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
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
- 2 cups salted vegan butter, room temperature
- 4 cups organic powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2–4 tbsp unsweetened dairy free milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease three 6″ cake pans with cooking oil, and line them with parchment paper. Set aside.
- 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.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
- 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.
- 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)
- 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.
- When ready to frost the cakes, add vegan butter to a large bowl or stand mixer and cream for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, continuing the beat the mixture until it’s a thick buttercream.
- Add in vanilla and 2-4 tablespoons of coconut/almond milk and continue to beat until desired texture.
- 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