So here it is: this is my recipe for the most perfect, bestest in the westest, (and eastest) vegan vanilla cake. Strike that, this is my recipe for the most perfect vanilla cake. Period. Vegan or not, this is a damn good cake. Sweet, buttery, vanilla-infused, fluffy and moist all at the same time.
When I served this vegan vanilla cake recipe as cupcakes to a group of strangers, one girl declared that it was the best cupcake she had ever eaten... and then I told her it was vegan. Winning!
I originally posted this recipe way back in 2014, so I decided it needed a little face-lift. Not the recipe, the recipe for the vegan vanilla cake is perfect, just the photos.
You can see below ↓ my original photo for the best vegan vanilla cupcakes, but when I shared a picture of the cake above ↑ on my Instagram, everyone was asking for this vegan vanilla cake recipe. Some people didn't realize that most cake and cupcake recipes are exactly the same, the only difference is the pan you use and the baking time. So I wanted to make it clear that this vegan vanilla cake recipe works wonderfully both ways.
I designed this recipe after hosting a "vegan vanilla cupcake-off" party. A cooking competition style party where I compared 3 top vegan vanilla cupcake recipes to determine which one was the winner. My friends voted, and the result was that there was no clear winner. So I had to do the only logical thing I could think of: make my own winner.
It took a lot of experimenting, but oooeee was all that effort worth it as 4 years later, this is still the best vegan vanilla cake recipe I've ever made.
Whether you make these into adorable cupcakes or you opt for a full-sized two layer cake, everyone will love it. Perfect for birthday parties, holidays, celebrations, or anytime you need a glorious sweet fluffy cake.
To make The Best Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes: In a big bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix lightly. Whisk until the batter just comes together, don't over mix it.
Evenly divide batter among the cupcake pan or the cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
To make the frosting: mix all the ingredients together with a hand mixer or stand mixer. Make sure the cakes are cooled completely before frosting, so the frosting won't melt. Frost your cakes as desired.
The Best Vegan Vanilla Cake (or Cupcakes)
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 non-dairy milk (such as soy or almond)
- ⅔ cup light oil (such as canola or vegetable)
- ¼ cup lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Frosting:
- ½ cup vegan butter
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 - 4 tablespoons non-dairy milk (such as soy or almond)
- Sprinkles for decoration (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). For cupcakes: lightly grease or line a cupcake pan with 24 paper liners. For a cake: lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans.
- In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.
- In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until the batter just comes together, don’t over mix. Evenly divide batter among the cupcake or cake pans. For cupcakes: Bake 18-20 minutes until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. For 9-inch cake: bake for 22 - 28 minutes until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- To make the frosting: mix together the vegan butter, vegetable shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Add 1 - 4 tablespoons of non-dairy milk as needed to reach desired frosting consistency. Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
Nutrition
Bon appetgan
Sam.
Tahira Akhtar says
could I replace half of the flour with cake flour?
Emily says
This is my all time FAVORITE vegan cake!! It’s so moist and not too sweet. I’m so glad I found this recipe, it’s a hit even with non vegans. Definitely recommend!!
I also love your site, very yummy recipes!
Nicole says
Made this vanilla cake for Easter and made a raspberry buttercream frosting to go with. The cake was very moist, a little crumbly I found, but super delicious! First time trying a vegan vanilla cake recipe and my whole non-vegan family loved it!
Anonymous says
Hello,
I had a hard time getting this cake to come out of the pan. It fell apart. I followed the recipe. What went wrong? Thank you
Sev says
Was the pan greased and was parchment paper used?
ellen says
I did grease the pan, but I did not use parchment paper. Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Sam, I made this cake last minute for my mom’s birthday after a failed first attempt with another recipe. I substituted the frosting with dairy free whip cream and put jelly in the middle. Everyone thought it was super good! Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Sara says
I just made cupcakes using this recipe and they turned out so good! Great consistency and flavor my kids loved them! Thanks for sharing I will definitely be using this recipe again!
Courtney Johnson says
Sam,
I found you from one of Kim Constable’s (Sculpted Vegan) groups & I am so glad I did. I have made a few of your recipes already & enjoyed every one. I made this cake for my son’s 6th birthday last week & it was a hit for us. Literally gone by day two lol. Will definitely be making this cake again.
Keep doing what you do!
Andrea says
I'm going to combine this recipe with the strawberry filling from your oat bar recipe and make a strawberry shortcake!! Super Excited about, all your recipes are amazing so I know it'll be great c:
Erin says
I tried this recipe with no small amount of trepidation after reading all the comments and seeing the random super-negative review interspersed with all the extremely positive ones. Sure enough, after being a vegan for 10 years and getting acquainted with all the ins and outs of vegan baking, this cake turned out disastrously in terms of flavor (though, I must admit the texture was quite good-- hence the 2 stars).
I could definitely taste the baking soda something fierce, so apparently the apple cider vinegar and baking soda didn't totally neutralize each other (even as they produced a spongy, fluffy cake as far as vegan cakes go).
Before Sam comments that I didn't follow the instructions exactly, please note the following: I measured everything by weight, didn't overmix, carefully controlled oven temperature with an oven-going thermometer, didn't mix wet and dry together until directly before use, sifted the dry ingredients first, and whisked the wet ingredients well before combining. I'm a pretty advanced home cook, and following directions precisely is not something I struggle with.
For all those who followed this recipe and were pleased with the results, I'm glad for you... maybe I'm just a super-taster and more sensitive to this stuff? But the two friends I served it to agreed with me: this cake had a fantastic texture for being dairy-free, but an awful taste. Thank god I used it to make tiramisu so the coffee and rum drowned it out, but I can't imagine using this recipe for regular white cake or cupcakes.
Nadia says
Hey! I can definitely taste the baking soda as well... I don't know what went wrong, maybe because we used apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice?
Tania Allan says
I used lemon juice and I thought they were great. I’ve been making cakes for a very long time (culinary training and I owned a custom design cake company). I did not taste the baking soda or any specifically strong ingredient. Was a mild vanilla in my opinion. Looking forward to making the chocolate next week. I made them in cupcake form.
Cheryl says
This is my first time making this and I had no problems. The recipe doesn't call for sifting the dry ingredients and it looks like the ingredients are measured not weighed. I also am pretty advanced and could not taste the baking soda at all. I was very surprised at how magnificent this cake turned out. Will definitely make again and recommend!!!
Tania Allan says
I also measured rather than weighed, and am also quite advanced in baking. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and fast it was to whip these up (made them in cupcake form). Did not sift or whisk or anything. Probably the easiest cake and frosting recipe I’ve made in years. Happy with it and will definitely make regularly. Going to make the chocolate version next week 🙂
Karla says
loved this recipe!! so quick and easy to whip up and it is absolutely delicious, made it for my mom's 50th and she loved it too! and the two of us are not big on cakes! thank you so much for sharing <33 i love all of your videos too and can't wait to make more of recipes 🙂
Quefa Carter says
Hello, I was planning to make this cake for my dad's birthday this friday but I have a cake tin problem. I only have 4x 7inch sandwich tins one 8 inch tin that is 3 inch deep and one 9 inch tin that is 2 inch deep. Is there any modification which I can do?
Leny R. says
I made this today for a co-worker and she loved it. I used country crock plant based olive oil butter instead of oil and sweetened almond milk. For the frosting I used the same butter, 1 pound of organic powdered sugar and 4-5 tablespoons of lemon juice. I panicked when the cake came out and it crumbled a little around the edges but I managed to save it. Thanks for the recipe. I will use it again.
Patrick Auffray says
OMG! I've been a vegan for a number of years and have baked dozens of vegan cakes. This has to be one of the worst cakes I've ever made. For one thing, I couldn't get it out of the pan, even after having greased it like instructed. I destroyed the cake attempting to lift it out. And the taste was, well, not really any different than any of the other vegan vanilla cakes I've made. Sorry, two thumbs down.
Haley says
I made this cake yesterday for my daughter's 4th birthday. She had requested a blueberry cake and I couldn't find any vegan blueberry cake recipes that looked like birthday cakes, so we went with this one and threw a few handfuls of blueberries in the batter at the end. It was perfect! She loved it and I think it is the best cake I've ever made (and there have been lots!). Both the cake and the frosting are the perfect amount of sweet. Thank you so much for this recipe. It's a keeper!!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! SO happy you loved it, Haley!!
Reuben Weiss says
I made this recipe last year (for about 50 people) for a highly modified tiramasu. Was not expecting too much from the cake alone, but it was highly memorable - so moist and flavorful. Now planning another dessert, probably topping it with ice cream and sauce, but I am wondering if you can freeze the cake for 2-3 days. This meal cannot come together for so many people on the same day. Thanks for your persistence in coming up with a really fantastic recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
Yes! The cake freezes very well, just wrap tightly and allow to thaw at room temp. 🙂
Alexandra Colacito says
I'm reading through the comments and can't decide whether to use lemon juice of apple cider vinegar. Has anyone tried using half apple cider vinegar and half lemon juice??
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Alexandra, you really won't taste either so it really doesn't matter which one you use or if you combine them. Enjoy!
Meagn says
Absolutely delicious cupcakes. I am not vegan, and an experienced baker so made a lot of cakes and cupcakes over the years and this is my go to recipe vegan or not
Amy says
I dont want to rate this because it is probably Me but two times cupcakes imploded! Help! Why? I used safflower oil. Is that it? Help!
Minda says
I’ve made this recipe 10 times and We adore it. Do we need to refrigerate the leftover cake?
Sarah says
I’ve been using this recipe for YEARS even before I was “full time” vegan and give the recipe to everyone! Nothing has topped it! Sometimes I grate a lemon’s worth of zest in and make a lemon frosting... so so good!
Maria says
It doesn’t taste like chicken, but it sure does taste like egg! I believe it’s because of the baking soda and vinegar combination. It left a strong smell in my kitchen and a weird egg aftertaste. Sorry, this recipe didn’t work for me.
Janessa says
Lol .... my kitchen did smell strong of egg... Loved the cake though.. will try the lemon juice next time!
K Odeen says
Beware! I used apple cider vinegar and it was inedible. Lemon Juice might work but apple cider vinegar is extremely overpowering. It was very disappointing, I made this for my mom on Mothers Day as a surprise and was so excited to give it to her but when I tried it it was horrible.
Tania Allan says
I used lemon juice and it was good. I would try regular distilled vinegar next time, rather than apple cider vinegar. It’s what I alternate with instead of lemon juice for baking and for making buttermilk. Has never tasted of anything and I’ve made hundreds of times. Hope that helps.
Sharon says
Sam, I made this recipe as a birthday cake (for myself!) and made your lemon curd recipe for the middle. It was simply delicious, and the family loved it. Thanks for another recipe I can rely on to turn out well.
Sam Turnbull says
Aww wonderful, happy birthday!
shari eisenberg says
I used this recipe to create a lemon version of this cake. It was the most delicious lemon cake I have ever eaten. I also used your lemon curd recipe to fill in between the layers, which made it even more moist and lemony. I added lemon to the frosting as well. Its citrus season here in Arizona so I am making good use of all the plentiful citrus!
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing!!
R says
Absolutely delicious and this will now be my go-to cake. My mum who is an amazing cook really loved it and was so surprised it was vegan. Thanks Sam and again your recipies are the first I look at when I want to try something new.
Nancy says
Can I substitute coconut oil instead of vegetable shortening for the frosting?
Fiorela says
Followed this recipe exactly and I have since made these recipes MANY TIMES since! It is PERFECT and delicious and easy to customize and play around with as well. Thanks so much for sharing this brilliant recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing!! SO happy you love it, Fiorela 🙂
Someone says
Can I use more butter instead of vegetable shortening?
Marji says
I just made this cake and it came out really nicely! I taste-tested a small piece but the rest is going into the vegan tiramisu.
I have a question about the batter. This is the second time I've made a cake that the batter came out much too dry and I had to add water to make it pourable. It came out more like a pie crust almost at first. This means upping the baking time by another 15-20 minutes. The cake always comes out all right but this bothers me. Is there something I could do differently? I am trying to measure the ingredients carefully each time but I am not weighing. I usually spoon/pour dry ingredients into measuring cups.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Marji, it's difficult to say without being in the kitchen with you but it sounds like a measurement is off somewhere. You can watch the video of me making the cake to see what each step should look like. ENjoY!
