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.
Noa Lindsey says
Quick question is it better to use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Alison Andrews says
My first choice in this recipe is white vinegar, second choice apple cider vinegar, so if you have both on hand, then use the white. 🙂
Vish says
Hi, just wondering if I could use rice bran oil instead? Thank you.
Alison Andrews says
I’m not sure actually, I haven’t ever used that.
Alex says
Love this recipe so much, constantly using it, pleases my family so much, they keep asking for more!
I would recommend this recipe to anyone. This recipe is so good, because my mum has recently been diagnosed with something that causes her to be unable to eat certain food, and this recipe is so helpful to still let her enjoy simple pleasures, thank you so much.
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear you love the recipe Alex! Thanks for the wonderful review.
Gabry says
Hi, can I add food colouring gel to make a rainbow cake?
Alison Andrews says
Yes sure! 🙂
Gabry says
I did it! It was phenomenal!
Chelis A says
Hello! I don’t have any vinegar, do I need it? Or will the cake be fine without it
Thank you
Alison Andrews says
Hi Chelis, it is a crucial ingredient because it reacts with the baking soda, but you could also use lemon juice.
Chelis says
Thank you so much! I ended up finding the white vinegar in the pantry after all. It’s good to know that lemon juice will work as well though! The cake was absolutely delicious, no left overs! Made it for my dad as his birthday cake and he doesn’t normally like sweets, but he went for seconds. This cake was also a hit with my 2 year old niece who, for some crazy reason, doesn’t even like cake. I would absolutely recommend this recipe to anyone. Soft, moist, not overly sweet. I topped it with raspberries and blueberries. 10/10
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks so much Chelis!
Binay says
Can I substitute the oil with butter? If so how much?
Alison Andrews says
It’s not the best substitute as it’s not as moist.
Abdullah says
High hopes for this recipe! can I ask, how deep do the layers come out based on the original recipe for the 7″? Im scaling this up quite a bit for a sheet cake so needed to know how deep your layers are. Thanks
Alison Andrews says
Hmmm, I’m not sure exactly, we have scaled this recipe up already for a vanilla sheet cake that you can take a look at.
JN says
I was feeling for something sweet but not too sweet and I didn’t have granulated sugar so I used raw brown sugar, didn’t have white vinegar so used rice vinegar, and didn’t have canola oil so I used coconut oil. I also added half a teaspoon of sugar and baked on 350 in cupcake mold for 17 min. Came out AMAZING!! I usually suck a baking and my girlfriend was shocked and said she was jealous lol! Thanks so much for the recipe!!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear it worked out great! Thanks for sharing!
Ginny says
Is it possible to substitute cake flour for the all purpose flour? If yes would you use the same measurements I plan to make it tomorrow.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Ginny, it should be fine, in the same quantity, however I haven’t tried cake flour myself.
Ashley says
I have yet to make this recipe and am hoping to use it in the sitting bear mold made by Wilton to continue the 1st birthday tradition started by my parents in the 70s (my son’s birthday is tomorrow). The 3D pan is quite temperamental and does best with a pudding type cake mix texture. Does anyone know if this recipe (or the chocolate one) might work? Thanks so much!
Tracy says
Hi! I’m making your cake recipe for my daughter’s birthday. I have searched a long time for a good cake recipe that I can sub regular flour for Spelt flour. It’s turned out great! And I used 2 – 9″ cake pans and it was great! Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Oh wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing!
Payal says
Hi Alison,
This is a great recipe which I’ve used quite a bit for various occasions- thank you! I’m planning to use it again tomorrow for my daughter’s birthday and wondering if coconut sugar would work here? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi there, coconut sugar should work! The color will be darker though but otherwise should work fine.
K says
Hi Alison, I absolutely love your recipes!! For this cake, can I use muscovado sugar instead of the white sugar? I don’t mind if the colour changes but will the cake loose any structure? And should I do a 1:1 switch? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
That should be fine! You can use the same quantity. 🙂
Natasha says
Can I switch the all purpose for gluten free self raising? X
Alison Andrews says
You can definitely try it. Usually a gluten-free blend works well.
Russell says
I made this with my 9 year old daughter recently for our Monday afternoon “bake club”. Easy to follow instructions and a delicious cake that was loved by all. We made a single cake and I just halved the buttercream. The cake didn’t rise as much as yours did, but as we had to sub raw sugar, and baked one large cake, I figured those two factors probably caused the issue. Wasn’t totally flat or anything. Will definitely make again, and expect it to be requested for the next birthday. Thank you!