With a moist and fluffy crumb and decadent vanilla flavors, you’ll fall head over heels for this Vegan Vanilla Cake recipe. It’s perfect for all kinds of occasions and no one will guess it’s vegan!
You won’t ever have to search for a vegan cake recipe again with my vanilla cake, Vegan Chocolate Cake, and Vegan Yellow Cake recipes in your back pocket.
Introducing the only vegan vanilla cake recipe you’ll ever need!
My Vegan Vanilla Cake is an extraordinary dessert that will ‘wow’ the vanilla lovers in your life. It’s moist and fluffy, has elegant vanilla flavors, and is paired with my Vanilla Vegan Frosting for just the right amount of sweetness.
With over 200 5-star reviews, this recipe is a proven favorite! Here’s what readers are saying:
“Love this cake recipe!! The best I’ve ever had!! The whole family loves it too.” – Melissa
“Absolutely amazing! Impressed all my non-vegan friends!!” – Brittany
“I have tried many cake recipes and this one is the best by far! It was perfect and the whole family loved it. I’m keeping this one. Thank you so much!” – Lauren
My favorite way to serve this moist vegan vanilla cake is with sprinkles on top, but you can use fresh fruit, vegan whipped cream, edible flowers, or any fun decorations you love. Bring it with you to the birthday party, bridal shower, or holiday party, and watch as everyone rushes to get a slice!
Why this is the best vegan vanilla cake
- It’s the type of cake you dream about – This bakery-style vanilla cake has a wonderfully moist and fluffy crumb and an elegant vanilla flavor. The best part is that it’s made without eggs or dairy but you’d never know it!
- Two secret ingredients – Aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas) and cake flour are solely responsible for this cake’s delicate, fluffy texture.
- Perfect for any occasion – Decorate the cake with vegan buttercream frosting and sprinkles so it’s ready for birthday parties, baby showers, weddings, holidays, or any special occasion. You will also love my super easy Vegan Funfetti Cake for birthday parties!
How to make vegan vanilla cake
This is simply an overview with photos. For the complete, printable recipe, scroll down to the recipe card.
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease 2 8-inch round cake pans. Place a round of parchment paper on the bottom for easy removal of the cakes later.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium-large bowl and set aside.
Make the vegan buttermilk by combining the milk and apple cider vinegar in a glass measuring cup. Stir a little, then set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk the aquafaba and cream of tartar vigorously until foamy, about 2 minutes. You don’t need this in stiff peaks, just get it a bit fluffy and foamy. OR, you can vegan yogurt, which works just as well!
Cream the softened vegan butter, canola oil, and sugar together in a large bowl until creamy. Next, add the aquafaba to the bowl along with the vanilla extract. Beat until well combined.
With your mixer on low speed, alternate between adding portions of the flour mixture and vegan buttermilk to the batter, mixing until just combined after each time.
Do not overmix the batter! The batter should be fairly smooth after everything has been incorporated. A few lumps left behind are okay.
Pour the batter into your prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean.
Set the cakes aside to cool while you make the Vegan Buttercream Frosting, Chocolate Frosting, Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting or Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
Or consider making this incredible Vegan Whipped Cream (that tastes like dairy whipped cream!) and serve with berries.
Frost the vanilla cake when the layers are completely cooled. Add some sprinkles on top for fun, then slice and serve!
Frequently asked questions
Cake flour works the absolute best in this recipe but all purpose flour is fine, too. You can also make homemade cake flour by mixing all purpose flour and cornstarch together. Check out this Cake Flour Substitute Guide from Sally’s Baking Addiction to learn how it’s done.
A quality gluten free flour mix, like Better Batter, will work as a substitute but just know that the cake will have a slightly different texture and it probably won’t be as fluffy and light.
Aquafaba is simply the liquid, or juice, from a can of chickpeas. That’s it!
