Author: This is the vegan vanilla cake you've been searching for. Fluffy, moist, tender, and perfectly vanilla-infused. It tastes just like classic bakery-style vanilla cake, but it's totally egg-free and dairy-free. No one will ever guess.
FEATURED COMMENT:
Made this cake for my mom's birthday and we loved it. It was absolutely delicious, the texture was perfect, and it was so easy to make! Legit tastes like a gourmet recipe. - Clyde ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Why You'll Love This Cake
- Fluffy, soft, and tender (never dense or gummy!)
- Uses simple pantry ingredients, no aquafaba, no weird binders
- Perfectly sweet with rich vanilla flavor
- Reliable and foolproof - great for beginners
- So delicious, no one can tell it's vegan!!
This is my go-to celebration cake for birthdays, dinner parties, showers, and "just because it's Tuesday."
Ingredients for Vegan Vanilla Cake:
For the Cake:
- All-purpose flour - creates that perfect soft and tender crumb. Use a 1:1 gluten-free blend with xanthan gum for GF.
- White sugar - classic vanilla cake sweetness and moisture.
- Baking soda + lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar) - react together to make the cake rise. No, you can't taste the vinegar.
- Salt - balances the sweetness and enhances vanilla flavor.
- Plant-based milk - soy gives the best structure, but oat, almond, or cashew also work. Make sure it's unflavored.
- Light oil - keeps the cake super moist and fluffy. Use a neutral oil like canola or vegetable.
- Vanilla extract - the star flavor, so use pure vanilla if possible.
For the Frosting:
- Firm vegan butter (not tub-style spread!) - frosting needs structure so it pipes and swirls beautifully. My go-to is Earth Balance.
- Powdered sugar, vanilla, and a splash of plant milk - mix until fluffy and spreadable
- Decorations: vegan food coloring if you want to color your frosting. Sprinkles, nuts, berries, candies, cookies, shaved chocolate, or any fun decoration ideas you may have!
How to Make Vegan Vanilla Cake
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the plant-based milk, oil, lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar), and vanilla.
- Combine: Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir until just combined. A few small lumps are totally fine - don't overmix.
- Bake: Divide the batter evenly between the pans and bake for 22-28 minutes, or until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely in the pans.
- Frost: Beat the vegan butter until fluffy, then mix in powdered sugar and vanilla. Add plant-based milk as needed until smooth and spreadable. Frost, decorate, swoon.
More Vegan Cake Recipes You Might Like:
- Easy Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
- Vegan Red Velvet Cake
- Vegan Confetti Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cake
- Vegan Lemon Loaf
- Vegan Chocolate Sheet Cake
Storage & Make Ahead
Store this cake the same way you would a traditional vanilla cake:
- Room temperature: Store the frosted or unfrosted cake in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: Keeps well for up to 5 days.Tip: Bring to room temperature before serving for the best soft, fluffy texture.
- Freezer: Freeze unfrosted cake layers or the fully frosted cake (well wrapped) for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
FAQs
Can I make this gluten-free?
Yep! Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum, such as Bob's Red Mill 1:1. Texture will be slightly more delicate and dense, but still delicious.
Can I use almond/oat/cashew milk?
Yes. Soy is my go-to because its protein helps the cake rise and gives the best texture, but any plant milk works.
Can I use margarine for the frosting?
No, the frosting needs firm vegan butter made for baking or it will melt. If your vegan butter is on the softer side, you can swap ½ cup of the vegan butter for ½ cup vegetable shortening for more structure.
Can I make this as cupcakes?
Yes! Here is my vegan vanilla cupcake recipe. (The same recipe, just tweaked slightly for the best cupcake results).
If you try this recipe, let us know by leaving a comment, rating it, and don't forget to tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Vanilla Cake (Fluffy, Moist, & Foolproof!)
This vegan vanilla cake is fluffy, tender, and bursting with pure vanilla flavor. It uses simple pantry ingredients, and bakes into a beautiful two-layer celebration cake. No one will guess it's dairy-free and egg-free. Perfect for birthdays and special occasions. Looking for cupcakes instead? Get my Easy Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes recipe here.
