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 350°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.
Ingredient Notes
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.
Recipe FAQ
This recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes. Baking time would be around 20 minutes.
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
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan White Cake
Ingredients
Vegan White Cake:
- 2 ⅔ cups All Purpose Flour (330g)
- 1 ½ cups White Granulated Sugar (300g)
- 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ cups Almond Milk (360ml)
- ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 2 teaspoons Clear Vanilla Extract
White Buttercream Frosting:
- 4 ½ cups Powdered Sugar (540g)
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 3 ½ Tablespoons Almond Milk
- 2 teaspoons Clear Vanilla Extract
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 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.
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.
- 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.
- Cupcakes: This recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes. Baking time will be around 20 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: 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.
- 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 ½ 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.
Hello! Do you think I can use coconut milk instead of almond milk? As its very white too! I don’t mind the coconut taste. What about coconut oil instead of canola?
Thank you. Great webside by the way!
You can use coconut milk and coconut oil (melted) but it does make the cake a little more dense. It’s still delicious though!
Hello:) I want to make this cake for a vegan friend, however, I have never not used self-raising flour to make a cake before? Will it rise nicely if I don’t use it, as lots of vegan cakes in the past I have found quite stodgey.
Thank you x
Also, can I use 7inch cake tins as I would like to make it 3 tiers?
You could probably use self raising flour if you reduced the baking powder and salt in the recipe, but I haven’t tested this with self raising. And yes you can make it as a three layer 7-inch cake.
Best simple vanilla cake. Could I use this recipe to make a victoria sponge cake, I have checked your other recipes to find a version but had no luck.
Thank you
Thanks Tahira! Yes I think it would work great for a Victoria sponge. 🙂
Hi!
Love your recipes. Can I use olive olive instead of canola oil or vegetable oil?
Thanks. Emily
Yes you can, so long as it’s a mild flavored olive oil. 🙂
Thanks so much! Could I possibly use cold-pressed rapeseed oil at all? Last question I promise!
Yes, that will work fine! 🙂
Hi! Can I use regular butter or does it have to be vegan?
If you’re not vegan then you can certainly use regular butter.
Hi Alison, i wanted to know if you could give me any tips on how to make this a two layered heart cake? Thank you!
Hi Joely, sorry no tips to offer as I don’t tend to experiment with anything fancy with my cakes, but best of luck with it! 🙂
Hiya,
Am I able to double this recipe exactly? 🙂
That should be fine!
Hi Alison, I’m sorry for the inconvenience if this question has been asked before, but for all of your baking recipes here on your website – do you use a standard oven or a convection (fan-forced) oven? My oven has both settings so I want to be sure to choose the right kind for accuracy. Thanks in advance, looking forward to making many of your recipes over the holiday season 🙂
Hi Charlie, it’s a standard oven. All the best! 🙂
Hi. I’m looking to make a naked frosted cake for a wedding. Does this recipe crumble easily? Or is it rather dense and are the outsides slightly caramelized?
It doesn’t crumble easily no. I’m not sure what you mean by the outsides, but you can see what it looks like when it’s just come out of the oven in our photos.
This scrumptious recipe works well as a gluten free cake. Thanks again for excellent recipes Alison.
Awesome! Thanks so much Anna!
I have tried other vegan cakes, but made this one tonight and hubby asks, can we have it for Christmas. Thanks Alison 10/10
Yay! Thanks so much Patt!
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.
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.