This vegan white cake is light and fluffy, spongey and perfect!
Topped with a simple white buttercream frosting (and sprinkles) it’s a super pretty cake that’s perfect for a special occasion.
So let’s bake!
You might be wondering, what’s the difference between a white cake and a vanilla cake? Well…. not a whole lot really! In fact this recipe is based on our super popular vegan vanilla cake recipe.
But while our vanilla cake uses 7 inch cake pans, this recipe uses 8 inch cake pans.
And the main difference between a vegan white cake and a vegan vanilla cake is just trying to make the color as light as possible (and you can use a little less vanilla flavoring too!).
To make this white cake as white as possible, I used a clear vanilla extract, almond milk, which is very white in color, and coconut oil.
I used virgin coconut oil, but if you don’t like the taste of coconut, you could use a refined coconut oil so you get the clear coconut oil without the flavor, but I do think coconut oil is a good fit here.
However, if you’re allergic to coconut oil, another vegetable oil will do (such as canola or extra virgin olive oil), but the color won’t be quite as good.
The frosting is a mix of powdered sugar, vegan butter, almond milk and clear vanilla extract. The frosting goes off-white as a result of the vegan butter, but once it’s on the cake you don’t notice that much anymore.
And then decorate the cake with sprinkles! It has a bright and cheery, pretty, birthday party cake feel to it.
If you wondered how I got my slices soooo neat like you see here, well…I refrigerated the cake (covered of course) overnight before we did the final photos. That allows for the perfect neat slicing, I don’t always do that for cake shoots, but I did it this time. It’s really not something that is necessary when you’re serving it to your friends and family, this is just for photo purposes.
In fact, the cake is best the day it’s made, it’s soft and spongey and absolutely perfect. If the weather is hot, it can be good to refrigerate for an hour or two just to let the frosting set nicely, but covered at room temperature and super fresh is going to be the most impressive in terms of the perfect fluffy texture for this cake, though it does last a few days covered at room temperature (or up to a week covered in the fridge).
Remember to let your cakes cool completely before frosting and serving. If you try and frost a warm cake (or slice it) it can go quite wrong! So you have to have patience and let everything go completely cold.
I hope you’ll love this vegan white cake! It is:
- Light and fluffy
- Soft and spongey
- 2-Layers
- Easy
- 8-Ingredients
- Simple
It’s also perfect for a special occasion and very kid-friendly too.
So what do you think of this vegan white cake? Tell us in the comments and please rate the recipe, thank you!
For more delicious vegan cakes, check out these amazing options:
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Vegan Coconut Cake
- Vegan Vanilla Sheet Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Cake
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Vegan White Cake
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12
Description
Light and fluffy vegan white cake with a gorgeous white buttercream frosting. This soft and spongey 2-layer vegan cake is super easy to make with only 8 simple ingredients.
Ingredients
For the Vegan White Cake:
- 2 and 1/2 cups (312g) + 2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour*
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) White Sugar
- 1 and 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) Almond Milk*
- 1/2 cup (120ml) Coconut Oil (Melted)*
- 1 Tbsp White Vinegar
- 2 tsp Clear Vanilla Extract
For the Buttercream Frosting:
- 4 and 1/2 cups (540g) Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 cup (112g) Vegan Butter
- 3 and 1/2 Tbsp Almond Milk
- 2 tsp Clear Vanilla Extract
For Decoration:
- Vegan Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and spray two 8-inch cake pins with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper. Set aside.
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the white sugar, baking soda and salt and mix together.
- Add the almond milk, melted coconut oil, white vinegar and clear vanilla extract and whisk in with a hand whisk until just combined, don’t overmix, tiny lumps are okay.
- Divide the cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans and place into the oven to bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Transfer the cakes to a wire cooling rack and let them cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare your frosting by adding the powdered sugar, vegan butter, almond milk and clear vanilla extract to the bowl of your electric mixer and start off at slow speed, gradually increasing speed until your frosting is thick and smooth. If your frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, add more almond milk a drop at a time until you reach the right consistency.
- Frost the cake and decorate with sprinkles.
Notes
*Weigh your flour for the most accurate results.
*I prefer almond milk for this because it is so white in color, but coconut milk could be an option as well though I haven’t tested it.
