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.
J says
Hello,
I made the cake for a 9-inch tin but it hasn’t turned out as expected. It didn’t cook in the middle and it seems to be quite squidgy. Do you know what could have gone wrong?
Alison Andrews says
It sounds like it didn’t bake enough, ovens can vary quite a bit.
Nikki Rodwell says
Mine came out soft and chewy when I made it for my Vegan Daughter’s birthday today. Lovely flavour though. I think I need to practice it. Didn’t quite look like the picture!!
Rita says
Hi – could I replace vanilla with lemon?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Rita, yes you can!
Maria says
The best vegan cake!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Maria!
Staci Glover says
I’ve never made a vegan cupcake before and I’d be lying if I told you I was excited about it. I made traditional vanilla but then made two others adapted from this recipe by adding dark cocoa cups to one and lemon zest to another. I couldn’t even tell these were not made using butter or eggs. Perfection!! How do you store them without them getting hard or drying out? FANTASTIC RECIPE!!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that Staci! You can store them at room temperature in an airtight container for a few days or in the fridge (covered) for up to a week, but let them come to room temperature before enjoying.
Jade says
Adding a handful of cranberries or blueberries will make it soggy too?
Alison Andrews says
Not necessarily, they should just bake into the cake the way they would if you were making blueberry or cranberry muffins. But I wouldn’t use too many. Just a note though that I have not tested these additions with this recipe.
Pragya Sinha says
Hi! Can I replace the soy milk, with normal dairy milk? and vegan butter with normal dairy butter?
I’m not vegan, but would love to try this recipe and I have the dairy version of these ingredients
Alison Andrews says
Yes you can!
sofia says
Hi!
I absolutely love this recipe! The cake is so moist and fluffy, and it tastes so good!
However, I never seem to nail the frosting! argh!!! I followed the recipe step by step, but I can always feel the sugar (even when I spend 30 minutes mixing it, it never mixes completely). Any suggestions on how to solve this? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sofia, so glad you like the cake? Are you using powdered sugar? Also called icing sugar or confectioners sugar? It is really so fine that it usually mixes in without any issues. 🙂
Katherine says
Anyone else find this cake to be very sticky?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Katherine, it shouldn’t be sticky no.
Pamela says
I’ve made this cake 100 times and it’s never sticky it’s always light and fluffy and perfectly moist, Perhaps you over mixed it or took it out too son. Hope you try this recipe again because it works perfectly Hope you try this recipe again because it works perfectly ????
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Pamela!
isa says
hi! can i use a loaf/bread pan for this recipe?
Alison Andrews says
Maybe, though it would affect the baking time. I would guess it would need 45-55 minutes bake time, but I haven’t tested it like this.
Rebbie says
I needed to make a couple of adjustments to this recipe and it still turned out great! First, I substituted potassium bicarbonate for sodium bicarbonate to bring the sodium content down a bit. Then, I used only 3/4 cup sugar for the cake (my habit is to halve the sugar content from all baking recipes, but I mismeasured this time). My only cake pan is 9×13, so I poured the batter into that and baked it for 16 minutes. It came out nice and even so I was able to construct an elegant 6-1/4” x 4-1/4” 4-layer frosted cake. I was surprised at how moist and fluffy it was. Also, local strawberries were at peak ripeness and the vanilla harmonized wonderfully with that perfect berry flavor. Totally satisfied my craving for cake and my husband was astonished that it didn’t take all day to make. Next time, I might try the frosting with less sugar and using starch as a thickening agent. Thanks for this simple, easy recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! So glad it worked out well. Thanks for sharing!
Jill says
Keen to use this particular recipe but only have 8″ round pans – wondering how long to cook for in a fan forced oven (presuming I adjust the temperature to 160 degrees).
Alison Andrews says
Hi Jill, the baking time should be the same since you’re adjusting the temperature. You may be able to bake for 5 minutes less since the cakes will be much thinner. We do have info in the post about making this for 8-inch cake pans.
Sarah says
Hello, I used this recipe earlier in the year and it was great. I’m going to use it again to make a cake for my son’s birthday buy I’m trying to do as much in advance as possible. Can this be baked ahead of time and frozen? Thank you.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sarah, yes this cake freezes well!
Jane Jing Huang says
My whole family loves this cake!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Jane!
Reenie says
Can I use the same recipe for vanilla cupcakes? Should the baking temp and time remain the same?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Reenie, yes you can, the temp is the same but baking time should be between 20 and 25 minutes. You can also just check out our vegan vanilla cupcakes recipe. 🙂
Mia says
Hi. I am wanting to make a six inch smash cake for my sons first birthday this week. But I want to have enough leftover for at least a dozen cupcakes. Should I just double the recipe? What about cook time?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Mia, it might be good to just make the cake as is and then make a batch of vegan vanilla cupcakes as well (based on this recipe).