The ultimate vegan vanilla cake that’s incredibly tender, moist, and decadently sweet- yet, you’d never know it’s vegan, dairy free, gluten free, and healthier! Absolutely everyone loves this vanilla cake recipe, vegan or not. Just 9 ingredients for the perfect vegan cake for any birthday, graduation, wedding, or holiday!

slice of vegan vanilla cake with piped frosting on wooden cake stand

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Get ready for the best vegan vanilla cake recipe that you won’t even know is vegan.  This vegan vanilla cake is the ultimate vanilla cake. Period. Full stop. You don’t need another recipe. It’s great as a birthday cake, graduation cake, wedding cake, or just any anytime treat! And it’s the best vegan cake recipe I’ve ever made in general. 

It’s so incredibly fluffy and moist, you’ll be hard-pressed to determine that this cake is indeed vegan, eggless, and dairy free (and gluten free too if you need that!). Plus, this cake is incredibly soft, fluffy, “buttery,” and packed with vanilla flavor that leaves you with a far from boring healthier vegan dessert.

This is honestly the best vanilla cake I’ve ever had, vegan or not, and I just know you’ll feel the same way. That’s why this cake recipe is absolutely going into my next cookbook.

You can use classic vegan vanilla buttercream or my easy vegan chocolate buttercream (which is next level delicious on this vegan chocolate cake). The even better part is that this vegan cake is just as easy as making a cake mix from the box. But when you can have the best vanilla cake ever , why even buy the mix?!

sliced vegan vanilla cake on a wooden cake stand with slices of cake on plates next to it on marble table

Vegan vanilla cake ingredients

You’ll be shocked at how simple the ingredients to this vanilla cake are. And guess what? It’s just 9 ingredients!

For the cake:

  • All Purpose Flour or gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour: either works here! For gluten-free flour, make sure that it is 1-to-1 and not all-purpose. I recommend Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur. Before adding the flour to the bowl, just make sure to sift it!
  • Sugar: you can use coconut sugar or granulated sugar. Just keep in mind that your cakes will be slightly tanner in color when using coconut sugar. Still just as delicious!
  • Vegan Butter or Coconut Oil: I use salted vegan butter- if you’re using unsalted vegan butter or coconut oil, make sure to add in a 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. 
  • Unsweetened Applesauce: this basically acts as the “egg” that you’d typically find in other vanilla cakes. I also sometimes use dairy free yogurt (Forager Project is my favorite for this!). You can also swap in ground flax seed if desired, but the best results will be with dairy free yogurt or applesauce. Check out my whole guide for more on what vegan egg replacements to use in cakes!
  • Vegan Buttermilk (made from scratch): just simply combine your favorite coconut milk, soy milk, oat milk, or nut milk (or dairy free milk!) with a little apple cider vinegar.
  • Vanilla Extract: you’re going to need a lot of vanilla in here, but trust me, it’ll be worth it. This is the best vanilla cake recipe from scratch because of the vanilla. Literally makes it taste like you’re eating a Georgetown Cupcake vanilla cupcake (which is where I used to work in college!)! It’s amazing!
  • Leavening agents: this is just your average baking soda and baking powder! Please make sure that the baking powder hasn’t gone bad or was stored improperly. This is crucial for making sure our cakes rise properly. To make sure your baking powder is still good, check out how to test it!
vegan vanilla cake ingredients

For the vegan buttercream:

I go over how to make the ultimate vegan buttercream in the sections below. Trust me, I have people that have never tried dairy free frosting in their lives, and they’re saying it’s the best frosting they’ve ever eaten.

The trick to incredibly moist vegan cakes: vegan buttermilk

I feel like this is such an underrated trick, and I talk about it a bit in my Vegan Baking 101 guide. I also now have an entire guide on how to make vegan buttermilk that will help you choose which dairy free milk to use!

If you’ve ever had a normal vanilla cake, then you’ll know that incredibly sweet yet ever so subtle tang that comes along with a fluffy and moist cake. That’s from the buttermilk. It also helps to give rise to the cake without drying it out.

So since buttermilk isn’t vegan, we’ll have to make our own- but don’t worry it’s so simple!

