Description
The only vanilla vegan gluten free cake recipe you’ll ever need! This super light and tender oat flour cake is full of sweet vanilla and baked to have the perfect crumb texture so that everyone will love this cake, vegan or not!. Topped with a super creamy dairy free buttercream, this vanilla oat flour cake is the perfect treat for all occasions!
Ingredients
Vegan Vanilla Cake:
- 3/4 cups (200 grams) unsweetened dairy free milk, room temperature
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (to be mixed with dairy free milk milk)
- 5 1/8 cups (460 grams) gluten-free rolled oats* see note for store bought oat flour measurement
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp arrowroot starch or cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated coconut sugar or regular sugar
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) salted vegan butter (I recommend Flora Plant butter), room temperature
- 3/4 cup (190 grams) unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract (yes, 2 full tablespoons!) or 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract + 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
- 2 cups (450 grams) vegan butter, softened
- 4 cups organic powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
- 2–4 tbsp unsweetened dairy free milk
- Vegan food coloring: rose powder, plant-based powders, liquid coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease three 6″ cake pans with cooking oil, and line them with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Measure out all ingredients before beginning.
- Prepare the oat flour: pulse the oats in a high speed blender or food processor until they reach a fine flour. Please see this post on how to make oat flour for all the tips and tricks.
- 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 oat flour, baking powder, arrowroot starch, 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.
- Bake the cakes: 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.
- 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 dairy free milk as needed, and continue to beat until desired texture.
- Frost cake and enjoy! Use vegan food coloring, as recommended in the post, to decorate your cakes.
Notes
If using store bought oat flour: use the weighted measurement for the oat flour. You’ll need 460 grams of oat flour, which roughly translates to 5 cups oat flour.
Refined sugar free: to make this cake refined sugar free, you can use coconut sugar in the cake and make powdered coconut sugar for the buttercream. Please not that the cakes will be caramel in color and in taste, but still delicious!
For all cake tips, please read the above blog post!
Keywords: gluten free vegan cake, vegan gluten free cake, oat flour cake, vegan vanilla cake, gluten free vanilla cake, flourless vanilla cake