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Making the Ultimate Vegan Vanilla Cake with a tender crumb, rich vegan buttercream frosting, and tons of pure vanilla flavor is easy enough for even novice home bakers! All you need is 10 simple ingredients and a reason to celebrate.
Table of Contents
What Makes a Cake Vegan?
If you’re familiar with our vegan dessert recipes, you’ll know they’re always made without animal products like dairy, butter, eggs, or other animal-based ingredients like gelatin. Vegan cakes are no different! In this simple vegan vanilla cake recipe, we’ll teach you just how easy it is to bake without eggs or dairy products, and most importantly, your guests won’t taste the difference!
It’s the perfect decadent dessert to prepare for special occasions like birthday parties, graduations, holidays, office parties, weddings, bridal showers, and more.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Flour: We developed this classic vegan cake recipe using all-purpose flour because it’s most accessible and a pantry staple for many. If you’d like to use cake flour for a lighter, more tender crumbed cake, replace the all-purpose flour with 5 cups of cake flour or 600 grams (an extra half cup).
- Sugar: To keep this vanilla cake light in color and allow the vanilla flavor to shine, make sure to use granulated white sugar. We like to use Wholesome Sweet Organic Cane Sugar as it’s naturally vegan-friendly.
- Baking powder + baking soda: These leavening agents help the cake layers rise and become light and fluffy while developing a lightly golden crust.
- Non-dairy milk: Any plain, unsweetened plant milk of choice will work well. If you’d like to make homemade milk, try our Homemade Almond Milk.
- Vegetable oil/canola oil: Adds necessary moisture while keeping the flavor of the cake neutral. Avoid using stronger-tasting oils such as coconut oil or olive oil.
- Apple cider vinegar: A small splash of apple cider vinegar not only helps curdle the non-dairy milk into homemade vegan buttermilk but also helps to activate the baking soda, which creates light and fluffy cake layers.
- Vanilla extract: For the best vanilla flavor, use pure vanilla extract over imitation vanilla. Or, opt for a homemade vanilla extract!
- Buttercream frosting: We highly recommend our homemade vegan buttercream frosting, but a store-bought frosting of choice works well, too.
Equipment Needed
- Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- 7 to 8″ round cake pans (2)
- Wire rack (for cooling)
- Electric mixer
- Offset spatula (for frosting)
- Cake turntable (optional, but can be very useful when frosting the outside of a cake)
How to Make Vegan Vanilla Cake
- Combine the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine the non-dairy milk, vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk well to combine.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk together until just combined.
- Divide between cake pans. Carefully pour the cake batter between three 7 or 8″ round cake pans greased and layered with parchment paper.
- Bake. Place the cake pans in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.
- Prepare the vegan frosting. While the cakes cool to room temperature, prepare the vegan buttercream frosting. In a large mixing bowl, cream the vegan butter using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add half of the powdered sugar and beat again until well combined. Add the vanilla extract, salt, and 3 tablespoons of non-dairy milk and beat until combined. Lastly, add the remaining powdered sugar and beat once more until a thick and creamy buttercream frosting forms.
- Frost and layer the cake. We like to layer the cake layers into a 2-layer cake, but feel free to frost and layer the cakes, as desired.
- Serve. Slice and serve the cake room temperature or lightly chilled. Enjoy!
Tips for Layering a Tiered Cake
- We found this video very helpful for frosting a layered cake.
- Level the cake layers. Once the cake layers are baked and cooled, carefully trim the tops of the cakes using a serrated knife to create an even surface. This will help ensure the layers stack evenly and won’t lean.
- Use a crumb coat. Apply a thin layer of frosting (known as a crumb coat) between each cake layer to help it stick, retain moisture, and create a smooth surface.
- Chill the cake as needed. As you work, the cake layers may become warm and make it difficult to spread the vegan buttercream frosting. If this is the case, place the cake in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes, or until firm to the touch again.
Recipe FAQs
We have only tested this classic cake recipe using regular all-purpose flour, but the recipe may work with a gluten-free flour blend. If you try and have good results, please let us know in the comments!
This typically happens when a cake is made with too much flour or the cake batter is over-mixed. For best results, use the weighted flour measurement (grams are far more accurate than cups!) and mix the dry and wet ingredients gently until just combined.
If you’d like to bake this cake into a sheet cake, we’d recommend halving the recipe and baking in a greased 9×13 dish for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Always frost your cakes while chilled or room temperature. If the cake is even slightly warm, the frosting will melt.
Changing this recipe into a vegan chocolate cake recipe would require additional ingredients and altered ratios, so we wouldn’t recommend it. Instead, you might like our Chocolate Soufflé Cake or Mini Chocolate Cake recipe! Or, bake the vanilla cake as written and frost it with our Raw Vegan Chocolate Frosting instead!
Prep Ahead Instructions
Making this easy vegan vanilla cake as a vegan birthday cake? Prep the cake layers up to 1 month in advance and stash them in the freezer!
To do so, bake and cool the cake layers as written. Make sure the cakes are completely cooled to the touch – if they are warm at all, they will develop freezer burn and negatively affect the cake’s texture once defrosted.
Wrap the room-temperature cakes tightly and separately in plastic wrap, followed by a tight layer of aluminum foil, and freeze for up to one month.
Then, when ready to layer and frost, transfer the cakes to the refrigerator and thaw overnight (ideally about 12 hours).
Storage Instructions
Once frosted, this vegan cake will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
More Vegan Cake Recipes You May Enjoy:
Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you make this recipe. We love to see your photos!
