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.
When making cupcakes will they pull always from cupcakes liners? I’ve found this to be an issue with other recipes.
I suggest always spraying paper liners with oil before adding the batter, that way they will never stick.
I dont know how to bake and it took me about 4 hours but I loved the cakes texture. Verry Verrrry moist. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Hi Caitlin. Good for you on your new accomplishment! I’m glad you loved the cake! Thank you for sharing!
What’s aquafabaand where can I purchase?
Hi Morgan. Aquafaba is simply the liquid, or juice from a can of chickpeas. That’s it. For this recipe, drain the liquid from a can of chickpeas, and pour it into a bowl. I hope this helps.
Thank you so much .
Hi! Can I please use this recipe to make cupcakes?
Sure, you can! Cupcakes will only take 20-25 minutes to bake.
Could I use oat milk for this recipe? Or would it alter the flavor?
Sure, that’s fine. It won’t alter the flavor.
if I use wheat all purpose flour of just plain wheat flour will it make a difference?
Hi Lily. Using whole wheat flour will cause the cake to taste like a whole wheat cake (denser, with a different flavor). Cake flour is ideal for cakes because it is very fine and sifted. I would not make any other changes. I hope this helps!
Seriously a delicious cake! I love your recipes, but this one takes the cake ?. I’m an avid baker, but after going vegan 4 years ago, I haven’t been able to find the right recipe until now. I will make this again and again!
Hi Melanie. Yay! I’m glad you found a cake recipe you love! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review! Happy cooking!
Hi, do you have measurements for the vegan butter in grams?
Hi! 113 grams.
I’m confused about how to measure the aquafaba and my google search hasn’t helped….do I measure 1/2 c. of the foam?? or just the liquid? Or should I mix it until all the liquid is foam?
Hi there! As per the instructions, you will whip the aquafaba until light and foamy, then use 1/2 cup of it. Use the foamy light part, but it should all be quite foamy once whipped. Hope that helps!
Is it possible to use this recipe for a 4 layer 6 inch cake?
Hi Kiera. You could double it to make a 4 layer cake, as long as you are using 8 or 9 inch cake pans. I think it will be fine stacked so tall, but I haven’t tried it myself. Hope this helps!
Hi Nora!
Thanks for the great recipe.
Do you think I could split this into 3 6” cake pans?
Thank you!
Hi Ana. Yes, you can make a triple layer 6 inch cake with this recipe! Happy cooking!
The recipe is just right. Thank you so much that was my allergic son’s first cake. We really enjoyed it with banana vegan frosting
I’m so glad your son could have this cake! I’m glad it was just right for you. Thank you for sharing!
Is it possible to use an alternative sugar like honey or Monk fruit?
I really can’t say if either of those would work or not, as I have only tried it with sugar. Monk fruit might work, but I’m not positive how it will affect the texture. I don’t think honey will work.
Is it possible to make this with a different flour instead of all-purpose? Like oat, spelt, almond, hemp, or whole wheat? Thank you!
Hi Anna. You could substitute a gluten free flour mix. Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 works pretty well, as do other brands. Using whole wheat flour will cause the cake to taste like a whole wheat cake (denser, with a different flavor). Cake flour is ideal for cakes because it is very fine and sifted. I would not make any other changes. I hope this helps!
This cake is the best! I have baked it many times and people ask for the recipe every single time. I bake it with all purpose flour and I find that I have to add 1 tea spoon of baking soda and 2 table spoon of lemon juice for a good rise. Nobody seems to have this problem in the comments to my surprise!
I often make your lemon curd to layer it with and it’s delicious! Thank you!
Hi Sara! I’m so glad you like the cake! My cake always rises just fine as written, but I’m glad you figured out what works for you! Thank you so much! I love adding lemon curd as the middle layer, yum.
Hi so excited to make this! just seeing if anyone has substituted the Aquafaba successfully ? and also if I make this ahead how do I store just the cake bases ? 🙂
Thanks !!!!
I haven’t subbed the aquafaba successfully here, but to store the cakes I would wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and either refrigerate for a few days max, or freeze them until ready to frost. Hope that helps!
Thank you ! cake was amazing everyone loved it, if I wanted to do this as a 4 layer cake would I just double it ? prepping for the next birthday hahah
I’m so glad, thank you! Sure, you could double it for a 4 layer cake, I’m pretty sure it would be fine that tall, but I haven’t tried it myself.
