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.
(click stars to vote)
The Best Vegan Vanilla Cake (or Cupcakes)
Servings: cupcakes (or a two layer 9" round cake)
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Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 ⅓ cup plant-based milk, (such as 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 plant-based 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.
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!