Like egg whites, it does amazing things when it’s whipped up, such as making vegan-friendly meringues, mousses, whipped cream, brownies, and more. It’s also a rockstar egg replacer in vegan baking, including this recipe. It gives the cake a fluffy and moist texture and a crisp white color (no brown bits from flaxseed eggs!).
To learn more about the magic of aquafaba, check out my guide, Aquafaba 101.
I recently did some testing and discovered that the best substitute for aquafaba in this recipe is vegan yogurt! Use a higher protein/fat version that is unsweetened and unflavored for best results. You can also use 2 flax eggs, possibly JUST Egg or another egg replacer.
Sure. This recipe makes enough cake batter for a 9×13, 10, or 12-inch cake pan or a sheet pan. Remember to add an extra 10 to 15 minutes to the baking time when using a larger pan. Two 9-inch round pans work as well, but the cakes will be thinner.
Wrap the baked and cooled cake layers in plastic wrap, then store them in the fridge for 4 to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
I recommend keeping the frosted cake in an airtight container, like a cake carrier, in the fridge or counter (it will get rather dry quickly in the fridge). You can also lightly wrap it with plastic wrap, but it may ruin your designs. At room temperature, it will last about 5 days.
Want more incredible vegan cakes?
I love making vegan cake recipes that taste just as good, if not better than the usual dairy and egg filled versions! Make any of the following recipes and become a vegan cake connoisseur:
And you can find even MORE cakes here! Vegan Cake Recipes. Happy baking!
Vegan Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Vegan buttermilk
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened soy milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Aquafaba (or sub 1/2 cup vegan yogurt)
- 1/2 cup aquafaba
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
The rest
- 1/2 cup vegan butter softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Frosting and sprinkles
- 1 Recipe Vegan Buttercream Frosting
- vegan friendly sprinkles optional
Instructions
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F place the rack in the middle of the oven.
- Grease 2 8-inch round cake pans with oil or vegan butter. Place a round of parchment paper on the bottom for easy removal later.
Combine dry ingredients
- In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Prepare vegan buttermilk
- Combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a glass measuring cup or small bowl. Stir briefly, then set aside to curdle. This is your buttermilk.
Whip the aquafaba (or use yogurt instead)
- In a small bowl, whisk together the aquafaba and cream of tartar vigorously until foamy, about 2 minutes. You don't have to whip it into stiff peaks, just get it a bit fluffy and foamy. Set aside.
Finish the cake batter
- Cream fats and sugars: In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer (or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment), cream together the softened vegan butter, canola oil and sugar until creamy and well combined, about 3 minutes, scraping the sides as needed.
- Add aquafaba and vanilla: Add the aquafaba mixture to the bowl with the creamed butter/oil/sugar, along with the vanilla extract. Mix until well combined, about 1 minute.
- Add flour and buttermilk: Alternate adding the flour mixture and vegan buttermilk in 3 parts, mixing until just combined each time. The batter should be fairly smooth (a few lumps are okay), but do not over mix.
Bake, cool and frost
- Pour the cake batter evenly into the prepared pans, and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, the surface looks and feels set, and a toothpick comes out mostly clean, with no wet batter. These cakes come out pretty flat, so there is no need to slice off the top like some other recipes.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then carefully invert them onto a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before frosting.
- Frost with my Vegan Buttercream Frosting, Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting, Chocolate Frosting or even vegan whipped cream and berries. Add some sprinkles for fun, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Cake flour will make the cake much lighter with a fine crumb, but all purpose works fine if you can’t find cake flour. Or make your own cake flour.
- Gluten free? Try substituting a quality gluten free all purpose mix. I like Better Batter brand.
- Soy milk works best because of the protein and fat content, but you can use another milk if needed. Hemp, oat, cashew or almond all work quite well.
- If you can find it, unsweetened high fat or protein yogurt works well in place of the aquafaba.
- For cupcakes, bake for 20-25 minutes until done and fill liners half full.
- For a 9×13 inch cake, bake for 40-50 minutes, until done. Two 9 inch round pans will work, but the cakes will be thinner.
