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.
Kate says
Hi Alison – I’ve been wondering about using buttermilk in this recipe. I know you use it in some of your chocolate cake recipes (which are delicious and moist). Could it be used in this recipe and would it add any additional moisture? Also, would using unsweetened vanilla soy milk enhance the vanilla flavour? Thanks for your help!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kate, yes you can use vegan buttermilk in this recipe if you like! And vanilla soy milk is also great to use! I don’t find a difference in the end result though on this recipe with either of those options, but they are totally fine to use as well.
Judy Vincent says
Hello looking to make this for my godson’s BD. Under Note #2 when you reference “single layer 9-inch cake (bake for 30 minutes).” do you mean the typical 9″x13″ cake pan? Thank you kindly.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Judy, no that is for a single layer 9-inch round cake. If you want a two layer 9-inch round cake then the recipe needs to be doubled. If you would like to make it in a 9×13 pan for a sheet cake then the bake time will be 15 minutes.
Judy Vincent says
Thank you – it would help if I’d paid more attention to the recipe where you said that LOL. Take care.
Megan says
If I were to add eggs, how many would I use? Making it for my daughters smash cake and she can have eggs just no dairy.
Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Megan, eggs wouldn’t work in this cake at all since it’s been designed as egg free. There is no egg replacer that you would be replacing by adding an egg. So in that way it would be best to either make it as is, or look for a dairy-free cake that already uses eggs in it. All the best! 🙂
Joyce Barton says
Would you adjust the temperature when using a fan oven?
Alison Andrews says
Yes, for fan ovens the temperature should go down, so it would be 320°F (160°C).
Leah Rennie says
I made this recipe, the texture of the cake is great. really nice and fluffy. I made a 6 inch cake, but there was only enough batter for 2 6 inch pans. so i had to make another quantity to do another layer.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Leah, so glad it was nice and fluffy! That’s very odd because when we make this in 6-inch pans it definitely makes 3 layers. 🙂
Asha Hirani says
Great easy to follow recipe! A little bit dense, but still fluffy and delicious!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Asha, to avoid it being dense, be very careful with the flour measures and also just be very careful not to overmix. Thanks for the wonderful rating!
Melissa says
I made this cake for my daughter’s cake smash and added some Oreo crumbles between the layers. Unfortunately, my daughter had no interest in the cake but I enjoyed eating it myself. Overall, I really enjoyed the cake and look forward to making it again. Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Oh hahaha, well I’m so glad you enjoyed it anyway! Thanks for the wonderful review!
Isabella says
Hi! I haven’t tried this recipe but I’m wondering if it’s too crazy to put one whole recipe in one 6×3 round cake pan. Thanks!! 😅😅😅
Alison Andrews says
Hi Isabella, yes that would be too much, it would take forever to bake in the middle and would likely bake unevenly. I wouldn’t recommend it! If you only have a single 6-inch cake pan then you could try halving the recipe, though that will still result in a fairly fat cake layer and may require a longer bake time.
Isabella says
Thanks for answering my question! So excited to try the recipe ❤️
Tara says
Hi Alison
Can I add biscoff spread to the batter, will I need to reduce the oil or milk?
Also Can I add crushed biscoff biscuits? Do I need to add more liquid?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Tara, I think you could just add 1/4 cup biscoff to the batter, without reducing anything, the reason being that biscoff is quite dry in a batter, it doesn’t quite work exactly like a wet ingredient. I am not 100% sure though, but that’s what I would do as a first try. If you were using more biscoff (like 1/2 cup) then I might try reducing the soy milk slightly. With the biscuits, you could just add those in. Let us know how it goes!
Tahira Akhtar says
Can I use cake flour? Thanks
Alison Andrews says
I haven’t used it in this recipe but others have commented that it worked out fine.
Oshani Perera says
Can I use baking powder instead of baking soda?
Thank you so much for a wonderful website. Your photos and narratives are superb. thank you. thankyou. thank you. BRAVO.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Oshani, thank you so much for the kind words, so glad you like the blog! This recipe works best with baking soda because it reacts with the vinegar and creates the lovely rise. If you want to use baking powder then I recommend trying our vegan white cake recipe instead. 🙂
Alice says
How should I edit this recipe for cupcakes? Time/temp?
Thanks 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Same temp, bake for 20 minutes.
Kim says
Hi, is ok to use coconut oil instead of canola/vegetable oil?
luv from australia!
ps. i’m making this cake and turning it into a strawberry shortcake for my mum’s bday!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kim, yes melted coconut oil also works! And that sounds lovely, hope it comes out great! 🙂
Lilly Roche says
My 4 daughters are all vegan and I would love to have some of the cake mixes made ahead so that I could quickly add the wet ingredients to make whenever I want. Do you think your recipes would work this way?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Lily, yes sure, if it’s just dry ingredients I don’t see any issue with premixing them beforehand. 🙂
yasmin says
The best vegan cake! I’m not vegan but a lot of mu family members are and they love it!
I have to make a few mini cakes for a baby shower this weekend, is this recipe okay to triple? Or even x4 lol! Just want to make it in a big rectangle cake tin to then cut out minis! xx
Alison Andrews says
Hi Yasmin, so glad you like the recipe! Yes it’s fine to do that, just be very precise with your calculations though of course! This guide from Sally’s Baking Addiction about adapting recipes for different size cake pans may help. All the best!
Amy says
Can I replace the vinegar with lemon or lime juice? I have all other ingredients except vinegar.
Alison Andrews says
Lemon juice will work!