Jacey says
my mom is not a big fan of frosting so can I replace it with fruit??
Netra says
I want to give this a try.there is no need to add baking powder in this recipe?
Sam Turnbull says
The recipe is correct as written. ENjoy!
Netra says
I am sure it is correct as written 🙂 but was surprised when to add baking powder and when not.. or if we dont add baking powder why not?
anyway I made this last night for 6 cupcakes and oh my its the best I ever had!!! .. but since I had to make adjustment to the measurement for only 6 cupcakes the cupcakes fell apart a bit because they tured out super soft .. but nevertheless it was loved by family .. next time I am going to make the cake and more cupcakes .. thanks a bunch!
Caitlin Burth says
Hey Sam, I'm a huge fan of all your recipes! I made this vanilla cupcake recipe and it was delicious! One of my friends wanted peach and vanilla vegan cupcakes (12 of them), so I adapted this recipe by putting 3tbs of peach schnapps in a 2/3 measuring cup then filling the rest of it up with almond milk. Then I used 3 tbsp of of peach schnapps in the icing instead of thinning with non-dairy milk. Everyone who's tried them has absolutely loved them! I thought you might like to try that twist too!
Sam Turnbull says
Sounds fantastic!
Emma says
I love this recipe!! In the past I’ve made other vegan vanilla cake/ cupcakes but they always taste bland. I decided to try this recipe and it’s great! One thing I did do is half the white sugar and substituted in brown it helps give way more flavour you could probably even sub in coconut sugar. I also like to let them sit for a day as I find they have more flavour the next day!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed, Emma!
Shelia King says
Can I freeze the cupcakes for at least a week and frost later?
Tatyana Ali says
We made these cupcakes twice now and they're a huge hit! We added mixed berry jam to 1/2 a recipe (cupcake and frosting) and it came out great as well. Highly recommend this recipe! By far the best cupcakes we've tried.
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's wonderful! SO happy you love them 🙂
Joanne says
Hello 🙂
Can I substitute shortening with solid coconut oil ?
Thanks.
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, but it will be a bit meltier, so be careful to keep it cool
Kirsten says
I have made this recipe a number of times, both as a cake and as cupcakes and it has been incredible every time. Our whole family loves it (even the non-vegans) and I highly recommend.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! THanks Kristen!
Ariana says
I had just tried a vegan cake mix hack and it did not turn out well at all. Fed it to our backyard possum. THIS recipe however gave me hope for my love for vegan baking- this cake came out beyond perfect and tastes 1000x better than any other cakes I used to make. Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Wonderful! Thrilled you loved it so much, Ariana 🙂
Anne says
Could I make this with almond flour to make it gluten free?
Elizabeth says
Thank you so much for this recipe! It's delicious, and it has a good basic structure to work well with flavor alterations. I replaced vanilla with strawberry extract and then blended some fresh and freeze dried strawberries with the milk and it was sooooo delicious!
Sam Turnbull says
Oh sounds fantastic! So glad you enjoyed 🙂
Grace says
OMG!!! These vanilla cupcakes are sooo moist and delicious!!! I see why you couldn't help but to eat the whole slice in your video! You're awesome!! I've been looking for a really good vanilla cake recipe and this is definitely it! I plan on making your chocolate cake recipe tonight! Have you come up with a red velvet cupcake recipe? One of my students will graduate next month and I'd love to make her some vegan red velvet cupcakes that are as good as your other recipes! Oh and I absolutely love your personality! So cheerful and positive and fun!! Thank you for sharing your gift of baking absolutely yummy goodness!! 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Awesome!! So thrilled you love it so much, Grace. I haven't done red velvet yet, but I will add it to my list!!
Karen says
I didn't need 24 cupcakes or a large cake so I took a risk and cut everything exactly in half and baked in a square dish. Delish! Thank you so much for this easy and very good cake.
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Karen! Thrilled you loved it 🙂
Suzanne Amdur says
Is there a substitute for buttermilk? I am thinking of making orange-cranberry scones but one of the ingredients is buttermilk.
Sam Turnbull says
1 cup of non-dairy milk + 1 teaspoon of lemon juice = 1 cup of buttermilk. Enjoy!
Sue Amdur says
Thanks for the info above, now I need to know what to use for 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening for the vegan vanilla cake. I am going to make this today (1/3/20200, so looking forward to your reply! By the way, I bought two of your cookbooks and gave one to my granddaughter as a present. She is loving it and we are sharing the food we make with the recipes.
Sam Turnbull says
You can sub all vegan butter but the frosting will be a bit softer so you may need less non-dairy milk and keep the cake and frosting in a cool place. Glad you're enjoying my book!
Pau says
I have done this recipe as an ingredient for the vegan tiramisu, and I have to say that it is simply great! I am not an experienced baker, so I was afraid that I would screw it all, but resulted nicely and tasty. I used baking powder though, because I didn't have any baking soda... I just put double amount and it raised well (I needed to add also some soy drink because the mix was too thick, I am actually amazed that it turned out well!). Tomorrow I will see how is the final tiramisu!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed, Pau!
Maraika says
Hi. I made the cupcakes but they didn't rise very well and I am wondering if the dry ingredient Baking Soda is Baking Soda (Bi-carbonate of Soda) or Baking Powder. Two totally different ingredients here in Australia as I notice that it is an American recipe. Might make all the difference. And would 1/4 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar taste the same as adding 1/4 cup of Lemon Juice please. It is certainly a very easy recipe otherwise.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Maraika, it's actually a Canadian recipe, as I'm Canadian 😉 Baking soda and baking powder are two completely different things here too. It's difficult to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you but if you baking soda is very old it might not have as much rising power. Also, over mixing is also a common problem. The vinegar should be pretty tasteless and the lemon might have a slight lemon taste. ENjoy!
Clémentine says
What type of canola oil do you use? I used virgin, cold pressed colza oil thinking it was the same thing, but it tastes horrible. Please clarify! 🙁
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Clémentine, canola oil should be flavourless. If yours has a strong taste I recommend using another flavourless oil instead such as vegetable oil. Enjoy!
Clémentine says
Thanks for your reply. Turns out canola and colza are two different varieties of the same plant (rapeseed), and canola is harder to find in Europe. Hence the confusion...
I have to say though, that the texture of this cake is really nice and fluffy. I will probably make it again some day.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! And good to know the difference! Next time be sure to use a flavourless oil and you will have no problems. ENjoy!
Rita says
Hi Sam!
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe over the holiday season and wanted to ask:
1- When you say white sugar is the granulated or caster sugar?
2- would sunflower oil work just as well Instead of vegetable oil?
3- would cashew milk work just as well instead of soy or almond?
Thank you.
Sam Turnbull says
Granulated, yes, and yes 🙂
Rose says
Can this recipe be used to make a sheet cake?
Sam Turnbull says
Absolutely! Heres a guide on how to adapt to make it a sheet cake. Enjoy!
VeganSweta says
Like some other people, I had the pan sticking issue too. I increased the recipe by 1.5 to make 3 layers. I greased and floured each pan. I've never had an issue with this before. I was able to get each layer out without injuring the cake, it just took some time.
The cake itself was great; so light and fluffy. I'd totally make it again, but as cupcakes. I agree it's the best vegan cake! So good that I couldn't let myself deduct any stars for the sticking issue.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it so much!
Laura says
Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out beautifully. For those who's cakes turned out poorly, they were likely doing something wrong. People need to be mindful that even the way you measure out ingredients in baking can be the difference between a flop and a great finished product. I learned that you have to measure flour correctly after many failed loaves of bread.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you loved the recipe and that it turned out for you perfectly, Laura! And yes, you're correct, measuring is KEY when baking 🙂
Donna roe says
Hi is the temperature for a fan oven or do I have to loser it please
Sam Turnbull says
The temperature is for an oven without the fan turned on. Enjoy!
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 🙂
mehak kohli says
Can I use self-rising flour instead of all purpose flour? I'm baking this tomorrow and I just realised I bought the wrong flour!
Sam Turnbull says
That should work fine for this recipe. Here is a guide to help you with the correct amounts. Enjoy!
Tina says
Help please..
For years prior to going vegan, I would make3 D cakes for my daughters birthdays. I would take box mix and modify with pudding and sour cream. This made a cake similar to more of a pound cake, and held up well to fondant and stacking. Since making cakes non vegan recently, they are delicious bit light and a bit crumbly (even though moist, they fall apart easily when removing slices) I am not sure I will be able to find a cake that will hold up to decorating let alone carving. Do you think this will hold up well to stacking, decorate or even carving?
Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Tina, this works well for a two-layer cake that can be frosted, but I don't think this would work well for carving as it is quite light and fluffy. I have added vegan pound cake to my recipe creation to do list though, so hopefully I will have something for you soon 🙂
Laurel says
So good!!! Made our first batch of cupcakes to practice for our vegan's upcoming hs graduation. Wow! These are gonna be great. No one would know they were vegan at all. I used white-wheat so they were a little more gritty (not the right word, but also not exactly dense.) I'll use white flour or even white cake flour to see if they can be more like conventional. We didn't make the icing yet, just the cupcakes. I filled a few too full and they didn't get all the way done, so I'll watch to fill only about 1/2 way in regular sized cupcake pan with silicone liner. Can't wait to do more test tries! Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed them, Laurel 🙂
Pamela Farr says
A few years ago I posted the story of my youngest who could never have cupcakes, cakes, etc. because of severe food allergies to eggs and milk. I shared the story of him getting his first taste of this batter and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. Well he turns 16 years old in three days and guess what he has requested for his birthday? Yup, you guessed it - THIS recipe....
Sam Turnbull says
I remember the comment, Pamela!! It totally made my day. Thrilled you and your son are still enjoying this recipe 🙂
Holly says
Horrible. What a waste. Had to throw them out. Wow unreal. They didn’t even cook properly. I could not get them out of the baking sheets only the top was there there’s no bottom to them hardly at all I could not even pop them out of my trays. I tried to cook them more but that didn’t work either. Horrible horrible recipe waste of time and ingredients
Sam Turnbull says
It sounds like something might have gone wrong with your cupcakes, but either way, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the recipe.
Marci says
I tried this cake it sunk slightly and had a baking soda taste. What do you think went wrong?
Sam Turnbull says
It's difficult to know without being in the kitchen with you, but it sounds like you could have accidentally added too much baking soda which would have made it rise too quickly and then sink.
Melissa says
Great video, thanks for posting! I'm just wondering if I can make this ahead of time and freeze it for a few days? Thanks.
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, absolutely. Freeze the cake and frosting separately, then thaw and frost when ready to serve. Enjoy!
Tanya says
Hi, I was wondering can I use coconut milk instead of soy/almond?
Sam Turnbull says
As long as it is the drinking kind of coconut milk. The canned kind might be too thick and rich. Enjoy!
Lindsay says
Hey Sam! I've been a follower for a while and tried several of your recipes. I made these for my own birthday event (I'm vegan - nobody else is, so I wanted cupcakes I could eat! haha) and they are actually the most amazing, fluffy, delightful cupcakes I've ever had! Thank you so much for such a great, easy, yummy recipe that even non-vegans love and rave over! I made several of your recipes for Thanksgiving yesterday and your cake cookies a few weeks ago and I honestly can't believe that the first time I tried them - they all turned out perfect! Your hard work testing is so appreciated! <3
Sam Turnbull says
Awww shucks, that's awesome, Lindsay!!! So very happy you are enjoying so many of my recipes so much 🙂
Rea says
Hi.
Do you have a recipe for icing that does not use the vegan butter or shortening?
Cat says
I’m from the UK and a recent vegan! I’m a good non- vegan baker and had a few fails at vegan cakes! Essentially this has been the best recipe. Very tasty! However, I think the conversion site I used was way off! The cake was quite heavy and dough like. I am using it in your Tiramisu so hopefully once it is soaked it will be ok. Any advice or a guide for converting would be gratefully received.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Cat! Yes it sounds like the conversions were off as this cake is super light. What kind of conversion are you doing? Cups to ml? Cups to a weight? If converting to weight, volume and weight measurements are completely different ways of measuring so it would be tricky to convert. In which case I would recommend picking up a set of US Cups and Spoons. Hope that helps!
