The ultimate guide and tutorial to how to bake and decorate your own homemade vegan wedding cake! This DIY wedding cake recipe is a step by step tutorial for how to bake, assemble, and decorate your two tier cake for any home baker!
The BEST DIY Homemade Wedding Cake (Vegan or not!)
I’m not going to lie, this is my favorite cake recipe. It’s based off of my vegan vanilla cake recipe, and will most definitely be making an appearance at my own wedding (no I’m not engaged, but a girl can dream!).
With super tender and moist vegan vanilla cake layers smeared with a decadent and rich vegan vanilla buttercream frosting and decorated with plant based floral colors and designs, this is the ultimate homemade wedding cake that will wow any crowd.
In fact, I tested this cake on my family, and no one believed me that it was vegan. I’m serious! They thought I had converted over haha!
NOPE! This vegan wedding cake is entirely dairy free, egg free, soy free, and nut free, and makes for the best celebration to any wedding day.
Plus, with this tutorial, you’ll see why making your own wedding cake is even better than buying one!
Why make your own wedding cake
Personally, I’ve been dreaming about making my own wedding cake for years now. I remember the first time I baked my own birthday cake when I was 10, in that moment, I thought “Why would anyone ever buy something when you can make it?!”
It’s sort of the theme for how I live my life I think. I really enjoy the DIY, especially a DIY wedding cake.
There are many reasons though why you should make your own as well! For one, it can be much more cost effective, which we’ll touch on in the next section.
Another, you have way more control over not only the flavors, but the guaranteed result. How many times have you heard of people trying millions of cakes, only to arrive at the wedding day, and think, “why’d I choose that?!”
What’s more, if you’re really into design and creativity, then you have complete control (can you tell I like having control over things haha!) over the design.
How much does it cost to make your own wedding cake?
According to Thumbtack, the average cost of to hire a baker to make your wedding cake is around $300, with the low end being $125, and the high end being $700. It really depends on the cost per serving, which can be calculated by multiplying the cost per slice by the number of people attending.
The cost per slice of cake depends on the baker and the intricacy of the cake, so it can range anywhere from $2.50 to $8. For our purposes, let’s take the middle: $5.25. Now, say that you’re having 75 people attending the wedding and everyone will have a slice.
75 x $5.25 = $393.75 to hire a baker to make your wedding cake.
Now, let’s go over the math for making your own (this will shock you). So if you’re using this recipe, and you’re still going to need 75 mouths to feed then you’ll need to make this a 3-tier wedding cake rather than a 2-tier one. Not a problem, simply double the bottom tier. So now we’ll just need to see how much it will cost to obtain all of the ingredients:
*keep in mind that these prices are based on the stores I use and my geographical location*
Prices are listed as what you would purchase in store, not by how much is needed for the recipe
- Flour: 5 lb bag of flour- $2.50
- Sugar: 4 lb bag of sugar- $1.89
- Baking powder + soda: $3.00 (combined)
- Unsweetened applesauce: $5.00 (2 jars x $2.50)
- Dairy Free Milk: $2.29
- Coconut oil: $9.32
- Vegan Butter: $25 (5x ~$5.00)
- Powdered Sugar: $13.83 (3 bags x $4.61)
- Vanilla Extract: $13.23
Total cost to make a homemade vegan wedding cake for 75 people: $76.06
So personally, I would save that extra $315 for the honeymoon!
How to make a vegan cake moist
Now, you’re probably wondering how the heck a vegan wedding cake will taste as good as, if not better (because we’re always going the extra mile here) than, a traditional wedding cake.
To make a vegan cake moist, it really comes down to the applesauce, vegan buttermilk, and oil.
I do actually have a vegan chocolate cake that is entirely oil-free and it’s incredibly moist.
But when combining those three ingredients together, you get a cake that will make anyone’s jaw drop.
How do you make a homemade wedding cake?
Now for the best part: making your own DIY homemade vegan wedding cake recipe!
This wedding cake is two tiers, and I recommend making the batters separately. It doesn’t matter which batter you choose to prepare first, as you’ll bake them at the same time.
I also did each tier to be two layers, but there is enough batter for three layers, You will just need to do less frosting between each layer!
How to prepare your cake pans: Personally, I like to grease each cake pan and dust it with a little flour. Alternatively, you can grease them and place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom to ensure that the cakes come out smoothly.
To make the batter:
- Whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add in the room temperature wet ingredients (applesauce, vegan buttermilk, coconut oil, vanilla extract), and gently stir the mixture until there are no more dry clumps. You can also use a cake stand mixture for this.
