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.
Liat David says
Would coconut oil work instead of olive oil?
Alison Andrews says
Yes, you can use any vegetable oil you like instead of olive.
Tara says
This cake turned out beautifully..it was so delicious! Thank you for doing the legwork and perfecting this recipe to share ..we all loved it!
Alison Andrews says
That’s fabulous Tara! And you’re absolutely welcome! 🙂
Rosie says
Made this in a 9×13″ pan with your chocolate cake recipe and did a swirl combo, it came out amazing, Brought it to work for a bunch of non vegans, they loved it and they couldn’t tell the difference. Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Alison Andrews says
Oh wow, the swirl combo sounds fab! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Katherine says
This was delicious! I found out that it was my cousin’s birthday day-of, so I didn’t have time to go grocery shopping. I’m so glad that this recipe uses relatively common ingredients that I always have on hand. I mixed fresh strawberries into a few spoonfulls of frosting and poured it over the frosted cake as a glaze. Then I topped it with white chocolate covered strawberries and leaf imprints for decoration. None of my relatives could even tell that it was vegan (with the exception of optional white chocolate for non-vegans)! I overheard multiple people trying to guess the “secret ingredient” (“I can definitely taste a smidgen of spice…nutmeg?”) and some asked for the recipe. Thanks for making me feel like a culinary wizard! This recipe is certainly a keeper: moist, appropriately sweet, …everything you could ask for in a cake!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Katherine, I was SO happy to read your comment! So glad it turned out so well! And your decoration ideas sound fabulous. Thanks so much for posting.
Veerle Daelman says
Thank you so much for including measurements in grams and litres, very much appreciated, making it today 😀
Alison Andrews says
You’re very welcome! 🙂 Hope it goes well!
Kelly says
I have made this cake loads now! We all love it!!!! Any tips on making it chocolate?
Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kelly! Good to hear! You can definitely make it chocolate, just follow my easy vegan chocolate cake recipe here: https://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-chocolate-cake/ 🙂
kelly says
Brilliant! Thanks : ) That vanilla cake is the best vegan cake I have found so far!!!! x
Xyz says
My baby has a dairy allergy, so I used your recipe to make his first birthday cake. It worked out well. Thank you so much! I will use your recipe for many more birthday to come.
Alison Andrews says
Yay! So glad it came out well! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Megan Gorsuch says
Do you think I can make this a day ahead of time and just serve the strawberries on the side? This cake recipe sounds great! I am making it for my cousins birthday. She is vegan and I am gluten-free, so I am going to try making it with gf flour. Fingers crossed it turns out great!!
Alison Andrews says
You definitely can make it ahead of time. If you’re making it gluten-free, I would recommend you check out my vanilla gluten-free cupcakes to see how I adapted the recipe for gluten-free: https://lovingitvegan.com/gluten-free-vegan-vanilla-cupcakes-matcha-green-tea-frosting/ It’s the same recipe, just adapted to be gluten-free. So just keep the cooking times the same as for the cake and you’ll be golden. All the best!
Grishma says
Tried making cupcakes and loved how spongy and flavorful it turned out. Big thank you ?
I am planning to bake a coconut cake using same base recipe. Thinking of adding 1 cup of dried coconut for strong flavor. Do you recommend adding more liquid?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Grishma! So glad you liked the recipe! 🙂 As to your question I’m not entirely sure. I think that because it’s a fatty ingredient you may not need to add any extra liquid. I would try it out like that first and then see if it needs to be adjusted. As an example, when I tried my vegan carrot cake recipe with a cup of added dried coconut, it came out perfectly, there was no need for extra liquid added. So I would guess it may be the same for this one. All the best!
Angie says
Hello, I’m making a vegan almond sponge and wanted to know if I can sub almond for the vanilla extract or should I just add the almond extract on top of the vanilla? Thank you 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Hi Angie, yes, I would sub the almond extract for the vanilla in that case. All the best!
edwina fang says
i was just wondering if i could use this recipe in a cupcake tin.
Alison Andrews says
You definitely can! Check out my recipe for vegan vanilla cupcakes: https://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-vanilla-cupcakes-strawberry-vanilla-frosting/
Jay says
This cake looks great, just the texture I’m looking for – 2 things:
Planning to scale way up to do a sheet cake – a little concerned how that’ll work out, cooking through etc.
Also got cake flour instead of all purpose,but realized that’s meant for fluffier cake than I want – I like a nice toothsome cake texture- but maybe in a vegan cake that could actually be fine and might help with density?
Thoughts?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Jay, not sure how a sheet cake would affect the cooking times, as I haven’t tried it that way. The reason I used all purpose flour here instead of cake flour is that cake flour has less gluten, so it doesn’t bind as well. You could definitely try it if you’re in the mood to experiment, but that’s what could go wrong – the cake may not bind properly. All the best!
Batsheva says
Can I use sunflower oil with the same results?
Alison Andrews says
Sure!
Renuka says
Hi Alison,
This recipe sounds super simple! And all the positive reviews have me convinced this one might be a winner.
Can’t wait to make it tomm for my dad’s 75th birthday (trying to get him to eat clean).
I cant eat regular flour and was wondering if this would work as gluten free cake? I have a GF flour that has tapioca flour, maize & potato starch added to it. Would it come out just as well?
Also – I live in india, and a vegan butter doesn’t exist here. The margarine quality here (when available), sucks!
Any other options / alternatives for the frosting?
Ali says
Well mine was a disaster! It hardly rose at all & was half cooked & dense. Toothpick came out clean too