Chelsea says
Hi,
I have made this cake so many times since finding it. It turns out perfect every time and everyone loves it and is always shocked its vegan. 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Awww I love that! Thrilled you enjoy it so much, Chelsea 🙂
Diana says
Hi Sam! Quick question: I have two round cake pans but they are 8", not 9, Would the same amount of cake batter work and just make a taller cake? Or would you recommend pouring slightly less intro each pan? Cheers.
Sam Turnbull says
Yes it should work fine, but I would put a tray or foil underneath the pans, just in case there are any leaks. Enjoy!
Jennifer corbin says
Hi! Quick question. I’m about to shop for my ingredients. Should I buy sweetened or unsweetened almond milk for these cupcakes?
Sam Turnbull says
Either will work just fine, so whatever you prefer to have leftover. I normally opt for the "original" flavour.
Katy says
Made this cake over the weekend for my mom in law's birthday. It was a hit! She asked to take some of the leftovers home.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!! Thrilled she enjoyed it so much. 🙂
Salima says
Can I straight up double the recipe to make a four layer cake or is there some tweaking necessary? And would you recommend doing 1.5x for the icing? Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Wow! That would be one huge cake! Yes, you could straight up double it and I would recommend doubling the frosting or even more. Just divide among 4 cake pans. to bake. Enjoy!
Salima says
Thanks for your reply! Turned out my cake pans were 7” so I ended up making a 5 layer rainbow cake using a quarter of the recipe per layer and it was perfect, not too big! The amount of icing in a single batch was even enough for between the layers and to cover the whole thing! And of course, there were sprinkles It was a HUGE hit - soooo delicious!!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!! So happy it turned out well for you, it sounds beautiful!
Laura says
Hi, this cake is now my go to vegan cake as it always works out! Have you ever turned it into a sheet came?
Sam Turnbull says
So thrilled you love it so much Laura. I haven't yet, but that's a good idea 🙂
Sandi says
So I'm looking for a recipe to substitute for the box of yellow or white cake in a pineapple upside down cake recipe. The original recipe calls for making the box cake mix to directions but subbing in pineapple juice for part of the water. Do you think I could sub it in for part of the milk? The only other liquid is the vinegar or lemon juice which from the comments sounds necessary. Or would you suggest one of your other cupcake recipes? Also, it will be baked in a 13x9 pan, any thoughts on the cooking time?
Sam Turnbull says
I think it should work fine, although I have never tried it myself. Enjoy!
Rebecca Land says
Sam I don’t know how you do it! I made these for my Omni mother in laws birtbday today and they turned out so well! These are AMAZING! This will now be my go to recipe for cakes! I’ve only tried to make a cake once since going vegan and it didn’t turn out right at all, it was dense and gooey and as a new vegan I was worried I would never have a good cake again, I’m so glad that you proved me wrong with this amazing recipe! the texture of these turned out PERFECT! I Absolutely loved them, and so did my Omni mother in law
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's wonderful!!! I'm so thrilled and flattered you loved the cakes so much, Rebecca 😀
Morgan says
I see that the recipe says you can either use lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Will the lemon juice give it more of a lemon flavor? I know that the Apple cider vinegar will bake out but I’m not so sure about the flavor of the lemon. This will be my first time baking vegan. My sister-in-law’s vegan and I want her to be able to enjoy cupcakes at my sons birthday Coming up.
Sam Turnbull says
There might be a slight lemon flavour but with either choice, I don't think you will taste it much. I hope you love the cupcakes!
Joanie says
Hi Sam,
Just wanted to say I love your vanilla and chocolate cake and I just used your recipes to make a three tier wedding cake that was a huge hit! I would love to send you a picture but not to sure how,
Thanks, for the amazing vegan recipes.
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing!!! You can tag me in a picture on Instagram @itdoesnttastelikechicken or you can share publicly or send a message privately on my Facebook page. 🙂
Yulca says
On the "apple sauce instead of oil" question, I can report that I tried that earlier this week, replacing 3/4 of the original quantity of oil with unsweetened apple sauce (and not adding any oil).
Result: The taste was good (a bit apple-y), but the texture was not as nice and light and fluffy as in the original version, but a bit more on the dense & moist side. So if someone can't have oil or fat (like the friend I made the muffins for), it's ok, but otherwise I'm going to stick to oil in the future.
Perla says
I've only baked and cooked a few times in my life (and I've always managed to ruin them all) so I knew I wouldn't be able to perfect this, but the taste came out so well and I loved it.
Sam Turnbull says
That's awesome! Thrilled you enjoyed them, Perla 🙂
Nicki says
This is seriously the best cake I've ever made. Soooooo good! Many thanks for the recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Niki! Thrilled you enjoyed it!
C P says
Hi!! This recipe is perfect! Turned out sooo amazing! Not sure if this was asked already , should the cupcakes be stored in the fridge? There is no icing on them (because I didn’t have any vegtable shortening ) thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Baked goods are always best stored at room temperature to keep them nice and fluffy. A fridge can dry them out. Enjoy!
Angelica says
Does this recipe make 24 mini cupcakes or 24 regular size cupcakes?
Sam Turnbull says
regular
petri says
I can't use vegan butter and vegetable shortening, could I switch them for something? I'm looking for a good frosting overall, the base sounds great.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi petri, that would be a completely different recipe as those are the ingredients that hold the frosting together. I don't know what ingredients would be suitable for you so I suggest having a google around for a recipe that suits your needs.
Becky says
I just found your website and I am soooo excited to try the tiramisu recipe. Can I sub applesauce for the oil in the cake recipe ?
Sam Turnbull says
Welcome, Becky! I've never tried that so I am not sure how it would work out. Good luck!
KS says
Using your cake recipe as a base for cupcakes for my little ones birthday I opted for chocolate frosting. They were a huge hit. Having tried several other vegan cake recipes for a vanilla cake, yours "takes the cake" and doesn't hold a candle to the others that come out dry, flavorless, or mediocre. This cake is moist and delicious and will be my go to vault for the many years to come. Thank you!!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww so thrilled you enjoyed it so much, thank you so much for the wonderful comment!! Honoured that you found your new go-to recipe 🙂
Charlie says
Just tried this recipe today and it was beyond amazing!!! I myself am just learning to cook and am super proud of how it turned out. Of course I did have nightmares as what happens whenever i cook something, this time the shortening was hard as a rock when i added to the frosting i tried to whisk it in it didnt work at all just too hard and lumpy. So i put it in the microwave to melt the shortening but then of course it all turned to frosting water. But all was good once i mixed it in and popped it in the fridge!
Also I used some homemade marmalade made from homegrown oranges and lemons inbetween the two cakes and that gave it an extra fruity lil flavour and it was phenomenal!
Thanks so much Sam I <3 u!!
Sam Turnbull says
That sounds delicious, Charlie!! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, I love the addition of marmalade 😀
crystal herndon says
Can I use coconut sugar for this instead of white?
Sam Turnbull says
From my research it looks like it should work ok, but I haven't tried it myself so I can't know for sure. Enjoy!
yulca says
Hi Sam, I received your cookbook from Amazon just yesterday. I ordered it because I had seen a few of your videos on YouTube, and your recipes seemed pretty straightforward, but somehow, so far, I never spent much time on your website. That is going to change!!!
I opened the cookbook and made these vanilla cake muffins right away, and bc they were so easy and super fluffy, I made the chocolate ones right afterwards, too (lots of happy colleagues today !). I looooooove the spongy texture, I never ever achieved this in vegan muffins before (and I tried a lot of them!!). It's amazing how it works without any chia/flax/aquqfaba/banana egg replacement, I had my doubts when I read the recipe, but girl, was I wrong!!! This is genius, thank you! Can't wait for fall to make the pumpkin pie spice version. And I'll become a regular on your site now, that's for sure.
Sam Turnbull says
That's so awesome, yulca!!! Thrilled you loved my recipes so much already. I do a lot of recipe testing, so you can trust that my recipes will turn out (as you found out for yourself). Haha. I hope you enjoy many more recipes to come 🙂
crystal herndon says
Hi Sam, making these for the tiramisu:) is there a way to make these gluten free?
Sam Turnbull says
Oh yay! I haven't tried it myself yet but I have heard wonderful things about Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour. 🙂
KS says
King Arthur has an awesome Gluten Free flour for baking as well. My hubs was gluten free for a bit and I found for cakes that King Arthur was my personal preference over Bob's. Sometimes Bob's would get gritty on me. I also found that if I sifted my dry ingredients they were fluffier when doing gluten free. We are no longer gluten free so I have not tried gluten free flour in this recipe, but good luck. .
Sam Turnbull says
Great tip!
Arabelis says
Hi! I woukd like to know if almond flower or oat flower would work?
Arabelis says
Sorry meant to write flour not flower my autocorrect changed it
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Arabelis, I'm not an expert in gluten-free baking and have not tested this recipe with either of those flours so I'm afraid I don't know. Here is a guide on how to substitute flours. Hope that helps!
Sara says
I have tried countless vanilla vegan cake recipes, and this one is definitely THE BEST!!!! I did everything as described, and it turned out amazing!!!!! Thank you thank you! This will be an all-time favourite now 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo!! That's so awesome, thrilled it's the best one, Sara! Thank you for the comment 🙂
Courtney says
I made your chocolate vegan cake and it was amazing! I'm excited to try the vanilla! Do you use regular white sugar and powdered sugar or do you use organic? I am not vegan myself; I just bake for a couple of my friends that are, so I wasn't even aware that sugar wasn't vegan until recently. Any thoughts on this?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Courtney, glad you enjoyed it. I use regular white sugar and powder. Some brands of sugar use bone char to whiten sugar. That isn't super common anywhere other than the US I believe. Here in Canada, a very common brand is Redpath which clearly states on their site that it is safe for vegans. You could check the brands you use where you are to see if they are vegan, or as you mentioned, organic is always a good way to go as well as it is always vegan. Enjoy!
Angelina says
Would applesauce work in place of vegan butter? I don't keep any of that in my house 🙁 Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
For the frosting? I can't see that working very well, unfortunately.
Sinead O'Neil says
Hi, I made this cake for my vegan best friend and th ecake has come out of the oven about 30 minutes ago. I trimmed to top to level it and when I tried it it wasn't very sweet at all, I am wondering if the icing evens it out so it tastes or if you think I made a mistake.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Sinead. It's definitely a sweet cake so it sounds like a measurement may have been off somewhere. It's difficult to know exactly went wrong without being in the kitchen with you. Hope that helps!
Rosi says
Just wondering 1/4 cup of lemon or apple cider vinegar, not 1/4 tsp? Just never seen this much acid in a cake recipe before.
Sam Turnbull says
Yep it's correct, 1/4 cup. It's my hack to replace eggs. The acid reacts with the baking soda and makes the cake rise and get fluffy and delicious. 🙂
Jenn says
Made these today for my birthday and frosted them with your chocolate frosting. Oh my goodness! So delicious! Thank you 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed them!! Happy Birthday!
Loretta Young says
Is it okay to use butter flavored shortening instead?
Sam Turnbull says
I've never even heard of that before, but as long as it's vegan, I am sure it will work fine 🙂
Tina says
I made this today. It tastes good but my frosting started to separate and I'm not sure why.
Sam Turnbull says
Oh no! It sounds like your ingredients might have gotten too warm, or perhaps the brand of vegan butter wasn't great.
Koo says
I'm so in love with this recipe! I'm featuring it in my video~ <3
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome 🙂
Millicent says
Cakes were never my strong suit in my pre-vegan days, so I was pretty nervous about how it would turn out, but I made this last night for mum's birthday and it was delicious! Everyone loved it! Really fluffy and moist, not oily at all, with a lovely vanilla flavour. The cake wasn't sticky and I could easily remove the baking paper.
