Vegan Blue Velvet Cake

5 from 4 votes

This vegan blue velvet cake is moist, rich and delicious with the most gorgeous color. Frosted with a tangy vegan buttercream frosting.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Cakes, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 565kcal

Author: Alison Andrews

Ingredients

Blue Velvet Cake:

3 cups All Purpose Flour (375g)
1 ½ cups White Granulated Sugar (300g)
1 ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
¾ teaspoon Salt
1 ½ Tablespoons Cocoa Powder Unsweetened
1 ½ cups Vegan Buttermilk (360ml) 1 ½ Tablespoons Lemon Juice + Soy Milk up to the 1 ½ cup (360ml) line
¾ cup Canola Oil (180ml) or Vegetable Oil
1 ½ Tablespoons Distilled White Vinegar
3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 ½ teaspoons Blue Gel Food Coloring

Buttercream Frosting:

½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
4 cups Powdered Sugar (480g)
1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3 Tablespoons Soy Milk or other non-dairy milk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and spray two 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper.
Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white granulated sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder and whisk together.
Prepare your vegan buttermilk by adding 1 and ½ tablespoons lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 and ½ cup (360ml) line. Let it curdle.
Add the vegan buttermilk, canola oil, distilled white vinegar, vanilla extract and royal blue gel food coloring and mix it into a batter. Don’t overmix.
Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared 8-inch round cake pans.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool in the cake pans for a few minutes and then transfer them to wire cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

Add vegan butter to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat until softened.
Add powdered sugar, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract and soy milk and beat in until smooth and fluffy.
When the cakes have cooled completely spread on the frosting.

Notes

Weigh the flour. If you have a food scale then weighing your flour on a food scale is the gold standard of baking. If you don't have a food scale then spoon and level the flour - spoon it into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don't scoop it, don't pack it into the cup.
Vegan buttermilk - our homemade vegan buttermilk recipe can be made with either soy milk or almond milk, but soy milk is preferred for a richer result.
Distilled white vinegar - reacts with the baking soda in this recipe to make the cake rise, and also strengthens the color.
Blue gel food coloring - we use Americolor Royal Blue as the color holds really well.
Vegan butter - the vegan butter we used in this recipe is an ultra firm stick-style vegan butter that is very solid straight out of the fridge. Instead of softening it we simply beat it in the stand mixer for a couple of minutes before adding the other ingredients. If you're using a softer tub-style vegan butter then you can skip this step and just add all your ingredients to the stand mixer at once.
Apple cider vinegar - provides a very subtle tang to the frosting that perfectly complements the flavor of the cake.
Baking pan sizes. This cake can be made in two 8-inch cake pans OR two 9-inch cake pans. If you're baking it in two 9-inch round cake pans the layers will just be thinner. In this case you can reduce the baking time and bake them for 25 minutes.
Storing and freezing: Keep your cake stored in a covered container at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can also store it in the fridge for up to a week. Let the cake come to room temperature before serving. It's freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw it out in the fridge and then bring to room temperature before serving.

Nutrition