Servings: - 16 slices (2-layer 9" round cake)
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Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 ⅓ cup plant-based milk, (such as oat or soy)
- ⅔ cup light oil, (such as canola or vegetable)
- ¼ cup lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, (for rise, you can't taste it)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Frosting:
- 1 cup firm vegan butter, (or ½ cup vegan butter + ½ cup vegetable shortening, see notes)
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 - 4 tablespoons plant-based milk, (such as soy or almond)
- Vegan food coloring, optional
- Vegan sprinkles, chopped nuts, shaved chocolate, or vegan candies, optional, for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease two 9-inch (or 8-inch) round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment for easy release.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix the wet ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the plant-based milk, oil, lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar), and vanilla.
- Combine: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir until just combined. Don't overmix, some lumps are fine. Overmixing can lead to dense or flat cake layers. A light hand = fluffy cake!
- Bake: Divide batter evenly between the pans. Bake for 22-28 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely in the pans on a wire rack.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the vegan butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and food coloring (if using), and continue mixing until smooth. If the frosting is too thick, beat in plant-based milk 1 tablespoon at a time until it's perfectly fluffy and spreadable.
- Frost & decorate. Ensure your cakes are cooled completely so the frosting doesn't melt. Spread frosting between the layers and over the sides and top. Add sprinkles or other decorations if desired.
Notes
Firm Vegan Butter: Some vegan butters/margarines are soft and spreadable, which is great for toast but not ideal for frosting as they can make it loose or melty. Use a firm vegan butter made for baking (it should say so on the package). If yours is on the softer side, you can swap ½ cup of the butter for ½ cup vegetable shortening to give the frosting more structure for piping and spreading.
Gluten-Free Option: Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend that includes xanthan gum (such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour). If your blend doesn’t include xanthan gum, add ¼ teaspoon for better structure. Texture may be slightly more delicate and dense, but still delicious.
Lemon Juice / Apple Cider Vinegar: The lemon juice or vinegar reacts with the baking soda and acts as the egg replacer, helping the cake rise and become fluffy. The flavor disappears once baked.
Cooling Tip: You can cool the cake completely in the pans, no need to transfer to a wire rack while warm. This keeps the layers moist and makes them easier to handle.
Storage / Make Ahead:
- Room temp: Store frosted or unfrosted cake in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Fridge: Up to 5 days (bring to room temp before serving for best texture).
- Freeze: Cake layers or frosted cake freeze beautifully for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temp.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice with frosting (recipe makes 16 slices) | Calories: 419kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 2g | Sodium: 380mg | Potassium: 57mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 81IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg
Kaity says
Is there anyway to use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour with this recipe? We have a wheat and dairy allergy.
Sam Turnbull says
You can definitely try! I haven't tried it myself.
Eva Fadel says
I made this today for my son's birthday. From the bits I've tasted it is a moist delicious cake. I greased my pans liberally but my cake is sticking to the bottom. I reread the recipe several times. Did I miss an instruction to flour the pans or use parchment. One has come out salvageable but broken. I was hoping to do a naked cake. I am considering freezing this for something else and trying again. Suggestions? TIA
Eva Fadel says
Update: All three stuck to pan. Will use parchment paper but wary or using this recipe now.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Eva! Did you allow the cakes to cool completely before trying to remove them, and did you make sure to grease the pans? I've never had a problem with them releasing before. If you want to try again cutting a parchment paper circle will definitely help. Hope that helps!
Emma says
Most cake recipes call for only allowing cake to cool 10 minutes in pan before flipping them onto rack to cool completely. I’m about to attempt this cake and was reading comments to find any extra info- glad I saw this abt allowing to cool in pan completely before flipping. Might want to add that to original recipe. Thanks, excited to try this!
Michelle says
Question, it says 1/4 C lemon juice or apple cider. I’ve never seen a recipe that uses 1/4 C apple cider. Is that correct? Or would it be only a few tsp? I’m confused. I want the cupcakes to taste vanilla n not lemony.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Michelle, yep the recipe is correct as written. You won't be able to taste the lemon, the flavour will cook out. It's an important ingredient as it helps the cake rise. Enjoy!
Jessica G. says
I just baked this as a 2 layer cake as well as 24 cupcakes yesterday for my 2 little boy's birthday party. I am not vegan, but I found this recipe while searching youtube for "healthy cake recipes". I am the kind of person that thinks the more simple the ingredients the better and after looking at "cake boxes" at the supermarket and their yuck ingredients I decided to try and bake my own.