I'm in Australia, so I followed the measurements as per previous comments to make one cake:
- 200g plain flour
- 160g sugar (cut back from 180g, I wanted it slightly less sweet)
- 150ml soy milk
- 85ml canola oil
- 35ml lemon juice
For the frosting:
- 165g icing sugar
- 50g Crisco veg shortening
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (forgot to weigh!) BioButtery spread
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
I didn't need to add any milk to the frosting,
I used an 18cm/7" cake pan as that was all I had. I baked the cake for 22 minutes.
Thanks for the recipe, would definitely make again!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it, Millicent!
Donna Bell says
I plan to use this recipe for the lady fingers in your tiramisu recipe for my daughter’s birthday this weekend. The tiramisu recipe calls for two batches of this recipe and provides the link. Yet, this recipe appears to be doubled already for 24 cup cakes. Do I need 1 or 2 batches of this recipe for the tiramisu? Thanks! I’m excited to make this as your recipes always turn out so great!
Sam Turnbull says
Oh yes that is confusing, sorry about that Donna!! I had updated this recipe and didn't think to update the tiramisu recipe info as well. I just updated the tiramisu recipe so the information is now correct. It will be one batch, which will be enough to make a two layer cake or 24 cupcakes. Enjoy!
lillian says
I just made this and am so blown away that I have declared that this is the best vegan vanilla cake ever. Normally with the recipes that I've made the texture would always have a gumminess to it, but this really delivered on the light and fluffy aspect that non-vegan versions always have. I made sure not to over mix it and I think that helped a lot.
FYI I made 2 6-inch cakes and 5 cupcakes. I have yet to make the frosting.
Thanks for the recipe!
lillian says
I frosted it with your chocolate frosting. Every bite is a piece of heave!
Sam Turnbull says
Wow thank you so much, lillian!! Thrilled you loved it so much 😀
amy says
hi ive always made this as my go to vanilla cake and cupcake recipe but now that its changed to a double layer cake recipe, have the measurements changed? i changed the cupcake size to 12 but im not familiar with 0.13 cups of apple cider vinegar. what was it prior to the change - was it 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar? thanks
Sam Turnbull says
Hi amy! I tried to make the recipe easier for people who want to make it a cake version. Did I end up just making it more confusing you think?? I want to do what's best for everyone 🙂 Yes, 1/4 cup is 4 tablespoons, so half would be 2 tablespoons. Hope that helps!
Amy says
That is great thank you I’ll remember it from now on. The way it is now is good however as u may know, I was super set w what it was before and I just spaced out at the converter while doing the muffins for school and panicked lol. Every time I make this muffin recipe into a vanilla cake, I do a layer of the vegan chocolate cake recipe and make my double layer cake that way so I get the best of both worlds! It’s always been a hit and everyone is always amazed it’s vegan. Thank u!
Sam Turnbull says
Oooh that sounds amazing! You're most welcome, Amy 🙂
Emma says
I just finished baking this as a cake. It tastes amazing and has a fantastic texture. this is my new go to vanilla cake!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!! So happy you love it so much, Emma 🙂
Aly says
Hey there, I just came across your recipe and I'm eager to try. I have a couple of concerns though, I make my own almond milk so it has no thickening agents, and I use organic unbleached sugar(larger crystals). Do you think this will be a problem? If so any advice? Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Aly, I don't think it should be a problem. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Aly says
Woow! These were a hit for Easter with my family. I made mini cupcakes, 48, and they were all gone by the end of the night. I definitely enjoyed telling everyone after that they were vegan. Thanks for a great recipe! Also, and tips on how to make these in a strawberry flavor naturally, without flavoring liduid? Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy they were enjoyed, Aly! I would have to toy around with the recipe to know exactly how to make them strawberry, but generally you would need to reduce the liquid a bit when adding strawberry pulp. Hope that helps!
Katie says
Hi Sam! Any tips to get my frosting thicker/stiffer? I tried to add more sugar and even a bit of flour, but it stayed pretty thin and didn’t fluff up.
Also- I’m a huge fan of this site and your cookbook. You’ve helped make my first months of being vegan such a fun adventure.
Sam Turnbull says
Thanks, Katie! SO happy you love the book. I'm guessing that your vegan butter or vegetable shortening (or both), have a high water content that the kinds I was using. So I would start by adding all of the powdered sugar and cocoa to the bowl, along with maybe half of the vegan butter and half the shortening. Blend to combine. If it is too stiff, start adding more bit by bit as needed. You probably won't need the extra non-dairy milk. Hope that helps!
Monica Z says
So i just tried making these after using your chocolate cake recipe to make chocolate cupcakes (they turned out amazing). Sadly, they did not turn out at all! My dough was almost lumpy, which I thought was strange but I went with it anyways. After baking them, they still remained lumpy looking, not mention that some of them just sort of baked up and poured up over the cups and all over the pan. Ive never had quite the baking fail. I haven't tried them yet but the raw batter tasted okay? Any ideas? I doubled the recipe, could that have anything to do with it? Ive looked over the ingredients several times and I'm sure that there were no measurement errors. My baking soda might be a little old, do you think that could be the culprit? Any insight would be great - I'm making these for a baby shower and would love to have them be my go to vegan cupcake, since the chocolate ones were so great!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Monica, that's odd. It's difficult to know what when wrong without being in the kitchen with you... I'm not sure I can be much help! It does sound like somehow some liquid measurement was off. Sorry I can't be more help!
M S Lee says
Can these cupcakes be frozen for later use? Tastes good still?
Sam Turnbull says
For sure. Freeze the cupcakes and frosting separately. THen just thaw and frost when ready. Enjoy!
M S Lee says
Thank you for the amazing recipe. I am making 100 of them for a fundraiser. The cake does taste quite strongly of baking soda. Is there anyway to mask it?
Sam Turnbull says
Wow amazing! I didn't find the cupcakes to taste at all of the baking soda. Perhaps there was a clump of baking soda when you tasted one? Make sure to whisk well. Hope that helps!
Alanna says
These are so good! I found them spongey in a great way. I used vegan becel in the frosting and it worked well.
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome! So happy to hear you loved them, Alanna 🙂
Evie says
LOVE these. Did anyone take them as cake? if so, what modifications did you make? Any advice?
Evie says
*make them into cake
Evie says
I only made the cupcakes, not the frosting. I made my own frosting.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Evie! The recipe for 12 cupcakes would make enough for a one 9" round cake. You can bake at the same temperature and for longer, 22-28 mins probably. You will know it's done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Enjoy!
Vesna says
I made this today (without the frosting) and I am happy with the result. Thank you for this recipe! They are pretty light and fluffy. Mine were still very dense and heavy after 20min so I had to bake them for additional 10min! They were not oily at all as one person commented. The problem is that the cupcake, although fluffy, becomes heavy and sticky as soon as I put it in my mouth. This happens with most of the vegan cupcake recipes that I've tried. Is there any way to fix that or is is just a result of baking without eggs?
Also, although I filled my cupcake liners only half-way, I was only able to make 8 cupcakes! Should I have filled them less than half-way?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Vesna,
So happy you enjoyed the recipe. It sounds like somehow an ingredient or measurement was off here? Or perhaps you had an extra large cupcake pan? You should have had way more batter than that, and that baking time is too long for cupcakes! My guess is that there was an error somewhere that caused your problems. Glad you enjoyed them anyway!
Sandyk says
I would like to know if Almond Oil or regular vegetable oil can be substituted for the Canola oil? Also, can I leave the shortening out of the frosting recipe and just use the sticks of vegan butter? I've been told that there is too much trans fat in shortening (?)
Also--I recently made your chocolate cake recipe and the results were tremendous. Everyone loved the cake!
Sam Turnbull says
Vegetable oil would work perfectly! You can use all vegan butter but the frosting will be softer and meltier so make sure to keep the cake in a cool place, and you may need to reduce the non-dairy milk. You can buy trans fat free shortening sticks as well, Earth Balance makes them and they are usually what I use. Enjoy!
Zuzu says
I mis-judged and ended up with 11 cupcakes instead of 12. Oops! I was not in the mood to bake, but it's my best friend's birthday tomorrow so I have to. (at 11:14 p.m., and I just put them in the oven...) I was thinking about getting a box mix, but I didn't want the chemicals, not to mention I had all the ingredients. I was so pleased at how quickly they came together! I am starting to smell them now. Thank you for posting such an easy and vegan treat!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you like them, Zuzu and love that they were easy enough for you to throw together last minute 🙂
Zuzu says
My friend, the birthday girl LOVED them. I used chocolate frosting per her request. I didn't have canola so I used avocado oil. Totally fine. I am back on this site because another friend's baby is turning 1, and I am going to make these again. I'm going to experiment, half applesauce, half oil. Thank you so much again for posting this recipe! It is a hit, and definitely a go-to and repeat for me.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! Thrilled you loved it so much that you came back for round 2! 🙂
Claire says
Hi, thanks for the recipe, but going by a lot of reviews saying these turn out greasy/oily (same for my experience making them too) it might be good to adjust the recipe or put at note in the recipe about this. I measure ingredients to the exact gram and followed the instructions to a T, so I don't think it was an error with anything going on there. They have a spongey texture,, but they are still quite greasy throughout. A cupcake should be fluffy and light, with rich decadent frosting. If it's an oily cupcake with buttery icing on top, it will be overwhelmingly heavy and not pleasant. I'm no health nut and love greasy and oily vegan treats often, so the fact that even I found it oily was very unusual for me. Sorry for a downer comment, I just think with some slight adjustments this could be great, and it would be good to warn people before they use a bunch of ingredients on it.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Claire, sorry you didn't enjoy the recipe. The problem may be that you converted the recipe to grams (which is weight), and my recipe is written in cups and spoons (which is volume), so it's two completely different ways of measuring. One does not equal the other. These cupcakes always come out perfectly moist and fluffy for me, and they do for many other people who bake them all the time, so my guess is that is the problem.
Claire says
The thing is that volume can be converted into accurate weight using conversion websites (such as Traditional Oven). You can even select the country of the tools, so I used north american so it would be same as yours (e.g. how many grams of all-purpose flour fit into 1 North American cup). It doesn't change the amount, it just makes it more accurate for me, because my country's tools have different volume to northern america. This is one of the biggest problems w/ recipes online. Measuring tools of different countries actually have different volumes. 1 US cup is different volume from 1 AU cup. If I used mine, it would turn out even worse and less accurate. I think the issue might be the type of flour, I would suggest recommending a different gluten flour in the recipe, as it can effect oil absorption, such as cake flour. I don't mean to be a downer on it, I just think it has so much potential to work great for everyone if they're aware of these things, as it seems many others had the problem with oiliness too. Anyway thanks for your reply though!
Sam Turnbull says
So sorry you didn't enjoy the recipe, Claire. The recipe works out perfectly for me every time and isn't oily. I can't really fix a recipe that always works for me! Maybe there is another recipe that will suit your tastes better. Sorry I can't be more help.
Claire says
Don't feel the need to apologise at all! As I said I don't mean to be a downer, but since so many other people said it turned out oily for them too there must be a consistent error that comes from the recipe, I just thought it would be helpful for others to be wary of how they make it so they don't end up wasting a bunch of ingredients. The texture of them was great so it definitely has potential 🙂 thanks for your reply!
Kaela Fabian says
do you think I could use whole wheat flour instead?
Sam Turnbull says
Whole wheat flour is heavier and makes baking denser. You can use this guide to help you substitute some of the flour, but I have never tested it myself, so I can guarantee results. Enjoy!
Christie says
These look so cute and scrumptious!! I'm in love with the Earl Grey cupcake recipe, I can't wait to try this one!
I am also looking to make my first vegan cake, but I'm having no luck finding a white cake recipe. I am assuming that kind of cake would be good topped with berries... Do you know of a yummy recipe for one?
Have a wonderful Monday. 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Christie, you could make these cupcakes into a cake. 12 cupcakes would equal one 9" layer cake. Just pour into a lightly greased cake pan, and bake. You could doulbe the recipe for 2 layer cake. It will just take a little longer to bake, but you will know when it is done when it is lightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Enjoy!
Cutie says
I made this cake and it was delicious so moist! Thank you I will be making this for my daughter birthday.. I was wondering could u use whole wheat flour?
