One Bowl EASY Vegan Birthday Cake (Vegan Yellow Cake!)

This is the ultimate vegan birthday cake recipe!! Made with a secretly eggless yellow cake that’s soft and tender, and topped with a 2-ingredient dairy free chocolate ganache, this vegan birthday cake tastes just like the classic yellow cake mix!

If you’re a fan of my vegan funfetti cake (vegan confetti cake), vegan chocolate cake, or vegan vanilla cake, then you’re going to be obsessed with this new vegan birthday cake. It tastes just like classic yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Absolutely decadent, rich, and delicious!

While I have tons of fun vegan cake recipes that work wonderfully for birthday cake (including a few in my cookbook!), this one is a classic.

What is the difference between yellow cake, white cake, and vanilla cake?

Today, we’re making a vegan birthday cake, aka a vegan yellow cake. But you might be wondering, what the difference between a yellow cake, a white cake, and a vanilla cake. Aren’t they all the same? Just a vanilla cake?

They’re actually slightly different per cake recipe, from ingredients to taste. Let’s start with vanilla cake. Typically, this cake is full of vanilla flavor and is light and tender to the crumb. Sometimes, a traditional vanilla cake will contain an egg yolk, but the key is the amount of vanilla. My vegan vanilla cake uses 2 full tablespoons of vanilla, which is the key to the most amazing flavor.

White cake and yellow cake, on the other hand, are slightly different. With both, there is actually a bit of vanilla in the cake batter. However, there won’t be as much. White cake is given its name since it just uses egg whites. Because of this, the texture is also slightly more “grainy” sometimes, and the vanilla one would use is often clear vanilla to keep the cake super white in color. Personally, this is not my favorite cake- I find it a bit bland!

With a traditional yellow cake, however, the cake would contain egg yolks, rather than egg whites. Sometimes, the batter will also use all purpose flour rather than cake flour. Because of the egg yolks, yellow cake is often considered very tender and rich, thanks to the fat content in the cake. However, like white cake, there is a reduction in vanilla used in the recipe. When you have a vegan yellow cake for a birthday, you won’t instantly think “vanilla cake.”

Honestly, this cake reminds me so much of the boxed mix we would have as kids! (I don’t know if that’s a good thing, but I have very fond memories of that cake mix, so to me, it’s a very good thing!).

YES, vegan yellow cake DOES exist!

And let me tell you, it is wonderful. This vegan yellow cake is absolutely delicious: light, fluffy, tender, sweet, and tastes just like a classic yellow birthday cake. Believe me, no one at the party will be able to tell that this birthday cake is vegan.

But you might be wondering, since we established that what makes yellow cake yellow is due to egg yolks, how do you make a vegan birthday cake? It’s about the use of ingredients that will mimic adding the additional egg yolks (applesauce), and then slightly tinting the cake batter yellow (using turmeric!).

That way, your vegan birthday cake is kept entirely vegan, eggless, and dairy free!

Birthday cake ingredients:

For this birthday cake, you’ll need:

• Flour: I used all purpose flour, but you can use gluten free 1:1 baking flour as needed. See below sections for my recommendations.
• Sugar: I used organic granulated sugar for vegan, but you can use coconut sugar to keep this cake recipe entirely refined sugar free.
• Vegan butter: for the best cake flavor, I personally recommend Miyoko’s vegan butter. For nut-free, try Violife Vegan Butter. Both of these vegan butters just tastes and bakes identical to traditional dairy butter, so it’s easily my favorite. Plus it’s nut free, if nuts are an allergy for you!
• Soy milk with apple cider vinegar: this creates the vegan buttermilk, which is crucial to the success of this cake. Trust me, if you want a vegan yellow cake that doesn’t taste vegan (or homemade!), don’t skip this! You can use other dairy free milks, however, soy milk curdles the best.
• Applesauce: this replaces the egg yolks in a traditional yellow cake recipe. I also love using dairy free yogurt as a vegan egg substitute!
• Leavening agents: this is your baking powder and baking soda. 
• Vegan yellow food coloring: this gives our yellow cake it’s color! I recommend NOT using turmeric here, as it sometimes turns orange when reacting with the baking soda. I use Nomeca food coloring here, as it’s vegan.
• Vegan chocolate buttercream: this is my all time favorite chocolate buttercream recipe (and my mom’s too, which is saying something!). Trust me, you’re just going to love this! It’s a simply combination of vegan butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and a creamy dairy free milk.