I only made the cake part of this recipe and it was truly wonderful. NOTHING I mean NOTHING that I bake looks PRO. It is always flat or tastes ok. This tasted clean and yummy. Not too sweet and super fluffy. It rose SO well. I made sure I did not over stir. The cake part was SO easy and fast to make! I just wanted to leave a comment to say thank you for your time and recipe. People were surprised when I told them it was Vegan! Great option for everyone! THANK YOU! <3
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's so wonderful, Jessica! Thrilled you loved the recipe so much and had such great results 🙂
Ella Joseph says
Ive been eyeing this recipe for awhile so I decided to try it out today. Im SO sad because it didn't turn out as delicious as yours and most of the people in the comments. I made the batter into cupcakes and they don't take much like vanilla but have a weird scent which Im guessing is the baking soda. The only thing I did differently was reduce the oil to 1/2 cup but I wouldn't think that would change the flavor so much?
And just to be clear, it is 2.5 cups of flour not 2 half cups of flour equally 1 cup right? It seemed like my batter was too thick because of the amount of dry ingredients.
I'll definitely try it again one day!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Ella, baking is a science and so I'm afraid when you change any measurement such as reducing the oil, it will greatly affect the outcome of the recipe. This is why your batter would have been too thick for sure. Yes, 2.5 cups of flour. When it comes to baking you should always follow the recipe exactly as written, with cooking you can play around a bit more. Hope that helps!
Nancy says
I made these as per instructions and they came out with a strong smell and taste of baking soda, very bitter even with frosting. Not really edible. Wasted time and ingredients. These were supposed to be birthday cupcakes. Sad.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Nancy, sorry to hear that. It's difficult to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you but it sounds like something was off as this recipe has hundreds of rave reviews. Better luck next time!
Tonya Boatman says
Hi Sam, based on your nutrition information, how many servings do you figure for the cake? Today is my son's birthday and your cake is a BIG hit with vegans and non-vegans alike. Love it, thank you so much!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Tonya, there are about 24 servings in the recipe. So the nutrition information is based on 1 cupcake or 1 small slice of cake. Enjoy!
Megan says
I love this recipe - happy to finally find a nice vegan vanilla cake recipe. However I really suggest using half the oil recommended. I made this recipe a bunch of times and always found my cupcake liners to be really greasy when they were done baking. So I tried using only 1/3 cup oil, and it’s much better! It’s still nice and moist but not as dense and oily.
Sam Turnbull says
Happy you enjoyed, Megan 🙂
Courtney says
Hi! My sons first birthday is coming up and he’s allergic to what seems like everything, so I am looking at making this cake for him.. He has an allergy to cow’s milk and almonds. His allergist said soy can flare up his eczema even though he’s not allergic to it. Will rice milk work as a good replacement in this recipe? If not, what about coconut milk?
Emma says
Coconut milk will work fine
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Courtney, yes rice milk or coconut milk should work just fine. If using coconut milk make sure to use the kind in a carton which is thinner and not the kind in a can which is extra rich and would be too heavy for this cake. Enjoy!
Isabel says
Made this cake for a friends birthday with your vegan chocolate icing and it was SO good!! They couldn't believe it was vegan! I was thinking about making it again using maple syrup or agave instead of sugar.. have you done this/do you think it would work well with this recipe?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Isabel, so happy you enjoyed it! Using liquid sugar in replace of granulated sugar will change the outcome of the recipe. I recommend checking out this guide.
Maria says
Hi, I just made this recipe as base for your tiramisu recipe. It came out just perfect!
Sam Turnbull says
That's wonderful, Maria! Thrilled you enjoyed 🙂
Amy A. says
This turned out really, really bad!! Sticky, oily, and had a strong baking soda aftertaste. Bitter, inedible, and went straight in the garbage. I was suspicious of that 2 tsp baking soda, should’ve listened to my gut. Was planning to bring this dessert to a dinner party, what a shame and waste.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi, Amy. It definitely sounds like something went wrong with your batch. It's difficult to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you but this cake should come out light, fluffy, sweet, and has no baking soda taste. Sorry, you didn't enjoy, Amy.
Hetal Sundarjee says
That happened to me too. Don't know what went wrong.