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed it! Whole wheat flour is much denser and requires more moisture. It will definitely change the texture of the cake, so I recommend sticking to the all-purpose. You could try a whole-wheat pastry flour which may get you a better result, but I haven't tried it myself.
Faith says
I don't think these are the best cupcakes I just followed and made the cupcakes to exact ingredients and they are blah. They taste like horrible they need more flavour
Sam Turnbull says
Aww too bad you didn't love them, Faith!
Avery says
I have never left a review of a recipe I found on the internet until now. So that's something. I have been vegan for a while, and because I have a HUGE sweet tooth, I have made many, many cupcakes. I have tried dozens of recipes but this one takes the (cup)cake. This is by far the best recipe I have tried, thus living up to its name of "The Best Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes".
I followed the recipe almost exactly. My only substitutions were baker's sugar (very fine sugar as opposed to regular granulated sugar), and real vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract in the frosting. I also took the extra steps of sifting all of my dry ingredients, grinding the sea salt into a fine dust with a mortar and pestle, and letting the almond milk and ACV marinate for a while (~5 min) before adding them to the mix.
I ate the entire batch in 3 days. And I thought THAT was exercising self-restraint! Lol! Ever since then I have been craving them almost daily. I am planning on making these again the same way for my friend's birthday party, and using food coloring to dye the frosting rainbow colors! Thanks for the recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
Wow! I am so flattered that this recipe inspired you to leave your first comment! Thrilled you loved them so much, Avery! I hope you enjoy many more of my recipes 🙂
Theresa Stanley says
I absolutely love this recipe! I omitted the vinegar and added lemon juice instead and also grated the lemon rind into the batter. Instead of almond milk in the frosting I added a lavender infused blueberry puree. Absolute heaven. These are the lightest, fluffiest cupcakes ever! Thank you for sharing your recipes, I'm never disappointed!
Sam Turnbull says
Woah! Lavender infused blueberry puree!! Sounds like heaven! So happy you enjoy my recipes so much, Theresa 🙂
Vanessa says
Wow you did an amazing job with this recipe. I find them a little salty could I leave out some of the salt with out afecting texture?
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! Thank you so much! Absolutely. Salt to taste. 😀
Vanessa says
Also have you made them chocolate? I am making the Vanilla ones today for easter but will
Like to make chocolate also. Thanks
Sam Turnbull says
Sure, you can make The Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Cake into cupcakes. Enjoy!
Pragya Gupta says
Loved the cupcakes and super simple recipe as well....came out a little dense for my liking, will try adding a 1/4 tbsp baking powder next time. Quick question, i mixed the vinegar and the milk first, and it curdled, is that OK or not?
Thank you
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you liked them! They are very light fluffy cakes, so it is possible that you might have overmixed them which would make them denser. The milk curdling is fine, you're basically just making a buttermilk, but for best results, make sure to mix all the wet ingredients together in one bowl, no need to mix them separately. Enjoy!
Mikie says
OMG! Im an 11 vegan baker and these cupcakes work PERFECTLY! Thnx so much! Also I used the recipe to make a cake and it was great that works too right?
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo! So happy you enjoyed them, and yep! Cake works too 🙂
Georgina Sharp says
Oh these sound delicious & id really like to give them a try!
I'm in the UK & the cup measurements are seriously confusing to me! How do I convert to grams and millilitres?
Many thanks
Sam Turnbull says
Haha, no problem. Grams won't really work since cups are all volume (not weight), but here is a chart that should help you convert everything to millimeters. Hope that helps! 🙂
Georgina Sharp says
Thank you for the reply.
At the risk of sounding really stupid, do you guys literally use any cup that you have or is there a specific type?
It's something I have never quite understood haha
Sam Turnbull says
Haha, I think that it's probably where the measurements originated from, but no, they are specific measurements that look like this. I know some other UK fans have bought a set of US cups and spoons measurements to make cooking from blogs a little easier. I think you can order them online if that interests you.
Georgina Sharp says
They would make things a whole lot easier! I will definitely order some online
Thanks for your help!
Sam Turnbull says
Anytime 🙂
Sapna Shah says
This is actually the easiest and best cupcake recipe I've come across, and its vegan! Thank you so much!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha yes it is!! So happy you loved it 🙂
Lasma Lusina says
Thank you for the wonderful recipe! Made today 3 batches for daughter's birthday. For the first one I followed the recipe bit the end result wasn't perfect. I used sunflower oil and it didn't taste well and baking soda could be felt in the cupcakes. Then I switched the oil for coconut oil and added lemon juice instead of ACV and the final result was awesome. Had this wonderful vanilla coconut flavour and aroma! They were light and soft! Will try this as a cake on Saturday. Hope all goes well!
So I would say it does matter a lot what kinda ingredients you use, results will vary greatly from it. Especially in vegan baking.
Sam Turnbull says
So glad they worked out for you! 🙂
Sarah says
Did you measure the coconut oil before or after melting it?
Miako says
WOWzers, these are THE best!! YUM YUM.
If I double the recipe, how long do I bake for? Twice the amount of time? (new "baker")
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you love them! If you double the recipe and make twice the amount of cupcakes, you bake them for the same amount of time. Enjoy!
Nothing says
I loves them! Very sweet and perfectly salty, I will probably use less oil next time because they turned out a bit greasy
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoy them!
Sidney says
These did not work out for me but I did change the milk to water so maybe that's the issue. They turned out greasy and wouldn't rise and the inside stayed raw looking/feeling. I was careful only to mix until lumps were gone, and both dry/wet ingredients were thoroughly mixed prior to being added together.
They tasted very strongly of vinegar so perhaps raw apple cider vinegar is not a good thing to use? It said apple cider or white vinegar, so I assumed that meant apple cider vinegar or white vinegar and not actual apple cider.
Had to toss the entire bunch of greasy vinegar vanilla bites.
Could using water instead of milk have made that big of a difference or was it the raw apple cider vinegar? I assumed it wouldn't since most of what's in almond milk actually is just water.
Sam Turnbull says
Oh no! It sound like something went horribly awry here. The water may have been the issue, it also sounds like they were undercooked or possibly measured an ingredient wrong... difficult to tell if I am not in the kitchen with you! These cupcakes always work out perfectly every time I have made them (which is many times). So if you ever try them again, I hope they work out better for you next time!
Katie says
Hello. I'd like to try to make these for vegan friends of mine, but I have a nut allergy and I'd like to be anllergylmond baking to eat them too 😉 Will soya milk work instead of almond milk? Thanks!
Katie says
Sorry, autoincorrect did something weird to my comment! That was meant to say that I'd like to be able to try them too 😉
Sam Turnbull says
Absolutely! I bake with soy milk all the time 🙂
Katie says
Great, thank you 🙂
Isabella says
Is it possible to make this into a cake?
Sam Turnbull says
Yep! Just bake it for longer, 35 to 40 minutes I would say. 🙂
Danie says
Hi! I just tried this recipe and the flavor and texture is amazing. I did run into a small problem though... the cake was very crumbly. Once you removed the wrapper to eat it the cake fell apart making it difficult to eat. I live in a very humid environment and am wondering if reducing the amount of oil help with this? I'm not sure how to fix this, and really want to use this recipe to make my friends daughters birthday cupcakes. Any advise/ help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Danie,
So happy you loved the cake so much 🙂
I think your best option would be to buy parchment cupcake liners. These won't stick to the cake so when you remove the wrapper it should hold together just fine. Hope that helps!
Danie says
Shoot. That won't work for me as I don't live in the US and Amazon only ships specific items here. Any other thoughts?
Sam Turnbull says
My grocery store carries the parchment liners, but if yours doesn't a kitchen supply store might. You could also try cutting squares of parchment and just shoving them in the cupcake pan.
Danie says
**Update** I Just pulled these out of the refrigerator this morning, let them get to room temp, and then peeled off the wrapper... Perfections! No crumbles!
Sam Turnbull says
Oh yay!! Who knew? Great tip!
Sabra says
This recipe doubled beautifully ❤
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! Happy to hear 🙂
CR Staple says
Oh my goodness, these cakes are AWESOME!!
I made them for my friends sons birthday. They were on holiday here and I wanted to do a little something for him but was worried as he is a vegan. I trolled through the Internet looking for a good recipe that had great reviews and found this one. It lived up to and even exceeded the rave reviews. The non vegans enjoyed it as much as her son. Pure awesome-ness! What a hit!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!! So happy you found this recipe and it was a hit, not only with the vegan, but for everyone. Maybe you will be inspired try more vegan recipes now 🙂
Lauren says
I made these for a baby shower and they turned out perfectly! The icing split but that was my fault. There were lumps of vegetable shortening in the icing so I popped the bowl in the warm oven to try and melt it. Think that's why it split! But still tasted fine! Just wondering how long they last for iced in a airtight container? Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed them Lauren, and too bad the icing split. Yeah, an oven for the icing it a no go. Next time if it's lumpy use a mixer to blend. If you don't have a mixer an immersion blender works well too. To keep the cupcakes, I would keep them covered at room temperature. They should last a few days, but will be the softest and fluffiest on day one. Alternatively, cupcakes and frosting can be frozen separately. Thaw and then frost. Hope that helps!
Lauren says
Oh I did use a beater to try and get the lumps out! Nothing worked. I was in a hurry so that's why I popped it in the cooling oven. Next time I'll beat the shortening and vegan spread first before adding the other ingredients! Had the last cupcake last night (4 days later) and it was still tasty! Thanks for replying xx
Sam Turnbull says
No problem! So happy you enjoyed them 🙂
Sabra says
These turned out amazing. Very yummy and super easy to make. I added fresh blueberries also. I didn't make the frosting for them as I didn't have any of the ingredients on hand.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you loved them Sabra. Mmmmmm blueberries 🙂
Emily says
Well I am sad to say that this recipe did not work out for me at all. First, I have to say that I am not vegan, so I guess I didn't really know what to expect. Second, I live at about 8000 feet elevation, so that may have had some effect on the outcome of the finished product.
I made this recipe twice, back to back. The first time I followed the directions exactly. They sunk in the middle and were considerably greasy, but they tasted pretty good The second time I added a little more flour, hoping to compensate for altitude, and made sure not to over mix. They still sunk, not as bad, but they didn't taste as good- they had a bitter, baking soda flavor, and they were still quite greasy.
As this was my first attempt at vegan baking I am going to chalk up my failed cupcakes to inexperience, but I don't think I'll attempt this recipe again.
Sam Turnbull says
Oh no! That's too bad. I know nothing about cooking at higher elevations so I'm not sure if that is the problem, but these cupcakes work for me every time. Not sure what to recommend! Sorry they didn't work out for you Emily!
Rachel says
When it says 1/2 cup plus what does that mean
Sam Turnbull says
You add 1/2 cup sugar and you add 1/3 cup of sugar. When writing the recipe I just found 3/4 cups of sugar was to little and 1 cup was too much, so that is the in-between measurement. Hope that helps!
Naomi says
Hi! These tasted delicious although they sank in the middle. I used earth balance vegan buttery sticks for the frosting and it was a little runny, so I'll try putting them in the fridge prior to frosting.
Both toddler and husband declared them yummy. I'll be making some for her birthday in a few weeks.
I was wondering if this would work for mini cupcakes, too. I plan on making 24 big ones and a batch of minis.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy they were declared yummy! The sinking in the middle is likely due to over-beating the batter. If you make them again make sure to mix them until just combined. They will definitely work for mini cupcakes, the cooking time will be much shorter so just keep a close eye on them. Enjoy!
PniB says
yes yes yes! I agree with every positive comment about these cupcakes. Heaven in the ease of making them, heaven in the eating of them. 🙂 Just happiness.
PniB says
I made a batch with fresh cut up strawberries in them, and honestly they were extremely delicious. I've made these twice in 2 days, and had no problems with sinking in the middle. These are the fluffiest vegan cupcakes I've ever made. Thanks.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!!! Thanks for the lovely comment, I'm so happy you loved them so much PniB! 🙂
Gabrielle says
I'm excited to try this recipe but I was wondering if you could use gluten free flour? My sister is vegan and she also has a gluten allergy and it would be awesome to make them and surprise her for her birthday. Will it work?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Gabrielle,
Gluten free baking is very different than regular baking. I know there are some gluten free all-purpose flour mixes, but I have never tried them in this recipe so I am not sure how well they work. If you give it a try, I would recommend doing a test batch first. Hope that helps!