I’m wondering if you’ve tried freezing this cake and how that worked for you? I’d like to freeze the cake over night to make icing and stacking a bit easier since it’ll help firm the cake for a 3 layer cake
I freeze all kinds of cakes, and it always works fine. Thanks!
Very good vegan vanilla cake for birthday party. It was easy to make. We decorated it with strawberries, sprinkles and wiped cream.
Can the aquafaba be the powdered version?
I’ve never seen or tried powdered aquafaba, so I’m really not sure!
I see on other recipes you say to measure the aquafaba after whipping, is this recipe the same? Or so you measure before whipping? Making the cake today, thank you!
If you see in instruction #3, you will measure after you whip it. Hope that helps!
Hello Nora,
Planning on making this cake for my son’s birthday and was wondering if I could substitute apple sauce for the canola oil? Any idea how that would change the final product?
We love ❤️ your chocolate cake recipe and can’t wait to try this!
Cecelia
Thank you! I’m afraid it may come out rather dry and gummy, but it might be okay. I’ve never tried that so I’m not sure! Hope you enjoy it!
Your recipes never fail me! Made this cake for my wife’s birthday and it was delicious!! Will definitely be making it again. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Unfortunately my cake did not turn out. It did not rise nor was it cooked after 35 minutes. Any suggestions where I may have gone wrong. The batter was thick not pourable. I noticed there was not baking soda in the recipe. Is that correct?
Something definitely went wrong here, did you forgot the baking powder by chance? I wonder if you did since you asked about baking soda, which is not called for, but baking powder is needed for the cake to rise. Did you make any other substitutions and follow all the instructions?
Yes I put the baking powder. I used coconut milk. Do you think that’s the problem?
I also used monk sugar. Do you think that could be the problem?
Yes, definitely. It just won’t turn out the same with monk sugar. Regular sugar helps with structure and flavor.
I made this case as a trial last week in preparation for making one for my sons birthday coming up.
Lovely cake! All of us enjoyed it.
Thank you ?
May I ask. Is it worth using cream of tartar in Aquafaba?
I happen to have some in the cupboard but never used it before (I got to try meringues one day)
Thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I don’t think it’s necessary in this cake, but it probably wouldn’t hurt anything. I do use it when making meringues and whipped cream topping though.
This is by the far best vegan cake ever! I have made it 2x, it’s the first cake I ever made, and as a vegan I am so thankful. It was my birthday gift to myself (one of them). It felt so rewarding to be older, wiser, and healthier, in that I have been vegan 10+ years, but usually opted for Whole Foods Bakery LOL, it’s much more deserving to EAT what I have made and worked for in the kitchen. I also recently bought a kitchen aid and LOVE it, I have yet to use it for this cake, but I am celebrating breast lumps being benign (noncancerous) so tomorrow I am making this cake again and with the kitchen aid mixer! It’s almost 11pm here and I was going to start it at 9:30pm lol but then I decided to eat. Who says cake for breakfast was a no no anyways? THANK YOU NORA. best recipe, also the frosting is the BOMB too!
You’re so welcome! Thanks for the great comment!
Hi Nora! I’m so excited to make this cake for my daughter’s birthday. I’m going to use a 9×13 in pan. How would that change the cooking time??
Thanks!
I hope she loves her cake! That is fine, but you will need to increase the cooking time to probably around 45 minutes or a little longer. It’s done when a toothpick in the middle comes out clean, not with any wet batter. Hope that helps!
Hi Nora! Do you think the recipe would work for me if I used 1 8 inch square cake pan and 1 8 inch circle cake cake pan? (I want to make a heart shaped cake)
Yes, I think that would be fine. Thanks!
Whenever I make this into cupcakes, the liners peel away from the cake. Is it because it’s too moist? How do I fix this?
Hi there! Made this cake about a few weeks ago, and it came out so good, and I’m not even vegan!! Wanted to know if you think I can add cocoa powder( or mix cocoa powder and water) to this recipe to make a vegan chocolate cake? I know you have a chocolate cake recipe, but I wanted to know if you think this could work also.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the vanilla cake! I don’t know if that would work well, but I highly recommend you go make my vegan chocolate cake instead. 🙂 But it might work, I just haven’t tested it.