- Pour the batter evenly amongst the prepared cake pans, and bake. The 6″ layers will bake faster than the 8″.
- Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then carefully remove and allow the cakes to fully cool on a cooling rack before frosting.
Only prepare the frosting when you’re ready to assemble and ice your cakes!
When you’re icing, keep in mind the style that you’re going for. I love the look of naked cakes, but you can also do swirls of buttercream, a clean coating, or even different colors!
Customizing the flavors:
If you don’t want a vegan vanilla cake recipe as your wedding cake, not a problem! You can mix and match flavors.
If you wanted to do one tier as chocolate and the other as vanilla, you can swap in one tier using my vegan chocolate cake recipe.
Another option would be marbling the the chocolate batter and the vanilla batter together!
You can also add in flavor enhancers, such as rose, lavender, or even a squeeze of lemon for a fresher flavor.
How to assemble & decorate a wedding cake:
Don’t let the two tiers intimidate you. In fact, making a tiered cake is so much fun!
Assembly
When you’re ready to assemble your vegan wedding cake, start by icing both layers. Once both layers are iced, I place the top tier in the fridge to chill, while I prepare the dowels and DIY cake board.
For the dowels, I personally like using plastic straws that I have on hand. If ever a takeout place gives me plastic straws, instead of using them, I use them as cake dowels! They’re much easier to cut, and you can save them for multiple cakes.
Measure the dowel against the bottom tier and mark slightly above where the top of the cake meets the dowel. Cut where the mark is and repeat for the remaining dowels.
Place the four dowels near the middle of the cake to create a square.
I personally made my own cake board with a bit of old cardboard, but you can also purchase this. Remove the other tier from the fridge and place the tier onto the cake board.
Carefully place the cake tier on top of the first one and align it so that it’s even. Use any remaining frosting to carefully close the gap between the first and second tiers.
Decoration:
This is my favorite part because there are absolutely no rules to this! You can pipe flowers and patterns onto the vegan vanilla naked cake, as I did, or you can even paint onto the cake. For that, I recommend checking out John Kanell’s painted cake tutorial.
For piping tips, I recommend using the Wilton #70, Wilton #129, or the Wilton Open Star #2110 1M.
You can also use real flowers, as I did!
My best tip for decorating your own wedding cake is to find some inspiration on Pinterest. There are so many wonderful ideas on there!
Recommended Equipment:
(This section contains some affiliate links. This means that any purchase you make, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you! Thank you so much for supporting The Banana Diaries!).
As a final note, let’s round up some of my recommended equipment pieces for making your very own DIY homemade wedding cake:
- 6″ cake pans, 8″ cake pans, and 10″ cake pans (10″ if you’re doing a 3 tier!)
- Large mixing bowl
- Turn Table cake stand for icing
- Cake stand or cake plate
- Bench scraper and icing knife
- Piping tips (see decorating section for recommendations above)
- Vegan food coloring (turmeric powder, beet powder, matcha powder, etc)
- Cake dowels and cake board
I hope you love this homemade vegan wedding cake recipe as much as I do! If you make it, of course I would love love love to read about it in the comments, but also send me a picture of the cake please!!!
You can do so by tagging me on Instagram or Pinterest, or sending me a DM or email 🙂
Nothing would make me happier than seeing you enjoy the cake!
Happy wedding cake baking, and congrats if you’re getting married!!!
More vegan cake recipes you’ll love
The Best Vegan Vanilla Cake Recipe
Super Moist Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ultra Rich Paleo Vegan Chocolate Cake
The Best Vegan Harry Potter Cake
Flourless Vegan Chocolate Cake
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The ultimate guide and tutorial to how to bake and decorate your own homemade vegan wedding cake! This DIY wedding cake recipe is a step by step tutorial for how to bake, assemble, and decorate your two tier cake for any home baker!
Ingredients
6″ Cake Layer:
- 2 cups cake flour or gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour, sifted (do NOT skip- add in 1 tsp arrowroot powder if using gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour, see Note)
- 3/4 cup sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup dairy free vegan buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar (to be mixed with coconut/almond milk)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
- 4 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
8″ Cake Layer:
- 3 1/2 cups cake flour or gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour, sifted (do NOT skip- add in 1 tsp arrowroot powder if using gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour, see Note)
- 1 1/4 cup cane sugar or coconut sugar (see Note)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp finely ground sea salt
- 1 1/2 cup unsweetened dairy free milk, room temperature
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar (to be mixed with coconut/almond milk)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract (yes, tablespoons!)