Yvonne says
Well these are just perfect. I made a test batch last night for my daughter's birthday on Saturday (she has a milk, egg. & almond allergy) and had only planned on making enough for the kids because I didn't expect them to be so delicious! So I threw them in the freezer & will definitely make another batch before the party. I wanted to say thanks for such a great recipe, so happy my little one doesn't have to miss out because of her allergies!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww yay!! So happy you loved them so much, and happy birthday to your daughter! I hope she loves them too 🙂
Michele says
These cupcakes turned out great!! I did mini cupcakes. I just floured my pan and shortened the cooking time to 10-13 mins.
Just not sure about the frosting. I followed the recipe exactly, however mine was very thin. Tasted great, just not thick enough. Any suggestions?
Sam Turnbull says
So happy the cupcakes turned out! For the frosting, was it a very hot day? If the vegan butter and shortening start melting it will be very thin for sure. The solution on a hot day is to chill all of the tools you are using, then keep the frosting in the fridge until ready to use. Hope that helps!
L walder says
Can I convert the flour to grams. Is there a standard for that.
Sam Turnbull says
Here is a good chart that should help you. 🙂
Sue Warner says
Last minute Birthday Cupcakes-
Didn't expect to make these last Sunday BUT i remembered this recipe and made them! OMG they were amazing... I'm vegan but my grown sons are not- as we sat around eating these wonderful light airy cupcakes, my son said " your not suppose to be eating these" haha yes I can cause they are vegan!!! They could not believe they were vegan! This recipe is one of the best cupcake recipes out there vegan or non vegan. Thanks for sharing
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! "you're not supposed to be eating these"!! Love love love it! So happy you made last minute cupcakes 😀
Lisa says
My.cupcakes collapsed directly in center on all 12 why?
Sam Turnbull says
It sounds like your oven temperature could be too high. If the oven is too hot, the cupcakes would raise too quickly and then collapse into themselves. If you think that may be the problem, you could pick up an oven thermometer to help get the temp right. Hope that helps!!
Megan says
Hi Samantha,
This recipe looks great. I'm just starting to feel my way through dairy free for my son. He's only 16months old but is already jealous his older sister can have cupcakes. I was wondering if I can freeze these cakes? I don't think a toddler would get through 12 cupcakes quickly enough. Thanks
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, if you freeze them without the frosting they should be fine. You could freeze the frosting separately, thaw, and then apply. Alternatively, you could half the recipe to make just 6 cupcakes 🙂
Amanda says
Can you use almond flour, or white whole wheat flour? I ran out of APF. Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Amanda, from my research it looks as though white whole wheat flour should work out fine, but almond flour will not work at all. Hope that helps!
Amanda says
Oh, yes! Almond Flour was an epic fail! I don't even know what came out of the oven, but it exploded onto the bottom, and crystallized on the sides I'll try whole wheat flour next time! It was a super easy recipe.
One more question, the sugar. Do you really need 1/2 and 1/3 cup sugar, or should they be split somehow?
Sam Turnbull says
Haha, oh no!!
For the sugar, yes, both. When I wrote the recipe I just didn't think that 3/4 cup was enough, but 1 cup was too much. I'm picky I know! Haha.
Angela Joseph says
Love this recipe. I made the best cupcakes ever! 😀
Before turning vegan , the cupcakes I used to make had this strong egg smell.Now, It is light, fluffy and fragrant full vanilla cupcakes. Thanks a lot for this recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's so awesome! So happy you like it so much Angela! 🙂
Carolyn says
Great recipe! I dyed my batter, and it turned out great. My advice for some of those whose didn't turn out: let the wet ingredients sit for about 5 mins before you mix with the dry (the cinegar helps "sour/thicken" the milk). also, do NOT over-mix, and check your oven. I cooked mine at 25 degrees hotter because my oven temp is off.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you love it Carolyn, and I totally agree with you, over-mixing the batter is a total killer! Better to have lumps than to mix it too much. 🙂
Svanlaug Árnadóttir says
Great recipe. These truly are the best vanilla cupcakes i have tasted. I shared a link to your recipe with my danish vegan community on Facebook. I hope that was ok 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Aww so happy you loved them so much 🙂 Absolutely, share on Facebook as much as you like 🙂
Kelly says
Hi, Samantha! I made these cupcakes a couple weeks ago for a trial run and they didn't disappoint!! I was wondering what the conversion would be to bake the batter in a 5"-6" cake pan? I want to make a 3-4 layer cake for my daughters 1st birthday. What would be your recommendations? Double batter? Thank you:)
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Kelly,
So happy you loved them! I would say this recipe would make a one layer 9" cake, so yes, I think doubling it would get you 3 layers, maybe 4. Sounds like it's going to be gorgeous! Tag me on instagram or post a photo on my Facebook page 🙂
Kelly says
Will do! 🙂
Jean says
Hi
I have searched and searched for a decent recipe for vegan vanilla cupcakes! Yours is definitely the best I've tried.
Just one thing, I found the sponge to be a little oily!! I used pure vegetable oil. the texture was super moist, but did compact when touched. Would it alter the texture too much if I added a little less oil?
Please let me have you thoughts, the recipe is definitely worth it.
PS How do I add a photo?
Love Jean x
Sam Turnbull says
Oh yay! So happy you love the cupcakes so much! Too be honest I am not sure how much the recipe would change with a reduction of oil. I know some people replace some oil with apple sauce in baking, but I have never tried it in this recipe. If you give it a try, I would love to hear how it works for you!
You can't up load a photo on my site, but I would love to see one on my Facebook page, or if you tag me on Instagram. 😀
Diane K says
wow....I was a little concerned because these fell a little in the middle after I took them out of the oven....but omg the taste is to die for. I didn't frost them, they absolutely don't need it and I don't need the extra calories. I am so happy I found this recipe.
Sam says
Yay!! So happy you loved them Diane 🙂
Natasha says
The recipe works ! i did make a few changes: sunflower oil, soya milk and self raising flour. The cupcakes were light and fluffy. I made 10 cupcakes.
I didn't use cup measurements :
200g flour
280g sugar
150ml soya milk
85ml oil
I would advise to use a deep cupcake tray and 2 cupcake cases for support.
I'm sure i mixed the batter in less than a minute. I stopped when it appeared smooth because i did not want to overmix. I didn't use an electric whisk.
Unfortunately I forgot to add vanilla essence so it is a bit bland.
I made my own buttercream with vitalite dairy free butter and icing sugar.
live in England and my daughter recently became allergic to egg and milk. I've struggled to find recipes that worked, they're usually too dense. But this has to be the best by far! Thank you so much for posting
Sam says
So happy the recipe turned out for you Natasha 🙂
Natasha says
Oops I meant 180g of sugar
Chanel says
I used rapseed oil so im not sure if this is why they didnt turn out great they did rise they were fluffy but the smell made me think of fried eggs and the top of the cupcakes didnt look so great. i dont no what conala oil is so o just bought what i found in the shop. Can i substitute the oil for a vegan butter? Thank you
Sam says
Hmm I don't think rapeseed oil was the problem here, that should work fine. Vegan butter would be to heavy for this recipe. I really don't know where the fried egg smell came from! If you wanted to try another oil, any oil that is very light in flavour would work such as vegetable oil. Hope that helps!
Chanel says
Thank you for the reply im trying it now with Vitalite butter melted the butter to see what happens ... Lol wish me luck .. Maybe its my sences in quite sensitive to smells but other than that recipe was great
Sam says
Good luck!
Lea says
Maybe the oil was rancid. It is an awful smell and will make whatever you are making taste bad.
Sam Turnbull says
Oh yes, something was off for sure, the batter should taste and smell like regular vanilla cake batter. I eat it from the spoon 😀
Penny says
The texture turned out amazing! I didn't like the aftertaste that the vinegar left so for the second batch I used 2T lemon juice and they turned out much much better tastewise with no compromise to the texture.
Penny says
Sneaky, this doesn't allow me to rate it anything other than 5 stars. I got 9 cupcakes with the measurements provided.
Sam says
Really? There must be a glitch in the recipe software. I just tested it from my end and all appears to be working, can you tell me if you are on mobile or desktop? You should be able to pick however many stars you like!
Penny says
Hmm, I guess so. Was using my phone. Anyway, would have given it a 4 star rating =)
Sam says
Thank you 🙂
I have contacted my mobile site team about this, they told me that a few of the other sites they are managing are also experiencing this problem, so they are working on fixing it. I will let you know when the star system is running again 🙂
Sam says
Just to update you, the issue was fixed, and everything should be working fine now 🙂
Sam says
So happy you love the texture so much and were able to make them your own 🙂
Helen says
Can I use water instead of almond milk? Thanks
Sam says
I haven't tried it myself, so I can't know for sure, but I think it might be ok. If you give it a try, let us know how it turns out. 🙂
Mina says
Hi! Do you know how I would adapt this to make 2 nine inch rounds?
Sam says
Hi Mina,
Yes, one batch of this recipe would make enough for one 9" round, so I would double the recipe. It will probably take longer to bake, so I would keep an eye on it and you will be able to tel when it is cooked when a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Enjoy!
Nadya says
2nd time around and not a flop! yay!
1st time around I used brown sugar, and it wasn't as sweet. 2nd time around I am using white sugar, seems to have fixed the issue even though the 1st round wasn't bad.
1st time around I used cup measurements and only got 9 cc; 2nd time around got 12 and I used the g and ml measurements provided in the comments.
I didn't make the frosting, because in South Africa, vegan margarine is not available. If it is, not readily so. And shortening I have never even heard of.
I am not a champion baker, so I hesitate to alternate recipes, but I would love to try out some healthy alternatives to some of the ingredients. Maybe. One day.
Thanks for the recipe.
Sam says
Yay! Glad it worked out the second time for you. Enjoy!
Hayley says
Hi Nadya
You can use Wooden Spoon White Margarine or Blossom Lite. I checked the ingredients yesterday. Don't worry about shortening. I always do marg (only about 2T), icing sugar, vegan milk and vanilla. For chocolate frosting add a little cocoa.
Hayley
Sam Turnbull says
Good tip!
yup says
white sugar isn't vegan, bone char is used in the processing
Sam says
That is true of some brands, but many brands are safe for vegans. Usually you can just check on their website. One of the more common brands of sugar here in Canada is Redpath, and a visit to the Redpath FAQ page shows me that it is indeed safe for vegans.
Nadya says
In South Africa, all white sugar is vegan. And actually this is true for a large part of the world. Using bone char is a very old method as I understand it, but for some reason the US is still clinging to it and many other outdated methods in processing items.
We just need to watch out for sweets made in the US therefore, but our Oreos for instance, are vegan because ours come from the UK, or some other vegan Oreo maker 🙂
Jean says
Just to let you know, that ALL Tate and Lyle sugars are Vegan friendly 🙂
Quyen says
Not sure if I was clear on my last question, my main concern is doubling or tripling the apple cider vinegar and the baking soda? Do I triple those ingredients if I want to triple the recipe? Thanks.
Sam says
Oh just saw this. Yes, if you are going to triple the recipe, make sure you triple every ingredient exactly. 🙂
Quyen says
how should I store these cupcakes if I want to use them for the next day? Also can I triple the recipe or do I need to make each batch individually? Thanks!
Sam says
Hi Quyen,
The only concern for tripling the recipe is if your cupcake batter is left sitting around at room temperature for a long time it may fizzle out before the cupcakes are baked. I would try to keep the batches to however many you can fit in your oven at once. You can always have the wet mixture and the dry mixtures ready and waiting, just don't mix them together until you're ready to bake. To store them, I would keep them in a cool area (but not the fridge), covered with plastic wrap or something similar. Hope that helps!
Quyen says
Have you tried this recipe with adding something to it, like bananas? Is it still fluffy? How much bananas could I add to flavor it but still remain light and fluffy?
Sam says
Hi Quyen,
I haven't added bananas to this recipe, but because bananas are quite wet, I would reduce some to the liquid to make the cupcakes. That said, I haven't tried this myself, so I can't predict how it will turn out for you. Enjoy!
