. I made a 10″round, saved it overnight, then added self serve vegan coco whip & freshly chopped strawberries, raspberries & blueberries for a morning brunch parfait.
Alison Andrews says
That sounds awesome! Thanks so much for sharing!
Carol says
Question can you use cake flour instead of all purpose flour. I wanted to also swirl in vegan Nutella.
Alison Andrews says
You probably can, but it may not hold together as well (might be more crumbly).
Leya says
So yummy and the texture is great! I made them as cupcakes
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Leya!
Surabhi says
Can I skip the white vinegar? Any other sub for it besides ACV?
Alison Andrews says
You could try using lemon juice instead. Acidity is needed to react with the baking soda and causes the cake to rise.
Stacy says
Tastes amazing. Can’t tell that it is vegan
Question: why did my cake rise, then fall in the center?
Alison Andrews says
So glad it tasted good! This can happen if you overmix the batter. Just mix it until just mixed, and then bake right away (don’t let the batter sit).
C says
Can I sub brown sugar in for white? If so, is it 1:1?
Alison Andrews says
Yes it would be 1:1 but of course it will affect the color of your cake.