Overview: How to make the best vegan birthday cake ever

The beauty about this vegan yellow cake is that honestly, it’s not much extra work from a yellow cake mix from the grocery store, and it tastes just as good if not better. If you’re looking for an eggless birthday cake recipe that everyone can enjoy, then this is your recipe.

With all of my recipes, the full instructions and measurements are found down below in the recipe card. I have included both gram measurements and cup measurements for your convenience. However, I will note, the gram measurements will yield the most accurate bakes.

If you’re choosing to bake your vegan birthday cake using cups, please don’t scoop the flour, but spoon and level. I’ve found this is a very common mistake that will yield a completely different cake if you scoop versus spoon and level! That’s because scooping yields way more flour than you actually need.

1. Cream together the wet ingredients: We’ll start by creaming together the vegan butter and sugar, then adding in the remaining wet ingredients, save for the vegan buttermilk. You can use a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer.
2. Mix in the dry ingredients: Then add in the flour in increments, along with the buttermilk, mixing in between each interval.
3. Bake: Once the cake batter is mixed, you’ll divide the batter into the cake pans evenly, and bake! Then cool the cakes completely before frosting!

Birthday Cake Decorating Ideas

This is my absolute favorite part of any cake baking process: the decorating! I’ve mentioned my favorite cake decorating tools before, especially in my vegan wedding cake recipe. But typically, I recommend a cake turntable, bench scraper, offset spatula, and any piping tips and bags that you’d like.

Add a drip: I absolutely adore drip cakes. They’re so beautiful and actually so easy! I use my vegan chocolate ganache recipe for a drip. You can even use vegan white chocolate, and tint the drip as well.

Press sprinkles up the sides: many people wonder how to do this, and it’s shockingly easy. You don’t need to roll your cake (although that could actually be less of a mess!). I just gently press the sprinkles up the side before I set it in the fridge again. The sprinkles do go everywhere, but just keep a vacuum near by 😉

Pipe decorations on the sides and tops: I love collecting a bunch of piping tips (Wilton is my favorite) for this very reason. For my carrot cake, I piped carrots, for my water color cake, I piped flowers. You can do anything!

Here’s a more complete list of some of my favorite ways to decorate a birthday cake.

Recipe FAQs

Can I make this vegan birthday cake gluten free? Absolutely! Simply swap out the regular flour for gluten free 1:1 baking flour (I used King Arthur Measure-for-Measure gluten free flour for recipe testing). The rest of the ingredients are gluten free, so you are good to go!

Can I make this vegan birthday cake into a layer cake or cupcakes? Absolutely! To make this vegan yellow cake into vegan layer cake, bake in three 8″ cake pans for 30-33 minutes. For cupcakes, simply bake the recipe in a cupcake tin. The recipe will yield about 24 cupcakes, so if you need less, you can cut the recipe in half.

Is it possible to make this vegan yellow cake sugar free? If you’d like to swap in a sugar free granulated substitute, you can try, but I haven’t tested this personally. Some readers have had success.

Do I need cake strips for my pans? I’ve actually never had to use cake strips, and my cakes turn out perfectly leveled each time. It might be something to do with my oven, but if you worry that you’ll need to level your cakes, you can use cake strips around your cake pans for extra insurance. It won’t hurt the recipe!

What vegan sprinkles did you use? I get all of my vegan sprinkles from Sweetapolita (not sponsored nor an affiliate, but man I wish we could work together ha! They are just wonderful!).

You’re just going to absolutely love this vegan birthday cake at your next birthday party! It seriously tastes just like the classic yellow cake mix, but even better. Perfect for kids parties and adults alike!

If you tried this vegan yellow cake, let me know how it goes by leaving a comment down below, as well as a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (which also helps others find the recipes more easily!).

As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there!

Happy birthday cake baking!

More vegan cake recipes you’ll love:

Best Ever Vegan Chocolate Cake

Vegan Frozen Cake

Best Ever Vegan Coconut Cake

Vegan Sleeping Beauty Cake

Gluten Free Vegan Oreo Cake

Vegan Black Forest Cake

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

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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