Alyssa McCord says
I want to make this as a cake for my daughter's birthday party Friday. So I baked up a test batch yesterday and sent the cupcakes off with my husband this morning. He called me and said that one of his co-workers said it was the best cupcake he'd ever eaten. (And I used to work in a cupcake bakery and brought in cupcakes daily!)
So...it doesn't get much better than that! 😀
Sam says
WOW!! Really!? I am so so flattered!!!! I love that. Thank you so much for sharing. I am so happy the cupcakes were such a success! 😀
Madison says
just made these - they taste delicious, but the texture turned out to be very sticky? i don't know if i did something wrong or they're supposed to be like that.
Sam says
Hmmmm... I'm not sure what could have happened. Do you live in a very humid climate? Perhaps humidity is the cause!
Franziska says
same here...they got kinda doughy. what do I need to add more of to make them more fluffy? Cause I think I got the ratio slightly wrong. had to convert the recipie into grams/ml and got conflicting information on the internet.
Sam says
Hi Franziska,
Yeah, I think switching the recipe from volume measurements to weight measurements (grams) is what didn't work too well. None of my ingredients are listed by weight, so to try and switch them to that is probably what through off the recipe. If you want to convert the entire recipe to ml, here is a handy chart. Hope that helps!
tamlyn says
I bought a Tala metal cone that measures american cups, uk cups, mls etc. Well worth buying. And when you make the cake you can weigh the ingredients after measuring them in the cone to make a note of. Makes passing the recipe to others easier 🙂
Sam says
Oh awesome idea tamlyn! I need one of those 🙂
tamlyn says
I made them today and weighed the ingredients after measuring them in american cups.
1 1/4 cup flour is 200g.
1/2 + 1/3 cups sugar is 180g sugar.
2/3 cups soya milk is 150ml.
1/3 cup oil is about 85ml.
They were yummy, rose very well. I butterflied the tops and filled the dip with strawberry jam and vanilla buttercream and topped with the cut-out cake and a strawberry and dusted with icing sugar. Victoria sponge cupcakes 🙂
Sam says
Thanks for translating the recipe tamlyn! I am sure you aren't the only one that will find that helpful. So very happy you enjoyed the cupcakes 🙂
Amanda says
My cupcakes also came out sticky. I tried used 1/2 the batter with liners and 1/2 by greasing the pan. I had a hard time getting them out of both the wrapper and the pan. When I set them on a wire rack they stuck a bit as well so I put them on parchment. Handling them for frosting was problematic because they kept sticking to my hands and coming apart. Wah wah. I know I didn't miss anything. There is a chance I may have added just a drop too much almond milk . . . That's all I can think of as far as a misstep. I baked them for 18 minutes. Perhaps I should have gone an extra minute or two? They taste good; however I'd like to try again for a not-so-sticky batch, perhaps using the lemon juice as someone else suggested.
Sam Turnbull says
Hmmm, I don't know what's going on here. My cakes are maybe slightly sticky, but definitely not sticky enough to pull apart in your hands! Are you in a very humid place? Humidity could affect the stickiness. Otherwise it could be a combo of too much liquid and undercooking slightly. The next time you try to make the cupcakes, try removing them from the pan and cooling in a place with lots of fresh air. I am also a big fan of parchment cupcake liners. I hope some of these tips help a bit. Glad you liked the taste of them 🙂
Amanda says
So . . . they only stick to the wrapper when you eat them fresh and hot out of the oven because you just can't wait to taste their deliciousness. The cupcakes that were allowed to cool came out just fine but they were still a little more fragile than the average cupcake. Yes, I do live in a more humid climate; however, Florida isn't crazy humid just yet. I will try to be more precise with the milk next time. I may have accidentally gone up to the 3/4 cup mark. I will also cook them an extra minute or two. Other people are getting cupcakes that turned out just fine so it must be something on my end. Fingers crossed!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! I love that you couldn't wait to eat them right out of the oven! I hope they turn out a less sticky for you next time 🙂
Jessica M. says
I loved this recipe! I had some issues with any alterations I made so I keep right to the recipe now. I had no success doubling it. And adding baking powder was a DISASTER for me! Embarrassingly so... I do wish mine were a little lighter (why I tried the baking powder recommendation) but I think that is more my ovens issue than the recipes. Thanks!
Sam says
So happy you enjoyed the recipe Jessica! You might want to get an oven thermometer, sometimes if the temperature of your oven is a little off it can mess with recipes, especially baking. Enjoy!
Cici Preston says
Made these yesterday! Yummy! These have great flavor and are so light and fluffy. I didnt have canola so I used sunflower oil and I also made a chocolate buttercream frosting. Delicious. This is my new go to recipe.
Sam says
Yay!! So happy you loved them Cici! Light and fluffy cupcakes are the way to go 🙂 Now I need to make a chocolate version soon...
Michele says
Hi!! I just made these and they are amazing!! The icing was perfect when I first made it but now it's melting some... It might be that my kitchen is warmer because of the oven? Should I just wait it out and see if it hardens on the cupcakes?
Sam says
Yay! So happy you enjoyed them.
Yes, your kitchen may be just a little warm. You could pop the icing in the fridge for a bit to let it firm up, and I would store the cupcakes in a cool area of your home. So happy you love the cupcakes Michele 😀
Claire says
The wedding cake turned out perfect!! Thanks for the receipe!
Sam says
Oh amazing!! I wanna see pictures 🙂
Melina says
Okay so I made a second batch and they were unfortunately just the same as the first ones . The taste is good, but they don't rise, they sink in the middle, they look very oily, are not fluffy at all, and they stick to the liners. This time I used white vinegar and I added half a teaspoon of baking soda. I am kind of sad right now lol.. the only thing that i can think of that would be logical would be that my baking soda is old, but it expires on 2017!
I would really appreciate any thoughts or tips on what could've gone wrong. Thanks!
Sam says
Hi Melissa,
that's such a bummer that this recipe didn't work for you! I have made these cupcakes numerous times and they always work out for me, and I know other people have tried them with success too. I found this article, on why your cupcakes might have sank in the middle. Do you think it could be any of these reasons? http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2007/01/how-to-keep-cupcakes-from-collapsing-in.html
Hope that helps!
Daxel says
The same thing happened to me. 35 minutes in the oven and they *still* looked oily on top/bubbly under the surface and were flat in the centre 🙁 I'm kind of disappointed as the recipe seemed to work for everyone else. I used rice milk and vegetable oil, as those were what I had. I feel like that shouldn't have made a difference, but perhaps that was the problem?
Sam says
Oh no! That's such a bummer. I agree that the rice milk and vegetable oil shouldn't have made much of a difference. I am not sure what the problem is here. Do you have an oven thermometer? Sometimes ovens can be quite off... Just a thought
Nicole says
This is my go to recipe for vegan vanilla cake / cupcakes! Tastes amazing, but every time I've made them I add 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder as well because I love how fluffy it makes them. Maybe that could help you!
Sam says
Thanks for the tip Nicole! 🙂
Britni says
I made the following mods and it came out really fluffy!
I combined the ACV and almond milk first int heir own bowl and let them curdle a while.
To the dry ingredients I added a heaping 1/4 tbsp baking powder.
When combining i used a beater to fluff up the batter.
Sam says
Glad you enjoyed some fluffy cupcakes!! 🙂
Melina says
I don't know what went wrong. The cupcakes didn't rise much and they sunk in the middle. Also, they were super oily and the texture was just awful. The taste was pretty good, though. I used apple cider vinegar and sunflower oil (we can't get canola oil in my country), and I did open the oven door one time while they were baking, so maybe that's what ruined them? They where nothing like in your picture. I'll make them again and tell you if they come out right this time. I've got hope for this recipe!
Sara Morrison says
I seriously cannot believe these are vegan, and I made them myself! These cupcakes absolutely have the best texture and taste of any vegan cake I've ever made (and I've made quite a few). I used coconut sugar in mine (I don't eat refined sugar) and added in some pomegranate seeds for an extra treat and they came out perfectly! I will definitely be making these again soon.
Sam says
Yay!! So happy you love the texture Sara, that's my favourite part too! Thank you for the lovely review! 😀
Quyen says
Hi Sara, for the coconut sugar substitute, Did you just use the same measurements? Thanks!
Sam says
Incase Sara doesn't get back to you, generally you can substitute coconut sugar 1 to 1 for white sugar, so yes, use the same measurement. Check out this article about baking with coconut sugar. Hope that helps!
Claire says
Can you also use this recipe for a cake---like a 4 tier naked wedding cake? Just increase the recipe? Will the texture hold up?
Sam says
Hi Claire,
Some people have told me they made this into a cake with success, so I don't see why not. The cake is very light and fluffy, so I am not sure how well it would stack. (Denser cakes tend to be better for stacking high). I think they cake would take longer to cook all the way through than the cupcakes, so be sure to check that a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean before taking it out of the oven. I would definitely give this a test before hand if you plan on using it for a wedding cake.
If you do, let us know how it turns out!
Best,
Sam
Cinnamon says
Highly recommended! I was looking for a vegan alternative because I have no eggs! I know vegan can be delicious so I made these. They're great! I just put the whole cup of sugar as opposed to the 5/6c. I added a lot more vanilla (I taste my batter and go from there) . I filled my liners 2/3 full because it's a more liquid batter and I wanted to have the mound on top.
Sam says
So happy you loved them and that you know vegan cupcakes can be delicious!
Annie G says
Hi,
I'm not sure why you ask for ½ Cup plus ⅓ Cup White Sugar if we mix everithing at the same time.
Sam says
Hi Annie,
Because I felt there was no better way for me to explain the measurement. 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup equals 5/6 cup. I don't think most people have that 5/6 measuring cup, so I was trying to make it simpler.
Annie G says
Ok thanks!
I will bake those in a minute 🙂
Sam says
EnjoY! 🙂
kimbelina says
I made these cupcakes yesterday for my son's Cub Scout pack and they were a hit. Thanks so much for such a great recipe. https://flic.kr/p/tsxg3K
Sam says
Oh look how cute they are!!!!! Thanks for sharing the picture and so happy they were a hit 😀
Sarah says
I Googled "vegan vanilla cupcake recipe," and this was the top result -- congrats on that, by the way! I used cane sugar for white sugar, and I mixed in the white vinegar with the unsweetened almond milk and let that mixture sit for a couple minutes before adding the other liquids. I also added some blue gel food coloring to the cupcakes' centers before baking them (these were for a baby shower) and used homemade vegan chocolate buttercream frosting. I was only able to make 8 or 9 cupcakes for each of my 2 batches; perhaps I put too much batter into my liners. My 1st batch had slightly crispy edges (nothing that good frosting couldn't save), so I pulled my 2nd batch out sooner. The party guests, who were mostly omnivores, devoured the cupcakes without knowing they were vegan, and I received rave reviews! My vegan friend wanted a copy of the recipe, so I'm glad to have her stamp of approval. I'm definitely curious to try more of your recipes for myself!
Sam says
Hi Sarah,
So happy you loved the recipe and that everyone at the baby shower devoured them! Haha.
Your cupcakes sound so cute, I wish I could have seen a picture!
😀
Anonymous says
I would love to the your favourite person of the day 🙂
I've never made vegan vanilla cupcakes but I've been searching for a recipe to use for my wedding cupcakes. I have a dairy allergy so I need something yummy for me and my hubby to be 🙂
I'm making cupcakes in a jar as we are travelling an hour out of town to get married and I thought what a great idea to dress up the jar with a pretty sticker on the top and ribbon in our matching colours.
This recipe sounds delicious and the frosting sounds perfect !!! I already use Earth Balance margarine and will look for the shortening as well.
I hope you'll let me post a pic of the yumminess I create.
All the best,
Anj
Sam says
Haha, you are my favourite person of the day Anj!
That sounds too cute, cupcakes in a jar, love it! Be sure to keep the cupcakes as cool as possible in your travels, they do hold up in heat pretty well, but just in case.
Absolutley, please share pics! You can post them on my Facebook page.