All you’ll need to do is combine your chosen dairy free milk with a little apple cider vinegar. Let the mixture sit for 5-7 minutes so that it can slightly curdle. Then use it in your recipe as you would regular buttermilk!

close up of sliced vegan vanilla cake on a wooden cake stand

Overview: how to make a vegan vanilla cake

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe. 

A part of what makes this vegan cake the best vanilla cake in the history of vanilla cakes is that it’s incredibly easy to make.

I’ve now tested this cake with two different methods so please read on, and for specifics, follow the recipe card below. This is a general overview of the directionsand the full written instructions and measurements are found down below in the recipe card.

  • The first method is without a stand mixer. For years I did all of my baking without a stand mixer. I even created, tested, and retested over 110 vegan dessert recipes for my cookbook without a stand mixer so please know that anything you can do with a stand mixer, you can do without! I’m proof! You’ll simply need a large mixing bowl and a hand mixer or a whisk.
  • The second method is with a stand mixer. After I got my stand mixer, I actually much prefer this method. It’s just so easy to be hands off and allow consistent results each time!
slice of super moist vegan vanilla cake made in three layers on a white plate on a marble table

Before we begin, make sure that you’ve prepared your vegan “buttermilk.” Simply whisk or mix together the nut milk and the apple cider vinegar and set aside. It’s also a good idea to fully weigh out all of your ingredients before beginning. This makes the whole process so much smoother and helps ensures you don’t miss anything.

Then preheat the oven to 350F and grease three cake pans (you can use either 6″ or 8″ cake pans) with olive or coconut oil, along with parchment paper. Now let’s make the cake batter:

  1. Whisk together the dry ingredients: This is your flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Then set aside.
  2. Cream together the vegan butter and sugar: Your vegan butter should be lighter in color than when you started. This is a good sign that the sugar has emulsified into the butter and created air pockets that help the cake to rise. Then we’ll add in the remaining wet ingredients and making everything together.
  3. Once the wet ingredients are combined, add in the flour in increments: You’ll alternate between the vegan buttermilk and flour mixture, mixing gently or on low-medium speed until just combined.
  4. Pour the cake batter into your prepared cake pans and bake! You can use 8″ round cake pans, 6″ cake pans, or even do a 7″ if you have it 🙂 Bake until a toothpick comes out clean or by using the bounce back test.

How to make a vegan vanilla buttercream frosting

Making a vegan buttercream frosting is actually quite easy. I have a full recipe post with all of my best tips for making vegan buttercream. However, let’s go over the basics here!

You’ll need only a few ingredients: vegan butter, vanilla, a nut or coconut milk, and organic powdered sugar.

Make sure that your vegan butter is softened, basically at room temperature like you would make a normal buttercream frosting.

  1. Add the butter to a large bowl and cream it using a hand mixer.
  2. Then add in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and continue to beat until it becomes a thick buttercream.
  3. Add in the vanilla extract here, as well as any needed coconut or almond milk to make it to the desired thickness you’d like.

Then frost your beautiful healthy vegan cake!

You can leave the sides completely naked, fully frost them, or go for the slightly exposed look that I did, and you won’t even need a frosting knife! Just simply add a little bit of frosting to the knife and essentially, you’re gently “scraping” the frosting alongside the edges of your vegan vanilla cake.

How to decorate a cake:

I’ve been getting really into different pipings and designs on cakes lately, as well as learning to get that really smooth look to frosting using a cake turntable and bench scraper.

For frosting between the layers: I recommend using about 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup if you’re doing a 6″ cake, like I did. If you’re making an 8″ vegan vanilla cake, use about 3/4 cup!

However, I also love the nice swoops that a spoon creates, along with my ever favorite decoration: flowers!

For a quick tutorial on how to decorate a cake with flowers, check out Olive & Artisan’s article. You can also pipe buttercream flowers onto your cake as well!

For cake decorating, I highly recommend purchasing a cake turntable for ease of frosting. This helps both in-between and on the outsides of the cake layers.

slice of vegan vanilla cake on marble and on plates

bench scraper is also helpful as well for getting a really smooth exterior. I use a 9″ bench scraper from Wilton Cakes, as my cakes tend to be quite tall. Another great tool is an offset spatula. This is really helpful for the tops of the cakes, and getting that crisp clean edge. Aubree’s Cakery Bakery has a wonderful tutorial on how to get those really crisp edges on TikTok! And I show how I decorate this vegan vanilla cake on my Instagram here!

