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.
Hi! Any baking recommendations for preparing as cupcakes?
Thanks!
Check out our vegan vanilla cupcakes based on this recipe.
Can you substitute regular flour with whole wheat flour?
The texture would be different, but you could do it.
Hello! I would like to make this cake as a sheet cake, I believe it’s a 9×11 pan? How would you recommend I do this? Double the recipe? Or maybe one and half times the recipe? Thank you for your help, and thanks for sharing your recipe 🙂
Hi Pam, I think you could try it as is for a 9×11 pan and just see how it goes before you increase the recipe. If you do need to increase the recipe then take a look at our vanilla sheet cake recipe.
I always love your recipes and find great success with them!! I made this recipe and adapted it to be a large orange donut cake. I used coconut sugar instead and homemade unsweetened applesauce instead of oil and added a little cinnamon for the donut sort of flavour. It turned out really well for my daughter’s 5th birthday. Thank you!!
Really delicious recipe, lovely light sponge. Made it as a birthday cake. I used sunflower oil and it worked really well. I don’t have any 7″ round cake tins only one 9″ round cake tin so I made two separate batches and cooked one at a time. It’s about an inch thick slightly raised in the middle. For the frosting I used 200g of icing sugar 100g of vegan butter 1 tsp of lemon extract and 3 tbsp of mango passionfruit vegan yoghurt. It makes a nice light frosting with a bit of zing, not so rich as a butter frosting. I sandwiched it together with a strawberry pure fruit spread (which contains no sugar) and a bit of the frosting in the middle. I have been keeping it in the fridge and it tastes really good. Thank you for a delicious recipe yet again 🙂
Sounds awesome, thanks for sharing Emma!
I want to make this cake for Easter Sunday, but I was wondering if there is any acceptable substitute for the vegan butter in the frosting? Perhaps apple sauce, cashews, etc? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Super excited to try this recipe!
Hi Deli, there is no good substitute for the vegan butter. If you just use powdered sugar and non-dairy milk you will end up with a glaze, not a frosting. It could still work though, take a look at our vegan pound cake that uses a glaze and not a frosting.
I was hoping to use a 1 to 1 gluten free AP flour……..what are your thoughts?
It should work!
Hi! I was wondering how tall the layers of the cake are? Desperate to know the height of this cake, minus the icing! Thanks!
Hi Gabby, I have no idea at all, sorry. If you want a very tall cake, then doing it as a three layer 6-inch cake would be the best. The photos show it as a two layer 7-inch cake.
Hi! Do you think olive oil or even coconut oil would be a good substitute for canola/vegetable oil? Thank you 🙂
Hi Aly, I’ve made this with olive oil often and it works great. Coconut oil can be used but it can sometimes result in a denser cake. If you’re using coconut oil then melt it first.
Hi! I was wondering if there was an 8 inch recipe you have for me, I would like to make to make a cake with 2 layers that are 8inch. How should I adjust the measurements?
Hi Ush, you can use the cake recipe for our vegan Victoria sponge. It is the same recipe as this, just adapted for 8-inch.
The batter is delicious! We used einkhorn flour and added mini enjoy life chocolate chips. Baking it in a greased and floured pie tin that fits in our air fryer. Thanks! This will be a fave!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Melanie!
Hi, I was just wondering has anyone tried to make this recipe using a sugar alternative? Has anyone found something that works? I want to try with maple syrup but am worried it will ruin the consistency of the cake. Let me know! Thanks 🙂
Hi Rachel, I think maple syrup will throw out the ratios so I don’t think it would make a good sub. You could try coconut sugar if you like!
It’s a reliable and easy recipe. I replaced the 1 cup soymilk with 2/3 cup almond milk and 1/3 cup hazelnut liqueur, and it was a hit.
Oh wow, that sounds awesome! Thanks so much for sharing Lena!
What is the purpose of the vinegar? I’ve never used it before and just wondering.
It reacts with the baking soda and causes the cake to rise beautifully. You don’t taste it at all.
I made this for my vegan daughter’s birthday. It is just as good as any non vegan cake if not better. Definitely enjoyed. I made one layer in 9 inch pan because this is what I had. I had a lot of left over icing. This was my first vegan cake!! I am excited to try more.
So glad you enjoyed it Patty! Thanks so much for posting!