Hope you have a fabulous wedding. 😀
Nicoletta @sugarlovespices says
Hi Sam, I'm Nicoletta, the one half of sugarlovespices. Your site is beautiful and your cupcakes are amazing. Although we are not vegan, we cook vegan meals sometimes and I attended a vegan baking course becuse I realy like baking vegan desserts. I am going to try these vanilla cupcakes for sure and I'll keep coming in!
Sam says
Thank you so much Nicoletta! Vegan baking is awesome! I hope you enjoy the cupcakes! 😀
Erin says
No baking powder?
Sam says
Nope!
Anonymous says
Instead of canola oil could I use vegetable or rice bran?
Sam says
Absolutely! Any light oil should work just fine.
Erin says
How do you scoop/measure your flour? I do the whisk/scoop/level method developed by Fran Costigan and it always results in a 4.5 ounce cup of flour which is on the lighter side? When you simply scoop it from the flour bag or container it compacts the flour and results in a heavier cup of flour. There is also the spoon/level method. Thanks! Gonna give these a try but am hoping that they don't turn out gummy or too wet which is why I asking about how you measure your flour. Sorry for all the questions. Thanks in advance
Sam says
Hi Erin,
No problem! You can always do a 1/2 batch so you are committing to the whole thing, just to test it out. I just dunk the measuring cup into the flour bag and use my finger to scrape off the top. I'm a fan of keeping it simple! 🙂
Erin says
Can you provide weight measurement for dry ingredients? I'd like to make these for my daughters birthday coming up but sometimes the way one person measures flour can be different from the way another person measures, with regards to volume. Or how do you measure your flour? I'm gonna try these and maybe cut back on some of the sugar.
Sam says
Hi Erin,
I don't actually have a kitchen scale! So unfortunately no, not until I get one anyways. I just use cups like in the recipe.
I can't guarantee success with cutting the sugar as I have never tried that, but I hope they turn out well for you.
Enjoy!
Sam
Anonymous says
When I try a new recipe that uses cups, I measure it out in cups as instructed then weigh it and make a note. This was 150g flour and 180g sugar.
Sam says
Thank you for the help!
Gary says
I made these cupcakes for Easter dessert and they were a big hit. I doubled the frosting and piped it on nice and thick. I added the sugar to the wet ingredients after reading a comment above and they turned out light and fluffy. Probably wasnt necessary but that commenter freaked me out. Thank you for this delicious recipe. I can see myself making these again many times.
Sam says
Hi Gary,
So happy they turned out for you! I always worry when recipes don't work out for people, it's such a bummer. Happy Easter!
Alex MacDonald says
The extra 1/3 cup of sugar in the muffin recipe created many problems for me: the muffins collapsed while baking, because the extra sugar made the batter too thin and fragile to support their own weight as they rose. The muffins were granular in texture with crusty, sugary tops. They smelled heavenly, but were cloyingly sweet and had an unpleasant texture.
Sugar is considered a "liquid" ingredient in recipes like these, and I think 1/2 cup is plenty for a 12-muffin recipe.
I will definitely try them again, but minus the extra 1/3 cup of sugar and perhaps a pinch of gluten for added body.
Sam says
Hmmm I've never had any of those problems. Bummer that they didn't work out for you. I make these all the time and they are always light and fluffy. Sorry they didn't work out for you Alex! If you try adapting the recipe let us know how it turns out for you.
Cheers,
Sam
Summer says
Do you think coconut oil would work instead of canola?
Sam says
Hi Summer, yes I do, except it will make the cupcakes a little bit heavier and less fluffy due to the fact that coconut oil hardens at room temperature. If you are ok with that, then go for it! Enjoy!
Gigi says
hi! I was wondering if i can use 1/2 a cup of Earth balance butter instead of 1/4 earth balance butter + 1/4 earth balance shortening 🙂
Sam says
Hi Gigi,
You can, but the results will be a much softer frosting, that may melt a bit depending on the temperature. Adding the shortening helps stiffen and strengthen the frosting. If you want to go for it anyways, keep your ingredients cold. Make sure to frost the cupcakes only when they are 100% cool, and keep the cupcakes in a cool place once frosted (if you don't eat them all immediately). Enjoy!
amélie friedrich says
hi samantha! do you think it may work with spelt flour as well?
Sam says
Hi amélie,
I'm really not sure, I haven't baked with spelt much before, so it's not something I really know well. If you are looking for a gluten free alternative, I would try an all purpose flour blend.
Best,
Sam
amélie friedrich says
ok thanks!
Sydney says
I tried a regular cake recipe last night, but with substitutions The end result was a cake so bland and dense that I had to throw it away. The logical part of my brain finally clicked into thinking, maybe I should just look up a vegan recipe. All of the other ones I found said they had a "deliciously dense cake" which I didn't want, I wanted a normal, light fluffy cake. I made these after seeing the good reviews. I'll be giving them to a large group of omnivores this afternoon, for Valentine's Day.
Samantha Turnbull says
That's wonderful Sydney! Yes, I love dense cakes too, but sometimes that's just not what you are looking for, especially for a vanilla cupcake in my mind. So glad you found the recipe, I hope everyone loves them. Happy Valentine's Day!
Zooey says
What changes do you suggest if I want a chocolate cupcake?
Samantha Turnbull says
Hmm.... I haven't perfected the recipe yet, but I would try adding 1/3 cup cocoa powder to the dry, and adding 1/3 cup of non-dairy milk, or water to the wet. I'm not 100% sure they will be awesome though as I will have to work on the recipe. So no guarantees! But if you try them let me know how they work out.
JA says
Hi Samantha
Just discovered your site & baked your vanilla cupcakes. (I'm on a quest to make the ultimate vegan vanilla cake). I thought this was a good recipe but a tad too sweet for me, so I'll dial back the sugar next time. BTW do you think this recipe could be made gluten free? Didn't make the icing this go round as I wanted to perfect the cupcake before moving on. Thanks again for a solid cupcake recipe.
Samantha Turnbull says
Thank you so much JA. I think you should be able to cut back on the sugar without changing the recipe too much. I am not very experienced with gluten free cooking, but I know one of my favourite vegan chefs Chloe Coscarelli will use a gluten free all purpose flour and add 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum for a batch of cupcakes. I haven't tried this myself yet, so I don't know how good well it works out. If you try let me know how it goes.
Anonymous says
These are baking now! I'm making these for my cousin's birthday, she's not vegan but I am! 🙂 I filled each case 2/3 full, but was only able to make 9 cupcakes! I scraped the bowl as well. Perhaps my 2/3 gauge is a little off. Can't wait to see how they come out!
Samantha Turnbull says
I hope you loved the cupcakes! It could be that your cupcake pan or liners are a bit bigger than the ones I use. Either way, I am sure they will turn out great!
Drewbie says
Made these today for my wifes Thirtieth birthday. These were super easy and very tasty. I used half the oil and added applesauce to shave a few calories. Thanks for the great recipe and I am bookmarking your page! We fed them to five omnivores and they had no clue they were vegan.
Samantha Turnbull says
Haha! I love tricking omnivores. It's ridiculous to me when people think vegan baked good would taste gross... Because I know so many people that like their cupcakes to taste like egg? Don't think so! So happy you love the cupcakes and that your alterations worked too. Thanks for coming back and leaving your review Drewbie!
Drewbie says
These were just requested for our Christmas gathering at both family's houses! They really did enjoy them! I'm making 6 batches, thanks again!
Samantha Turnbull says
Oh yay! Nothing like a classic vanilla cupcake to please a crowd. You're so very welcome Drewbie. I'm glad you and your family will enjoy them this Christmas.
Jen says
Hi, any suggestions on how to make this recipe into a cake. 2 x 8" round tins. Would I need to increase the mix?
Samantha Turnbull says
Hi Jen! Hmmm this should be no problem. I have heard other people have tried this with success. One recipe for these cupcakes (12 cupcakes worth), should make 1 layer of 2"x8" cake. Make sure you fill the cake pan about half to two thirds full, but not more full than that, so it doesn't overflow in the oven. The temperature of the oven should be the same but you will probably have to cook it longer, maybe 25 minutes? Just keep an eye on it and you will know its done when a tooth pick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let me know how it turns out for you. Enjoy! 🙂
Ana says
The cupcakes turned out fantastic! So much so that I was compelled to leave a comment saying you rock! 🙂
Samantha Turnbull says
Yay!!! That really made my day, Ana! Thank you so very much. I'm really glad you loved them so much. Thank you for leaving this awesome comment!
Terese says
Loved the cupcakes. My daughter is the vegan and we made these cupcakes together. She brought them to school and they were a big hit. Thanks!!
Samantha Turnbull says
Yay!! I'm so glad to hear that Terese! Sharing the vegan love. 🙂
Rosie says
Every time I bake these cupcakes the rim around them turns out to be hard, while the rest of the cupcake is perfectly baked. Is there something that I'm doing wrong?
Samantha Turnbull says
Hmmmm... It may be that your oven runs a little hot, or is extra hot at the top. You could try moving the cupcakes to a lower rack or try reducing the temperature a bit. My cupcakes to get a bit chewy around the edges after a day or two but they should be soft and fluffy when they are fresh. Let me know if that helps!
lydia says
I was so excited when I came across this recipe! I need bday cupcakes for my little guy with egg allergies. They look great and the ingredients is easy and on hand. When I added my wet to dry there was not enough to make the batter smooth. It was more like dough. I followed exactly... any tips. The final products were flat, hole down the middle but were light and what I could salvage out of the liner was good. Can you confirm the sugar was 1/2 and 1/3 cup! Thank you! Yours look awesome!!
Samantha Turnbull says
Hi lydia. Oh no! That's such a bummer. I'm pretty sure the recipe is correct. I have followed my own recipe multiple times (yep I do that) and have heard of others successfully making these cupcakes. It's sounds like there wasn't a problem with the sugar quantity but the dry to wet ratio. Could you have perhaps forgot or miss-measured a wet ingredient? Or added too much flour? When you mix the wet and dry the batter should be soft and light. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Jess says
hey I find the apple cider vinegar flavour rather overpowering, it takes away from the vanilla flavour even when I cut back on it, is there something else that can be used instead? I imagine it's to activate the baking soda and help the muffins rise and become fluffy, would it be possible to substitute baking powder which already has an activating agent, or add cream of tartar instead?
Samantha Turnbull says
Hi Jess!
Huh. I find that the apple cider vinegar flavour cooks right out and you can't taste it all. Apple cider is usually very mild, and also has health benefits which is why I opt for it, but you could use any vinegar. Try finding one that has the least amount of flavour or try lemon juice. You're right it's about the acidity, think volcano experiment from science project days. The reaction makes the cupcakes light and fluffy.
Anonymous says
Maybe a citrus juice such as lemon, lime, or orange would give the needed acidity???? It would probably be tasty too!
Samantha Turnbull says
Yep, that should work just fine.
Eleanor says
Can you use another type of oil instead of canola? Thanks
Samantha Turnbull says
Hi Eleanor.
Sure, any type of pale flavourless oil should work just fine. Sunflower, safflower, and grape seed would be good options.
Nicole Rose says
Does the icing melt quickly?
Samantha Turnbull says
Nope not at all! It acts like normal frosting. If it was very hot it might melt, but my cupcakes hang out on the counter for a few days perfectly happy... If they last that long. Haha
Sara says
I made this and it is absolutely delicious ! It came out perfectly. This will definitely be my go to recipe !
Sarah Lang says
For vinegar, is there a specific kind? Did you use ACV? Thanks!
itdoesnttastelikechicken says
Yes, absolutely. Apple cider vinegar or white vinegar will work just fine. Just don't use balsamic...gross! Haha.
Angela says
Haha. I am currently baking with balsamic vinegar as that's the only one I have in the house 😉
It's the vinegar I use for my legendary chocolate cupcakes 😉
I shall let you know how it goes but the batter tasted great hahaha
Samantha Turnbull says
Ooo interesting! Did it colour the cupcakes at all? I wonder if you will be able to taste it. I love the idea of balsamic in chocolate cupcakes! Yum! 🙂
Samaa says
Can i make the frosting without the vegetable shortening? i can't find it anywhere
Sam Turnbull says
Yep you can use all vegan butter but it might melt easier so be sure to keep the frosting and cake in a cool place.