The Best Vegan Vanilla Cake – Keeps Moist for 5 Days!
This is THE vegan vanilla cake that will put all vanilla cake recipes to shame. It’s incredibly soft, moist with a beautifully tight crumb and decadently sweet- yet, you’d never know it’s made entirely without eggs and dairy free. Slathered in a vanilla bean dairy free cream cheese frosting, absolutely everyone loves this vanilla cake recipe, vegan or not. It’s guaranteed to turn even the chocolate cake lovers into vanilla ones.
Reader’s Review:
The key to the best vanilla cake, vegan or not:
As someone who worked for several years in a bakery before going vegan, I’ve spent over 8 years perfecting this vegan vanilla cake to truly stand up as the best vanilla cake. And I can confidently tell you that you can now say goodbye to cake mixes, eggs, and dairy butter, because you’ll never go back to store-bought OR conventional vanilla cake again with a recipe this good and this easy.
Trust me, this cake is so good, you’ll be left thinking about it for a full day afterwards.
The breakthrough for finally figuring out the key to such a ridiculously good cake came while testing another entirely different cake in my new cookbook coming out in 2027.
I had been working on testing out the reverse creaming method with a pound cake, and I just fell to the floor with the texture it created. Soft, tender, beautifully tight crumb that was springy and bouncy and yet melted in your mouth of a punch of buttery vanilla flavor. So I thought, let’s try it on a layer cake.
Turns out, the reverse creaming method, along with very specific, key ingredients and the right ratios will yield a phenomenally gorgeous vanilla cake. And you will not believe it’s made without eggs and dairy. Like, it’s so moist and beautifully flavorful that even the chocolate cake obsessed will be begging for the recipe.
It’s so good, I’ve even used it for my friend’s wedding cake I made her!
What is the reverse creaming method?
Traditionally, we whisk wet ingredients together separately from the dry, most commonly starting with butter and sugar being creamed together. With the reverse creaming method, we’re really doing the opposite. You’ll whisk the dry together, including the sugar. Then add in the room temperature butter into the flour and sugar mixture.
What you need to make this vegan vanilla cake:
As I’ve mentioned earlier, this recipe took years to develop, so I’ve tried just about every combination of ingredients. Here’s where I landed to produce the best result for your vegan vanilla cake every single time.
For the cake:
- Cake flour: For a light, bouncy texture, this is key. I used to waffle back and forth about it because some say that cornstarch produces a dry cake. However, with the right ratio of wet ingredients (like with this cake recipe), you won’t have that problem. You can use all-purpose flour with this recipe, but you’ll need to add in cornstarch as well. The measurements are 450 grams all-purpose flour and 50 grams cornstarch.
- Sugar: A high amount of sugar is used here to really lock in moisture. So please don’t cut down the sugar quantity! It will drastically affect the level of moisture in your cake.
- Vegan Butter & Avocado Oil: With cupcakes, like my vegan vanilla cupcakes, I prefer to use just oil. The smaller volume dramatically affects the level of moisture remaining in the cupcake. But when it comes to cakes, the best combination is both butter and oil. Oil locks in more moisture than butter, and I speculate that it’s due to its liquid state of matter at room temperature. Then butter provides extra flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Unsweetened dairy free yogurt: this basically acts as the “egg” that you’d typically find in other vanilla cakes. It’s the best out of all vegan egg replacements. I’ve tested this recipe with applesauce and flaxseed as well. They yielded okay results, but dairy-free yogurt really won by a landslide. I personally use a Greek-style, as there will be more protein, which helps give the cake a stronger structure.
- LOTS of Vanilla Extract: you’re going to need a lot of vanilla in here, including vanilla bean paste, but trust me, it’ll be worth it. This is the best vanilla cake recipe from scratch because of the vanilla. It’s amazing!
Overview: step-by-step how make a perfect 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.
The method I most prefer to make this cake with is the reverse creaming method in a stand mixer (or a hand mixer), which is what I describe below and as the main instructions for the recipe card.
That being said, I really want this recipe to be accessible to all levels of bakers. So I’ve also provided a method by hand (and that does NOT use the reverse creaming method). I have used this method as well, and the results are damn good, so don’t think you’re not getting a good cake here.
The difference really is between a wow cake and a “OMG you need to sell this in a bakery” cake.
My two tricks for the silkiest frosting:
If you want that gorgeously glossy finish while also having a structurally in-tact cake that doesn’t have cake layers slipping and sliding around, then you need these tricks.