Heidi says
Hi, I was wondering if you think this recipe would turn out using Ripple for the milk?
Sam Turnbull says
I haven't tried it so I can't be sure. From what I know Ripple tends to be a very rich non-dairy milk so it might make the cake a little heavier than normal but other than that I am sure it will work fine. Enjoy!
Marlee says
Can I make cake in a loaf pan?
Teri Martinez says
Hi Sam,
I have made these vegan vanilla cupcakes three times now, and I love them. The only problem is, when they come out of the oven, they are stuck to the paper cupcake liners. This has happened each time. I'm following your recipe exactly. Do you have any idea what could be causing this?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Teri, usually that's due to not very good cupcake liners. You can spray the liners with spray oil before filling, but I actually recommend getting better liners such as these parchment paper liners. Enjoy!
Melissa says
I would try to use the silicone liners
Amy says
This is our family's go-to birthday cake for the past year or so. Love it!!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! So thrilled to hear that, Amy 🙂
Tara says
Made this for my 9 year old's b-day celebration at school - I was so glad the amount made not only 12 but exactly 24 perfect little cupcakes! I always use raw cane sugar and it turned out wonderfully! However, I did only use white flour, which I normally don't. Since it went so fast last night, I am making some more so the rest of our big family has some, too, today and I can send some along to the church youth dance tonight. I'm curious if they'll turn out just as light and fluffy if I do half white and half whole wheat!
Thanks for sharing, Sam!
Sam Turnbull says
So thrilled you enjoyed them so much, Tara! Whole wheat flour tends to make things denser and dryer, I recommend checking out this guide for making the substitution.
Patra says
Hi Sam, let me tell you, I am not a vegan but a client asked me to make them a vanilla cake..., so I tried your cake recipe out, it was a little strange the first few bites but then I couldn’t stop eating it! I love love it! My question is, the first time I made it it didn’t release from the pan, bottom totally stuck, I used a homemade pan release... do you have a vegan pan release you suggest? Thank you so so much!
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed, Patra! I use a non-stick pan and a bit of spray oil, or I sometimes will line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper to ensure it does not stick. Enjoy!
Holly says
Absolutely brilliant recipe! I scooped out some of the cooked cake and filled it with raspberry conserve for a raspberries and cream cupcake. They were faultless which is so great because I was starting to think all vegan cakes were a disaster. Thank you Sam xxx
Sam Turnbull says
Ooooh that sounds divine! Thrilled you loved it so much, Holly!
KG says
Hi Sam! Sorry if there's an easy answer to this - I'm new to baking. If I wanted to turn this into a lemon cake, what changes would you suggest? Maybe just turn the frosting into a lemon frosting with lemon juice? Or should I change the cake, too? Scrap the whole lemon idea and just make a delicious vanilla cake?! Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
You could definitely replace the non-dairy milk with lemon juice in the frosting and/or add in lemon zest. I wouldn't mess with the cake recipe however, as baking is a science and adding extra acid such as lemon juice will mess with the chemistry and the cake might not turn out. Enjoy!
Samantha says
You could make a lemon simple syrup and brush the cake with it after baking and before filling?? Add lemon flavor without messing with the recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
Great idea!
kara_western says
I made this recipe as cupcakes, and they turned out well but I did make a few tweaks. I only added 1/2 cup sugar as I find that with the buttercream frosting it's just too sweet (personal preference). I also only added 1/3 vegetable oil, but still found them to be a little greasy tasting. What disappointed me was the slight taste of baking soda, which is why I took off 1 star. My cupcakes rose like crazy (almost double the size), so next time I think I'll also put less baking soda/vinegar.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Kara, baking is chemistry and so when you change a recipe (reducing the sugar and oil) the end results will greatly change as well which is likely why they didn't taste quite right and rose more than expected. Hope that helps!
Sharon says
I’ve been testing vegan vanilla cakes all week for a bridal shower. (I want a two tiered cake). when I used a box mix with different egg substitutes they all turned out too soft and just crumbled away when you try to frost them. Another homemade recipe I tried just turned out bad. Finally, I tried this recipe. It doesn’t crumble away when you frost it. It’s moist, and it’s very good. Finally, a layer cake that holds up and tastes good. Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! Thrilled you enjoy the recipe so much, Sharon 🙂