It is amazing ! love this cake, I am just wanting to make it 4 layer can I just double the recipe ? Also for the cake flour, is it ‘plain flour’ or the ‘self raising flour’ theres two options I used the plain flour one and the cake wasnt as fluffy as your pic it was more dense not sure if thats the flour or maybe I just mixed a little too long ! 🙂
Thanks ! 🙂
You could double it to make a 4 layer cake, as long as you are using 8 or 9 inch cake pans. I think it will be fine stacked so tall, but I haven’t tried it myself. Cake flour is a bit lighter than regular flour. I don’t believe it’s called plain flour or self raising flour. Cake flour is ideal for cakes because it is very fine and sifted. Hope that helps!
Hi Dakota,
We call it plain and self raising where I live.
If you used plain you would have had to add baking powder and baking soda to it as that contributes to the rise as fluffiness.
Self raising already has baking powder in it so you would only add baking soda.
I don’t know much about cake flour but I didn’t go out looking for it to be honest.
I have made this recipe once before and works a treat.
I’ll be trying it out again for a birthday coming up)
I hope this helps.
Take care
?
At what degree do you bake the cake at 180o??
350 degrees F or 180 C. Hope that helps!
I am a cake lover and this is beyond the best birthday cake I’ve had in my 28 years – vegan or non! I will definitely be making this on special occasions and look forward to trying different variations as well! So decadent and soft and fluffy with the perfect ratio of sweetness!
I’m so glad you loved the vanilla cake! Definitely a lot of ways to customize it. Thank you!
Love it! The texture is very nice, dense enough, and the taste is great. It doesn’t smell like a traditionnal vannilla cake though. Could it be because I put less sugar, so I smell the aquafaba a little more than I should? I’m also pregnant, so maybe it’s just me! Anyway, thank you for the great recipe, I will definitely do it again 🙂
Hi there! It should taste very much like any other regular vanilla cake, but if you did cut the sugar a lot, that could make a difference I suppose. Or it could be the vanilla you used, I like to use pure vanilla extract. Could be pregnancy nose as well, I know my nose was crazy when I was pregnant, it was so weird! ?
Hi nora, thank you for sharing your recipes, came across your site while searching for vegan strawberry cake ,
I have seen your strawberry cake but
I really want to try this as this has Aquafaba , will receipe be okay to add strawberry puree to make it a strawberry cake.
I need to make this week, will appreciate your reply, thank you
I actually have a vegan strawberry cake, so I would recommend making that recipe instead. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing this. I wonder if it would be ok to add some vegan food colouring to the batter? I’m thinking of turning it into a pink case for my daughter’s birthday. Alternatively, would it be ok to colour the Vanilla frosting? If so, when should I add the colour?
Yes, that’s totally fine to do. I’d add in food coloring at the very end of making both the cake batter and the frosting. Sounds pretty! 🙂
Nora, this cake is amazing, I make it all the time even though I’m not vegan. Makes great lamingtons for Australia Day too!
Hi Shanon. I”m glad you love the cake! How fun! Thank you!
Hi Nora
My vegan cakes always sink in the middle, what do I do wrong?
Kind regards
Joanna
Hi Joanna. I’m not sure why your cakes are sinking, but here are a few things to think about. Are you making any substitutions? Are you measuring your flour accurately (as well as all other ingredients)? Too little flour will cause cakes to fall. Are you baking them long enough, or taking them out too soon? This particular cake comes out pretty much flat most of the time, but shouldn’t be sunk in the middle.
What a delicious vanilla cake! I have been looking for the perfect vegan cake for years and have found it! I used ap flour and added 3 tablespoons of cornflour (remove 3 tablespoons of flour) to make cake flour. It turned out beautifully moist and a light crumb. Thank you Nora!
I’m so glad it turned out for you and that it is your new favorite! Thank you, Hallie, for sharing!
So yummy!! I made this cake topped with your Vanilla Frosting for my husband’s birthday last year (made the chocolate one this year) and both were absolutely delicious!! Thank you for this wonderful recipe ?
Hi Nadia. I’m so glad the cakes turned out great! Very important for a birthday! Thank you for sharing!