First tip: For years, I used the whisk attachment to make frosting, when I actually should have been using the cake beater attachment (the paddle). The frosting is so much smoother and glossier even just for the crumb coat.
Now for the second tip, and my favorite: You’ll start with my vegan vanilla bean cream cheese frosting as the base and assemble the cake through the crumb coating. Then place the cake in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes. The crumb coating layer will lock in moisture so no need to fret about cake layers drying out.
You’ll also still have a decent amount of frosting leftover for the final layer which is where things get different. I add in 1/4 cup (60 mL) vegan heavy cream to the remaining frosting, and mix on high-speed. This will get the heavy cream to whip up and thicken while creating a glossy finish to your frosting.
Then simply spread onto your crumb coated cake, slice and serve!
Final reminders when baking this cake:
- Make sure to line your cake pans and preheat the oven before beginning: Once 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. Simply add a 1/2 tsp of either to a small jar or glass and drop of vinegar. If it foams, it’s still good but if it doesn’t, then it’s time to change!
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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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BEST Ever Moist Vegan Vanilla Cake Recipe
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 18 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This is THE vegan vanilla cake that will put all vanilla cake recipes to shame. It’s incredibly soft, moist with a beautifully tight crumb and decadently sweet- yet, you’d never know it’s made entirely without eggs and dairy free. Slathered in a vanilla bean dairy free cream cheese frosting, absolutely everyone loves this vanilla cake recipe, vegan or not. It’s guaranteed to turn even the chocolate cake lovers into vanilla ones.
Ingredients
Vegan Vanilla Cake:
- 1 1/4 cup (300 mL) vegan buttermilk
- 4 cups (500 g) cake flour (see notes for all-purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour)
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 1/4 cups (450 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (220 g) salted vegan butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) neutral oil, such as avocado oil, olive oil, or sunflower oil
- 1 cup (240 g) dairy free yogurt, room temperature*
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract (yes, 2 tablespoons!!)
- Optional (but recommended): 1/4 tsp vanilla powder or vanilla bean paste
Frosting:
- 1 batch of either vegan vanilla cream cheese frosting (recommended) or vanilla buttercream frosting
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) cold vegan heavy cream
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease three 8″ cake pans with cooking oil, and line them with parchment paper. Set aside. For beginner bakers who want to simply whisking the ingredients together, see below for instructions.
- Prepare the vegan buttermilk: Combine the dairy free milk with the apple cider vinegar, and set aside to sit for 3-4 minutes. You can weigh and measure the remaining ingredients during this time.
- Whisk: In a large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the vegan buttermilk, dairy-free yogurt, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean paste. Set aside.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
- Mix in the butter: In a stand mixer with paddle attachment or a large bowl with hand mixer, add in the room temperature vegan butter and oil. Begin mixing on low speed, and as the butter incorporates into the flour, turn it up to medium speed. It will create a sandy texture in the flour mixture. There should be no clumps of butter left, just a wet sandy texture.
- Finish the batter: Then pour in the buttermilk/yogurt mixture. Carefully turn the stand mixer onto low speed again to slowly start to integrate the wet ingredients into the batter. Then mix on medium speed until you get a consistent and smooth batter, scraping down the sides and at the bottom of the bowl as needed. Be careful here NOT to over mix- just when you achieve the smooth or near smooth batter, stop. You want to make sure the flour is FULLY incorporated into the wet or the cake won’t bake right- the ingredients will look slightly split, which means you need to keep gently mixing until you get a consistent batter.
- Bake: Divide the batter between the three cake pans evenly, and bake for 28-30 minutes in 8″ cake pans, or until the toothpick comes out nearly clean with a few crumbs on.
- Cool: 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.
- Make the frosting. When ready to frost the cakes, follow the instructions for making the frosting of your choice.
- Crumb coat: Apply about 1/2 cup of frosting between each layer, and a thin layer of frosting on the outside of the entire cake, sealing in the crumbs. Place the cake into the fridge to chill for 20-30 minutes.
- Make the finishing frosting: While the cake is chilling, mix the vegan heavy cream on high-speed into the remaining frosting, whipping it until it’s thick, fluffy, and glossy.
- Finish the frosting: Remove the cake from the fridge, and apply the glossy frosting on top, piping as desired. Then chill before serving or slice and serve immediately!
Notes
PLEASE NOTE: This recipe does NOT work with self-raising flour (either gluten-free or plain). Please do NOT swap in self-raising flour in this recipe!