* Coconut oil works great here because of the color, but you can use either virgin coconut oil or refined coconut oil if you don’t want the taste of coconut. If you can’t use coconut oil for some reason you can switch it for a different vegetable oil with varying color results.
*The frosting makes a LOT, I really wanted nice thick layers of frosting, but you can reduce the quantity if you don’t want it as thick as you see in these photos.
- Category: Dessert, Cakes, Baking
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice (of 12)
- Calories: 520
- Sugar: 70.5g
- Sodium: 359mg
- Fat: 15.3g
- Saturated Fat: 9.8g
- Carbohydrates: 92.7g
- Fiber: 0.9g
- Protein: 3g
Keywords: vegan white cake
How long would this need to cook for in a 6inch cake pan? This is my favorite cake but I’m trying to make it smaller for a friend!
Hi Ericka, how many layers of a 6-inch cake are you thinking? If it was 3 layers I think it could be done as is. If it was two layers I think the recipe could be halved. In that case baking time would be the same.
Can I use apple cider vinegar instead of white?
Yes you can.
Hi Alison,
Last year for my daughter’s birthday I made your gluten free vanilla cake which turned out amazing.
This year she’s asking for a vanilla/strawberry cake.
I made a strawberry reduction (pureed 500g of Strawberries and reduced on the stove for about 1/2 cup)
My question is, if I add this to half of the batter, would I need to reduce the liquid (milk) amount?
I’m thinking of doing one vanilla layer and one strawberry layer and creating a vanilla-strawberry checkered layers look.
But both layers need to be of same texture for this to work so I’m hoping you’ll have insight into my idea… Thanks!
★★★★★
Hi Maya, yes the strawberry purée would count as a wet ingredient and would need to replace other liquid in the recipe. You can also check out our vegan strawberry cake. 🙂
what other sweetener can I use rather than white sugar, that would not change the texture and flavor
There really isn’t any. Even a small change like using brown sugar would change texture and flavor and certainly would change the color.
Can I use honey rather than white sugar in this cake recipe? Or could you suggest another sweetner that would not alter the flavor and the texture of the cake?
Hi Alice, liquid sweeteners would not work at all as they would change the ingredient balance of the recipe.
Hi 🙂
Can we freeze the cake with the frosting ?
Thank you !!!
Yes you can!
Hi
Can I make this Gluten free ? I was thinking of a layer of jam as well in the middle, so as to convert it into a victoria sponge cake.
Hi V, yes I think you can, I would recommend using a gluten-free all purpose flour blend in the same quantity as the regular flour. All the best!
Is there anything you can substitute for the vinegar in this please? My daughter has mold sensitivities and vinegar isn’t very good, could you use a buttermilk instead like in your vegan pound cake?
Hi Anna, sure you can use lemon juice instead.
Thank you will give it a try
Wow gotta try n make this! Looks lush.. Just be csreful when buying cake decorations- a lot of it has gelatin in it! *shivers* 🙄🙄
Hi, I’m looking to make a giant cupcake. I wondered if this or one of your other recipes would be ok. I have made a great deal of your recipes & they are always excellent.
★★★★★
Hi Norma, it’s not something I have ever tried, but I’m sure any of our cake recipes could work! 🙂
Is it OK to use regular vanilla rather than the clear?
Sure! 🙂
I made this for my birthday party and all my non vegan friends said it tasted better than regular birthday cake! I just used food dye as well to make the layers different colors 🙂 perfect recipe
★★★★★
Fantastic! Thanks so much Morgan!
What would the cooking time be if I wanted to make this as cupcakes rather than a layered cake? Thanks!
About 20-25 mins.
Loved this recipe! Added cherry jelly and lime zest to middle icing layer. Excellent flavor combo! Cake came out soft yet firm and delicious!
Thank you!
★★★★★
That sounds lovely! Thanks for sharing Rita!
Hello 🙂
I am planning on using this recipe for my nieces birthday cake. I don’t know if someone else has asked this, apologies if so, but can I use an all purpose baking gluten free flour? I have a brand that’s for baking, but wasn’t sure if that would change anything with how this recipe turns out.
Thanks.
Hi Brittany, yes if it’s an all purpose blend it should work. 🙂
Thank you. Will come back to let you know how it turns out.