Any leftover frosting you can color or leave as is, and pipe onto the sides and top of your cake for fun decoration- sort of like how I did my homemade vegan wedding cake!

Vegan Cake Tips & Troubleshooting

I want to make sure that you’re getting the best vegan cake every single time, so let’s go over some common technical issues! First, I want to give a few baking tips that will help ensure you get stellar cake results every time. Then we’ll go over some specific troubleshooting FAQ’s for further help.

  • Make sure to line your cake pans and preheat the oven before beginningOnce the buttermilk combines with the baking soda and baking powder, the chemical reaction occurs that gives the vanilla cake its lift. There’s a short window of time that you have to capitalize that by getting your cakes in the oven. That’s why it’s so important that you make sure your cakes are lined and the oven is preheated before even beginning to measure out ingredients. To line the cake pans, I lightly grease them and cut a round piece of parchment paper to be placed at the base of the pan.
  • Weighing the ingredients will give you a more accurate bake than using cups: With cup measurements, some people scoop the flour rather than spoon and level. This will lead to weigh more flour than you actually need. Even spooning and leveling the flour isn’t as precise! The best bet to ensure that this vegan vanilla cake turns out just like my results each time is to use the weighted measurements given in the recipe card below!
  • Make sure your baking powder and baking soda aren’t expired: Baking powder only lasts about 6 months. To check if your baking powder and soda still work, here’s a great article on how!
  • Fully cool your cakes before making the vegan buttercream: I don’t even start the buttercream process until I know that my cakes are cool to the touch. And another note, if you’re baking just two layers and torting the cakes, please make sure that the cakes are fully cooled for that part as well!
  • Chill the cake between the crumb coat and the final layer of buttercream: This ensures that the frosting doesn’t start to buck at the sides. 
  • For clean cake slices: Be sure to check out this awesome article from King Arthur Flour on how to properly slice a cake! One thing I always make sure to do is to wipe the knife clean between each slice. 
  • Use vegan cream cheese frosting for a fun twist! I love my vanilla buttercream, but every once in a while, cream cheese frosting is really lovely.
sliced vegan vanilla cake on a wooden cake stand

Why is my vegan cake dense?

This happens for a few reasons. Sometimes, if your ingredients aren’t room temperature (i.e. something is very cold and something is very hot), it will throw off the texture in the cake and cause it to be gummy rather than fluffy and moist.

The easiest fix is: patience! Make sure that you’re allowing all of your ingredients to come to room temperature.

Another reason this can happen is if you don’t sift your flour. Make sure that you do this! Otherwise, you’ll end up with a gummy mess!

Why did my cake collapse?

It’s natural for cakes to slightly sink after baking, but if it completely collapsed in the middle, this could be due to a few reasons. Sometimes, our ovens aren’t actually the temperature that they say they are, and that can yield an unevenly baked cake.

Another reason could be because the dry ingredients weren’t properly whisked together or that the batter was under-mixed in general.

Be sure to read through all of the directions before beginning!

slice of vanilla cake with a fork through it

Can I use this vanilla cake for cupcakes?

We actually have an entire vegan vanilla cupcake recipe that’s based off of this cake recipe!

Can I bake this cake recipe as a sheet cake?

We now have an entirely vegan vanilla sheet cake recipe based off of this one 🙂 It will give you all of the proper measurements and baking times! I also have a small 6″ vanilla cake recipe based off of this if you just want a small one layer cake 🙂

Can I make this vegan cake ahead of time?

Yes! I recommend making the vanilla cake part up to a day ahead and storing it wrapped in an airtight container or with plastic wrap at room temperature.

Chelsweets also has a great article on how to freeze cake layers and use them at a later date. Definitely check that article out!.

Then when you’re ready to make finish the cake, prepare the frosting and serve.

Storage tips:

Any leftovers you have can be sliced and then stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Additionally, you can freeze the cake, and let it thaw in the fridge for 4 hours when you’re ready to enjoy again!

You can also leave this cake at room temperature for up to a day if covered and stored in an airtight container.

sliced vegan vanilla cake on wooden cake stand with piping tip next to it

I just know you’re going to love this homemade vanilla cake recipe as much as I do. I mean, it really is the best vanilla cake recipe in the world!