Flour alternatives: You can use all-purpose flour or gluten-free baking flour. For gluten-free, I recommend King Arthur Measure-for-Measure gluten free flour. Whatever GF mix you use, it must contain xanthan gum. For the measurements, you will use 450g (3 2/3 cup) flour with 50 g (5 tbsp) cornstarch or arrowroot starch.
Simply whisked method: Instead of creaming together the butter, we’ll melt the butter until liquid, and whisk together with the sugar, dairy free yogurt, and vanilla extract and paste. Then add in the dry ingredients, and pour in the vegan buttermilk as you gently whisk JUST until the dry ingredients are incorporated (it doesn’t have to be a super smooth batter- DONT over mix). Then proceed onto the baking step!
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.
Storage: 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.
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.
I used real dairy products as I was just looking for a cake with no eggs due to allergies. It worked out perfectly and tasted amazing!
Thank you so much for the review!! So glad it all worked out 🙂 Enjoy!!
Hi! Can you sub the applesauce/yogurt for flax seed? if so how much should i use? Thank you!!!
Hi Cat! I actually don’t recommend swapping in flaxseed here – more about why in my “vegan egg substitutes and what to use them for” post, but essentially it won’t give you the most moist cake. So sorry!
Dear Britt, do you think it’s possible to bake the batter in one cake pan and then separate it into three layers with a big knife (I only have one and a pretty tiny kitchen)? Thanks in advance!
Yes absolutely! You definitely can! Just make sure it cools fully before doing so 🙂
I didn’t have the time to wait for your reply but it turned
out pretty good :)) I baked it a bit longer though. I think for 1h but I am not sure anymore.
The only issue is that the outside gets a bit crusty, so it has to be cut a bit more carefully.
I topped it with dried raspberries.
I was so excited to make this for my husband’s birthday and YIKES! I just looked in the oven and it has spilled out of the pans all over the place. And it is falling and looks like funnel cake all over the oven. It has been in the oven for 20 min. Help!
I’m so sorry to hear this!! It sounds like you overfilled the pans- what sizes did you use, and how tall were the walls? Also did you measure the baking powder properly? I’m so sorry that’s happened!
This is 100% the BEST vegan vanilla cake I’ve made +eaten. And I trial and bake A LOT of cakes bc it’s my favorite dessert and we vegans don’t have many good choices for cake if we’re not making it ourselves. I was short on ingredients so I used all coconut sugar (which made a beautiful caramelly color) and did 1/2+1/2 apple sauce and cocojune plain yogurt. It’s moist , tender, has a perfect crumb and is delicious to boot. I frosted it with plain miyokos cream cheese frosting. Thank you for this recipe! It’s the first I’m trying of yours, and it definitely won’t be the last !
Is this a good recipe for vegan “tres leches”?
Yes it definitely has the structure! Technically a tres leches should be a bit more airy (less oil) but it will still work!
Can I substitute honey for the sugar?
Hi Stasi! Unfortunately, a liquid sweetener will not work in this cake based on ratios. I’ve tested with maple syrup and it did not work. I’m sorry!
Hello
I am about to attempt this cake for the first time (it needs to be gluten free and vegan), so fingers crossed! Please could you tell me what the temperature of the oven should be for a fan oven?
Thank you Jen
Hi Jen! Oh wonderful! 350F is perfect 🙂
Hello again!
I have another quick question about yor lovely recipe please. I am making this cake for a wedding and was wondering whether I could add a layer of raspberry compote, along with the frosting inside. I am looking to make this a couple of days ahead, would that work do you think?
Thank you so much
Oh of course! As long as there’s a layer of frosting between the cake and the compote, and the cake is well insulted with frosting when stored in the fridge, it will be perfect!
looks great. my vegans have their own chickens so eat eggs, how many in this recipe could I use please?
Thank you, Julie! Unfortunately, this recipe isn’t designed for eggs. I would try a more conventional recipe that uses eggs if you want to use eggs. I hope you understand!
can i replace butter for oil? in my country is hard to find vegan butter
Hi Loreto! You can use Coconut Oil instead, just make sure to add in a 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. 🙂
H Britt! This cake looks incredible, and i’m going to attempt it this weekend for my nephew’s 2nd birthday!
Would using two 9″ round pans be okay or would they turn out a little flat?
I’m from NZ so don’t have access to Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 (cry), but we have other GF flour blends that sound *similar* in ingredients, so i’m really hoping it turns out okay!
