This vegan white cake is light, fluffy and perfect! Topped with a simple white buttercream frosting it’s a super pretty cake that’s perfect for a special occasion.
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.
The main difference between a vegan white cake and a vegan vanilla cake is just trying to make the color as light as possible.
To make this white cake as white as possible, I used a clear vanilla extract, almond milk, which is very white in color, and baking powder instead of baking soda. Baking powder tends to result in a lighter color for baked goods so worked great here.
How To Make Vegan White Cake
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Mix together.
- Add almond milk, oil and clear vanilla extract and mix into a batter. Mix until just mixed, don’t overmix.
- Divide the batter between two 8-inch cake pans (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with circles of parchment paper on the bottom.
- Bake at 350Ā°F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick insterted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pans and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
White Frosting
The frosting is a mix of powdered sugar, vegan butter, almond milk and clear vanilla extract. The frosting goes a little off-white as a result of the vegan butter, but once it’s on the cake you don’t notice that much anymore.
Simply add all the ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer and starting off at slow speed, gradually increase speed until the frosting is fluffy and smooth.
Recipe Tips
Almond Milk. We liked almond milk best for this cake as it’s very white in color so works well in that respect. Of course you can use a different non-dairy milk such as soy milk if you prefer.
Canola Oil. We used canola oil in this cake and either canola oil or vegetable oil work great. Melted coconut oil also works.
Clear Vanilla Extract. It’s ideal to use a clear vanilla so that it doesn’t darken the cake. Some white cakes also use a few drops of almond extract. We opted not to in this recipe but if you do want to, then just make sure it’s a very small amount as when it comes to almond extract a little goes a long way.
Wanna make cupcakes? This recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes. Baking time would be 20-25 minutes.
Gluten-Free? If you’d like this cake to be gluten-free then be sure to use a gluten-free all purpose baking blend in the same quantity as the regular flour.
Storing and Freezing
Keep the cake covered at room temperature where it will stay good for a few (3-4) days. Alternatively store it covered in the fridge for up to a week. It’s ideal to let it come to room temperature before serving.
It’s also freezer friendly up to 3 months if you want to freeze it.
More Vegan Cakes
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Vegan Victoria Sponge
- The Most Amazing Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Banana Cake
- Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
Vegan White Cake
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan white cake is light, fluffy and perfect! Topped with a simple white buttercream frosting it’s a super pretty cake that’s perfect for a special occasion.
Ingredients
Vegan White Cake:
- 2 and 2/3 cups (330g) All Purpose Flour*
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) White Granulated Sugar
- 3 tsp Baking Powder
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) Almond Milk*
- 1/2 cup (120ml) Canola Oil*
- 2 tsp Clear Vanilla Extract
White 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
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350Ā°F (180Ā°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 powder and salt and mix together.
- Add the almond milk, oil and clear vanilla extract and whisk in with a hand whisk until just combined. Don’t overmix.
- 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.
- Allow the cakes to cool for a few minutes and then transfer them 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.Ā
Notes
*Measure your flour correctly. Either use the spoon and level method: spoon it into a measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife, don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup, or weigh it on a food scale for the most accurate results.Ā
*Almond Milk. We liked almond milk best for this cake as it’s very white in color so works well in that respect. Of course you can use a different non-dairy milk such as soy milk if you prefer.Ā
*Canola Oil. We used canola oil in this cake and either canola oil or vegetable oil work great. Melted coconut oil also works.Ā
*Clear Vanilla Extract. It’s ideal to use a clear vanilla so that it doesn’t darken the cake. Some white cakes also use a few drops of almond extract. We opted not to in this recipe but if you do want to, then just make sure it’s a very small amount as when it comes to almond extract a little goes a long way.Ā
*Cupcakes: This recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes. Baking time will be 20-25 minutes.Ā
*Gluten-Free: If you’d like this cake to be gluten-free then be sure to use a gluten-free all purpose baking blend in the same quantity as the regular flour.Ā
*Storing: Keep the cake covered at room temperature where it will stay good for a few (3-4) days. Alternatively store it covered in the fridge for up to a week. It’s ideal to let it come to room temperature before serving.Ā It’s also freezer friendly up to 3 months if you want to freeze it.
*Nutritional info includes frosting.Ā
*This recipe was first published in July 2018. We have updated it with new photos and a few small changes to the recipe. The original recipe used baking soda (1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda + 1 Tbsp white vinegar) and melted coconut oil. We re-tested the recipe and found baking powder to work best for the color and preferred canola oil for the texture, though melted coconut oil does work just fine if you prefer to use that.Ā
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice (of 12)
- Calories: 528
- Sugar: 69.5g
- Sodium: 365mg
- Fat: 17g
- Saturated Fat: 2.7g
- Carbohydrates: 91.8g
- Fiber: 0.9g
- Protein: 2.9g
Keywords: vegan white cake, vegan cakes
Hello,
If I want to use a 9 by 13 sheet pan, how much time should it bake?
I’m not entirely sure, I would guess about 25 minutes, but keep a check on it.
I made this cake today but found it to be too sweet for my liking. Could I use just 200g of sugar next time? Its a beautiful light cake that tastes of vanilla and I really want to make it again.
Hi Lulu, yes I think it would be fine to reduce the sugar. All the best!
Hello Alison,
Would olive oil be ok, or would it darken the colour?
š
It should be fine! I’m not sure if it would darken the color, it might do, depending on which olive oil you use. Generally speaking a mildly flavored olive oil would be best. š
Hello Alison, I made the cake today, using coconut oil, and vanilla sugar. For some reason, some parts of the cake were still gooey, and still wouldn’t cook after 1 hour! Could it be the vanilla sugar?
I actually used more, bc apparantly the ratio of vanilla sugar to essence is more.
Hi Bron, honestly I don’t know as I’ve never used that sugar. But taking a very long time to cook is usually a sign of the oven not heating properly. An oven thermometer helps a lot with this. š
Hi, this may be a silly question but Iād rather check š The recipe calls for granulated sugar. Is caster sugar ok? And do you know if this cake would this cake hold fondant ok? Many thanks, Izzy
Hi Izzy, caster sugar should work fine. I haven’t used fondant but based on feedback from other readers it seems fondant holds just fine on our cake recipes. š
Absolutely amazing recipe and such an amazing website too! I have so much trust for this website, every single thing I’ve tried from here has turned out beautifully! This really has become my go-to for everything vegan!!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Amani! š