Wow! This was incredibly moist, flavoursome and relatively easy to make. Thank you for the fabulous recipe!
Thank you!
This recipe is the BEST. WHITE. CAKE. EVER. I slept on this recipe way too long, thinking the aquafaba would be a pain to deal with and having to bust out my mixer, but then realized you dont need to whip it and fold in, just need to make it frothy. I’ve even made this recipe only using a wire whisk and it came out great!! Seriously, the best cake I’ve ever had vegan or not. Ive made this cake 6 times in the last 2 months, and only one was for a birthday 🙂 Not sure if I should admit that, but this cake is THAT GOOD! I think its best room temperature, it has amazing texture and flavor that works with any type of frosting and filling, Such a great recipe, Thank you so much for sharing this and all your others! Much appreciated!! xo
You’re welcome! Thanks for the great comment!
Rosies, I have made it 2x in 1 month lol and tomorrow will be the third, and only one was for a birthday! Girlfriend, it is the best cake. Gotta love Nora, I am excited to try more of her recipes! Cheers to us! my first 2 times making it were with a wire whip hand mixer as well and hand beaters and it came out incredible. Tomorrow I am making it for the 3rd time lol with my new kitchen aid mixer, I am so excited! I vote for you to make it again
Will two 9 inch pans vs 8 inch pans make a huge difference?
No, it really won’t. The cakes might take a few minutes less to bake though. Thanks!
Is it me? or the quantity for milk and vinegar is not listed?
It is listed in the recipe section towards the bottom. All the amounts are listed there. Hope that helps!
What if I dont have aquafaba?
You could try substituting unsweetened applesauce instead, or perhaps a few flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flax + 5 tablespoons water). Hope that helps!
I can’t even deny it, this is one of the best recipes I have followed. The cake not only turned out amazing it won my family and friends approval. I also placed strawberries between the cakes and that was an amazing hit.
Hint*1 What worked for me: I baked my cake a day in advance and created the icing as well and placed in the fridge. It was easier to ice the cake the next day.
Hint* 2 Adding fresh fruits were huge hit.
Just to let you know i made this with Bods 1 to 1 gluten free flour using 2 3/4 cups…it came out perfect!!
Wonderful! Thank you for letting me know.
Does it matter if the butter is salted or unsalted ??
Either is fine, though I have only ever used salted. But I recently did see unsalted earth balance sticks.
Can you freeze vegan cakes? Defrost and then frost?
Yes, it works very well.
Hi Nora,
I’m trying to make checkboard cake. So can I make this vanilla cake batter and split it in half and then adding a desired cocoa powder will do the trick ?
Any suggestions..?
Thanks
Div .
Hi there! I’ve never made one, but I’m not sure this cake will do so well just adding cocoa powder. I suppose it might, but you might want to make my vegan chocolate cake for the chocolate part.
Something went wrong . . . My cake is very tasty, but it cracked down the middle when I turned it out to cool on the rack and then crumbled apart when I tried to frost it. How can I fix this next time?
I wonder if you baked the cake for too long, that would make it dry out and crack. Did you make any substitutions at all?
I have a convection oven and will be using 3 x 7” cake tins. Should I adjust the temperature?
I haven’t tested it in a convection oven so I’m not totally sure. I would guess it would be the same temperature, but you may need to adjust the baking time, so check them often and make sure not to over bake them.
Hi Nora! Can I also make this a bundt cake? Thanks!
Sure! It will take more like 50 minutes to an hour in a bundt pan though.
What do I do with the sugar and oil mixture?
First you cream together the vegan butter and sugar in a large bowl, and that is the same bowl you will be adding all the other ingredients to, as listed in steps 4 and 5. Hope that helps!
can i switch the aquafaba out for apple sauce?
You could in a pinch, yes!