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Vegan Vanilla Cake with Buttercream Frosting Recipe
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 1 medium cake
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Making the Ultimate Vegan Vanilla Cake with a tender crumb, rich vegan buttercream frosting, and tons of pure vanilla flavor is easy enough for even the most novice home bakers! All you need is 10 simple ingredients and a reason to celebrate.
Ingredients
- 2 cups non-dairy milk
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4½ cups (540g) flour
- 2 cups (400g) sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Serve with
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- 7 to 8″ round cake pans (2)
- Wire rack (for cooling)
- Electric mixer
- Offset spatula (for frosting)
- Cake turntable (optional, but can be very useful when frosting the outside of a cake)
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prepare your pans. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare two 7 or 8” round cake pans with non-stick spray and parchment paper.
- Combine the wet ingredients. Combine the non-dairy milk, vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate large mixing bowl. Whisk well to combine.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk together until just combined.
- Divide between cake pans. Carefully pour the cake batter between two to 7 or 8″ round cake pans greased and layered with parchment paper. We used 2 pans.
- Bake. Place the cake pans in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.
- Cool cakes. Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes before removing from the cake pans. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
- Prepare the vegan frosting. While the cakes cool to room temperature, prepare the vegan buttercream frosting.
- Frost and layer the cake. We like to layer the cake layers into a 2-layer cake but feel free to frost and layer the cakes as desired. We found this video very helpful when it comes to frosting a layered cake.
- Serve. Slice and serve the cake room temperature or lightly chilled. Enjoy!
Notes
- Storage: Once frosted, this vegan cake will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Prep ahead: You can bake and cool the cake layers up to one month in advance and stash them in the freezer! To do so, bake and cool the cake layers as written. Make sure the cakes are completely cooled to the touch—if they are warm at all, they will develop freezer burn and negatively affect the cake’s texture once defrosted. Wrap the room-temperature cakes tightly and separately in plastic wrap, followed by a tight layer of aluminum foil, and freeze for up to one month. When ready to layer and frost, transfer the cakes to the refrigerator and thaw overnight (ideally about 12 hours).
- Gluten-free: We have only tested this classic cake recipe using regular all-purpose flour, but the recipe may work with a gluten-free flour blend. If you try and have good results, please let us know in the comments!
- Sheet cake: If you’d like to bake this cake into a sheet cake, we’d recommend halving the recipe and baking in a greased 9×13 dish for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
This looks ridiculously good! I can’t wait to try it – is it weird to make your own birthday cake? Because this is it!!! Thanks for always sharing clean ingredient, easy to make recipes. This is one of my go to sites for meal prepping every week <3 🙂 saraa0510@aol.com
As usual, SSV recipes never steer me wrong. So fluffy and delicious! Thank you for another winner.
Absolutely love SSV’s recipes!
christinakoumpouras@gmail.com
This recipe was very easy to follow and turned out beautifully! Vanilla cake is my absolute favorite dessert and this one did not disappoint, very moist and perfect vanilla flavor. I will definitely be making this one again and again!
This was so easy to make and used simple ingredients. I love that it just needs a whisk, not even a mixer. I used a 9×13 pan to make a sheet cake. It was a bit overfilled so needed more time to bake than suggested (40-50 min). Cake turned out fluffy and tasty!
I’m making this for Easter! I recently made a vanilla cake recipe from a different blogger and it sadly turned out really dry, but I have such high hopes for this one.
This recipe looks amazing, and it has incredibly easy yet very accessible steps to follow. I’m the furthest thing from a baker but I’m excited to make this!!
Sounds good will have to try this!!
This cake looks amazing! Happy 10 years!
All ingredients purchased, ready for baking adventure this weekend with Miss 12 yr old :). Looks great and easy to make. We are both excited to try this one out.
Love all your recipes Jasmine and Chris and enjoy every one we try.
Would love to be considered for the Giveaway as the items look fantastic and would be a great addition to our Sweet Simple Vegan cooking adventures 🙂
Thanks for providing such great vegan options
This is what you call a homemade cafe style vanilla cake. It’s so good, moist, and satisfying. It also allows me to add variety to it if I want. So far, I have added a tablespoon of matcha powder to the cake. You can add less or more, depending on how you like your matcha. I also jigged the frosting and made it matcha-flavored, and it was just as good.
Love literally everything that Jasmine and Chris come up with. I am a newer vegan, and I subscribed to their weekly newsletter and it fuels my motivation and energy to stick with it. There are so many creative alternatives like this Vanilla cake one that show it’s possible to still participate in cool stuff and not be left out as a vegan. I am deeply grateful for all of these recipes and fun cool ways to eat better and more ethically.
Oops-Forgot to rate it !
I love how simple and easily accessible the ingredients are for this cake. Nothing over the top, specialty, super expensive, etc. Just a lovely vegan version of a classic vanilla cake. Happy 10 year anniversary. I am so beyond grateful to be a long time supporter and to have had the opportunity to see you guys grow. Thank you for creating this community. Keep being the wonderful humans that we all know and love. Sending so much love and light your way 🤍 Cheers to 10 years and so many more to come
I want to try making this into a tres leche cake.
So delicious!
All your recipes are amazing! ♥️
I really enjoy all the receipes Jasmine and Chris make. They really come up with some creative receipes.
I’m a beginner and I was intimidated at first but thank you for the photos and such good detailed explanations!! Definitely checking out other recipes!
Great cake recipe! Sweet Simple Vegan’s recipes are all so good that even my non-vegan husband will eat them!