Vegan Vanilla Buttercream for the 8″ cake:
- 2 cup vegan butter, softened
- 6 cups organic powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6–8 tbsp unsweetened dairy free milk
Vegan Vanilla Buttercream for the 6″ cake:
- 1 cup vegan butter, softened
- 4 cups organic powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6–8 tbsp unsweetened dairy free milk
Instructions
- Before beginning, please read through all instructions below, as well as the post above. The post above contains vital information for baking your wedding cake that cannot fit into the recipe card.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare two 6″ cake pans and 2 8″ cake pans by greasing each pan with coconut or olive oil and sprinkling with flour. Alternatively, you can use a rounded parchment paper sheet and place onto the bottom of each pan.
- Make the vegan buttermilk: prepare each vegan buttermilk in a separate bowl. Combine the dairy free milk and the vinegar and let sit for 5-7 minutes to curdle before using.
- Making the batter: make each layer separate. It does not matter which one you make first, just make sure that they are each separate. For each layer, start by whisking together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Add in the wet ingredients (applesauce, dairy free buttermilk mixture, coconut oil, and vanilla extract). Fold the wet into the dry until there are no more clumps of dry batter. Divide the batter evenly amongst the two pans. See note if making 3 layers per tier. For the 6″ cake: bake the cakes for 22-25 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean. The top of the cakes will be lightly golden and bounce back to the touch. For the 8″ cake: bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean. The top of the cakes will be lightly golden and bounce back to the touch.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Then carefully transfer them out of the pans and onto several cooling racks to cool entirely before frosting. The cakes should be cold to the touch, or else the frosting will slip and slide off.
- When ready to frost and assemble, prepare the 8″ tier cake buttercream frosting: beat the vegan butter until creamy. Sift in the powdered sugar and continue beating until the powdered sugar is mostly combine. Add in the dairy free milk and vanilla, and continue beating until the frosting becomes fluffy.
- Frost the bottom 8″ cake layer: place one layer onto a cake stand or turn table and spoon about 1 cup of frosting onto the cake. Smear with a cake knife until the frosting hits the edges. Top with the second layer and add the remaining frosting to the cake, covering the sides as well. You can use a bench scraper to smooth the frosting. Place this layer onto a cake stand or plate and store in the fridge as you make the 6″ cake layer buttercream frosting.
- Prepare the 6″ cake layer buttercream frosting according to the directions in Step 6. Frost the 6″ cake layer according to the directions in Step 7 but saving about 1-1 1/2 cups of frosting for the decorations. Place the cake on a cake plate and into the fridge, while you remove the 8″ cake layer.
- To assemble: you’ll need 4 dowels. Measure the dowel against the bottom tier and mark slightly above where the top of the cake meets the dowel. Cut where the mark is and repeat for the 3 remaining dowels. Place the dowels in a square formation (see post) in the middle of the cake. Place the 6″ cake tier on a cake board and carefully place the top tier onto the middle of the dowels. Use a few tablespoons of the leftover buttercream to cover any gaps between the two tiers.
- To decorate: mix colors into the buttercream frosting and pipe! I recommend watching some tutorials on YouTube, specifically referencing Cake It! or The Preppy Kitchen! You can also use real flowers or even paint onto the cake!
- Store the cake in a cool place before serving! Slice and enjoy! You can store any remaining cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days!
Notes
Make sure that you add in a tsp of arrowroot powder or cornstarch if using gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour. This will give the flour more like a cake flour texture when baked- very tender and moist!
If you use coconut sugar, your cake will be slightly tanner in color- but still delicious!!
Keywords: homemade wedding cake, vegan wedding cake, vegan wedding cake recipe, how to make a wedding cake, DIY wedding cake, vegan vanilla cake recipe
I’m making this cake (only the 6” pan) for a set of newly weds today and in reading the ins it doesn’t include baking soda or powder ingredients. Is this right? TIA!
Hi Kristal! I apologize for that oversight!! Just updated now! There should be baking soda + powder in both layers! And congrats to the newly weds!!
Can I make this oil free? If so, can you please tell me how? This looks perfect for my daughter’s sweet 16!
Hi Lindsey! Aw that’s so wonderful to hear! I personally would recommend keeping the oil in, but you CAN swap in an equal amount of dairy free yogurt and it will yield a similar texture! I hope that helps, and happy birthday to your daughter! Enjoy!
Can you use almond extract? I know you’d need to use less but I’m curious if you’ve tried it. Thanks.
Hi Kristin! Absolutely! 1/2 tsp should be good! (And adjust to whether you want a really almond flavor or just a note)