Say goodbye to cake mixes, because you’ll never go back to store-bought with a recipe this good and this easy 😉

I hope you absolutely love this vegan vanilla cake! It’s truly one of my family’s favorites and is always requested for a birthday or celebration (but you can just make a cake for the heck of it!).

Let me know how your vegan vanilla cake went by leaving a comment down below, as well as a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ so that others may find this recipe!

I look forward to seeing how you decorate them on Instagram and Pinterest!

Happy Baking, my loves!

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

Vegan vanilla cake Pinterest pin

Watch how to make a vegan vanilla cake:

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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slice of vegan vanilla cake with piped frosting on wooden cake stand

Best Ever Vegan Vanilla Cake The Best Vegan Vanilla Cake (Keeps Moist for 5 Days!)

  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 35
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 18 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

The ultimate vegan vanilla cake that’s incredibly fluffy, moist, and decadently sweet- yet, you’d never know it’s vegan, dairy free, gluten free, and healthier! Just 9 ingredients for the perfect vegan cake for any birthday, graduation, wedding, or holiday!


Ingredients

Units Scale

Vegan Vanilla Cake:

  • 1 1/4 cup (300 mL) vegan buttermilk
  • 3 2/3 cup (450 g) all-purpose flour (or gluten free 1:1 baking flour + 1 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 3/4 cup (350 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (220 g) salted vegan butter (I recommend Miyoko’s or Flora Plant butter), room temperature
  • 1 cup (240 g) unsweetened applesauce or dairy free yogurt, room temperature*
  • 2 tbsp vanilla extract (yes, 2 tablespoons!!)
  • Optional (but recommended): 1/4 tsp vanilla powder

Vegan Vanilla Buttercream:

  • 2 cups salted vegan butter, room temperature
  • 4 cups organic powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 24 tbsp unsweetened dairy free milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease three 6″ cake pans with cooking oil, and line them with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. Prepare the vegan buttermilk. Combine the dairy free milk with the apple cider vinegar, and set aside to sit for 5-6 minutes. You can weigh and measure the remaining ingredients during this time. 
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
  4. Make the batter: In a stand mixer with paddle attachment or a large bowl with hand mixer, cream together the vegan butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides as needed. Then add in the applesauce and vanilla extract. Mix again on medium speed until combined, scraping down the sides and at the bottom of the bowl as needed. Add in about half of the dry mixture, along with half of the vegan buttermilk, and mix on medium speed until just combined. Add in the remaining dry mixture and vegan buttermilk, and mix on medium speed until there are just no more dry streaks. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl as well as the sides.
  5. Divide the batter between the three cake pans evenly, and bake for 35 minutes in 6″ cake pans, or until the toothpick comes out clean. (for three 8″ cake pans, bake for 27-30)
  6. Remove from the oven and allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cooled completely (there is absolutely no warmth to the touch!), then you can prepare your buttercream.

Vegan Vanilla Buttercream:

  1. When ready to frost the cakes, add vegan butter to a large bowl or stand mixer and cream for 2-3 minutes.
  2. Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, continuing the beat the mixture until it’s a thick buttercream.
  3. Add in vanilla and 2-4 tablespoons of coconut/almond milk and continue to beat until desired texture.
  4. Frost cake and enjoy! 

Notes

Make sure that you add in a tablespoon of arrowroot powder or cornstarch if using gluten free 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!!

Applesauce substitute: If you’re having a hard time finding applesauce in stores, you can also swap in your favorite dairy free unsweetened yogurt instead. You’ll use an equal amount. Please make sure that the yogurt has come to room temperature.

Be sure to read the full post for all of my tips and suggestions!

For a vegan vanilla cake made with just oat flour, check out my vegan gluten free vanilla cake recipe

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slices
  • Calories: 394
  • Sugar: 52.7 g
  • Sodium: 148.1 mg
  • Fat: 8.2 g
  • Saturated Fat: 2.2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 77.9 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 3.7 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

Keywords: vegan vanilla cake, gluten free vegan vanilla cake, healthy vegan cake, healthy vanilla cake, best ever vanilla cake