Hi Renee! I think 9″ pans would definitely make them a little flat, but totally your choice of course! I hope the flour works! Definitely keep us posted on how it turns out and Happy Birthday to your nephew! 🙂
What type of butter do you recommend for this recipe? A block butter or a spread/tubbed butter?
Hi Cleo! I recommend using a block! Miyoko’s is my favorite, but Plant Crock also has a really nice stick of vegan butter!
This really is the absolute best vanilla cake I’ve ever eaten and made! Thank you so much for sharing ❤️❤️❤️
Omgsh I’m so so happy to hear it! Thank YOU for being here! 🙂
Hey! I want to make this cake for my birthday but just as a sheet cake. Is that possible? Let me know where I should look for directions. And is it ok if I use coconut sugar instead of regular? Or do you have another sugar alternative? We have a diabetic in the family. Can’t wait and thank you 🙏🏼
Hi Hannah! Oh yes you can actually make this recipe as my vegan vanilla sheet cake! Definitely can use coconut sugar instead of regular, the color will just be more tan in color. Allulose and other zero-calorie “sweeteners” tend to prevent the cake from rising. I hope that helps!
Enjoyed making this cake recipe. Loved how the cake came out. Definitely worth making.
Hi Alettie! SO happy to hear this and thanks so much for the positive feedback!
So excited to try this! If I wanted to make this a 2-layer cake in 10 inch pans how should I adjust the recipe? Thank you!
Hi Sophia! Oh you definitely could! The baking time will be much shorter, about 24-25 min, but check with the oven light at the 20 minute mark to see how they’re baking. Also, keep in mind the layers will be a bit thinner, but still delicious!
First time following this recipe, and I definitely will be making again! So moist and fluffy, and very similar to how I remember these bakery style muffins tasting! I am from the UK, so I used plain flour. I also had some trouble working out if US baking powder is the same as ours – after some time spent googling, I ended up using 15g of UK baking powder and this worked the trick. I used soy milk for the buttermilk, and olive oil for the neutral oil. These quantities made 10 big muffins for me.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! My non-vegan family/friends also very much approve.
I was wondering would the recipe change if I made this a Bundt cake ?
Hi Amira! The recipe itself shouldn’t change but the bake time will! I would check with the oven light how it’s doing around the 45 minute mark, and then go from there! 🙂
Was wondering how many cupcakes I could get out of a single recipe
12 cupcakes!
I want to try this recipe! In the past when I have tried vegan layer cakes, they are way too tender to frost and decorate. Could be something I’m doing wrong or my substitutions. They’ve been falling apart on me with the least pressure. Does this recipe yield a cake that is firm enough to decorate as a layer cake?
Oh I have used this recipe to make several of my friends’ 3-4 tiered wedding cakes, so it’s definitely sturdy! Your problem might be in the firmness of your frosting. Make sure your room temperature butter is truly room temp (65F) and not warmer, or your frosting won’t hold up your cake layers!
Hi Britt
I made this today and whilst it was beautiful it was a bit dense.
I used gluten free self raising flour and didn’t add the soda or baking powder as SR had that in already. Do you think this would’ve been why? I baked in 2 8” pans and for 30 mins on 180
Thanks
Rachel
Hi Rachel! I think it was definitely the self raising flour! I personally recommend KA measure for measure if you’re going gf and adding in the baking powder and soda still per the recipe. That’s the flour I’ve found that gives the best results here while also being GF!
Hi. I have to make a wedding cake for my sister – and have tried oil based vegan cake and they really don’t stand up well to 4 layers of cake on top of each other (with buttercream and fondant). Will this work any better do you know? Do you have any other recipes that give a firm /sturdy but still moist finish? Thanks so much
This is a great recipe for layering, even as a 4 layer cake- it stands up just as any vanilla cake made with eggs does!
Hi, Britt! I just had to come on here and say that this cake recipe has been nothing short of magical!
I myself am not vegan, but I like to bake for my office and make sure everyone is included. We have a company member who is vegan and also doesn’t eat gluten, so sometimes I have to get creative to accommodate their dietary restrictions. This cake comes out perfect every time!
One fun note is that I like to flavor my milk (I usually use soy) by steeping my favorite tea bags in it on the stove then letting it cool to then use in my cake layers and buttercream. I’ve made both Earl Grey and Masala Chai flavored cakes and they are truly lovely.
A million thanks for this recipe!
Hi Emma! That sounds AMAZING and oh-so-lovely! What a wonderful idea to flavor your milk! Thank you so much for sharing and for being a part of the community!