Soft, “buttery,” and perfectly moist, this vegan snickerdoodle cake is swirled with a light brown sugar cinnamon filing and uses cream of tartar in the cake batter to create the most BEAUTIFUL rise and texture! It’s truly vegan snickerdoodle cookies meets soft, moist vegan vanilla sponge cake. And it’s all just a bowl and a whisk, and layered with a dairy free brown sugar cinnamon ‘cream cheese’ frosting, you won’t believe there’s no eggs and dairy!

And if you LOVE cinnamon swirled crumble in cake, then you have to check out my vegan apple fritter cake for a fun twist on fritters and crumb cake!

A slice of cinnamon roll cake with cream cheese frosting on a plate, with a fork and a bowl of snickerdoodle cookies in the background.

Table of contents

Tell me about this snickerdoodle cake:

Honestly, you may never meet a more lovely cake than this snickerdoodle cake. And that’s really saying something, but readers LOVE this moist chocolate cake and this vanilla cake too (and okay, I do too haha!).

But for fall? I think this may be the star (yes, even with a cake as delicious as this pumpkin cake!). This snickerdoodle cake is the most soft, tender, and deliciously rich cake with cinnamon sugar swirl and that iconic snickerdoodle tang (thanks to cream of tartar!)!

The cakes bake up so beautifully (yes even without eggs and dairy!!) with the perfect moist crumb that just melts in your mouth with every bite. And all slathered in this irresistibly tangy cinnamon brown sugar cream cheese frosting?!

If there’s one thing that may actually rival the actual cake itself, it’s just that- the frosting. It’s thick and smooth like a buttercream (read: perfectly pipe-able!), rich with cinnamon and brown sugar, and has that beautiful tang. Just like a snickerdoodle.

Oh, and did I mention, you just need a bowl and a whisk? Seriously, this vegan snickerdoodle cake is THAT easy!

Vegan Snickerdoodle Cake Ingredients:

Ingredients for a recipe arranged on a marble surface: cinnamon crumble, vegan buttermilk, sugar, avocado oil, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, dairy-free yogurt, and cake flour.
  • Cake flour: This creates a SUEPR soft, tender cake while also giving it structure. Cake flour contains cornstarch, which creates a really “buttery” texture in a cake and has a little less protein than all-purpose flour, which also contributes to this beautifully fluffy cake just melting in your mouth.
  • Ground cinnamon: I recommend using cassia cinnamon (the standard cinnamon in American ground cinnamon bottles) over Ceylon cinnamon. Personally, the flavor will feel more classic, like in my vegan pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies.
  • Dairy-free yogurt: Like in all of my favorite vegan cake recipes, I highly recommend a Greek-style dairy-free yogurt as our vegan egg replacement. The yogurt reacts so well with the leavening agents to boost their rise (along with the cream of tartar- more on that below!), and the extra fat from the yogurt only adds to that soft and tender crumb.
  • Cream of tartar: Now, cream of tartar is NOT a dairy product- it is the byproduct of the winemaking process. And not only gives snickerdoodle cookies that iconic slight tang with the cinnamon sugar swirl, but it is also considered a leavening agent!
  • Avocado oil: I actually prefer to use oil over vegan butter for the cake because I find it gives a much more moist texture than vegan butter. So don’t worry about having to find the perfect vegan butter here! We WILL use vegan butter for the frosting. But for the cake, feel free to use a neutral cooking oil, like avocado oil.
  • Baking powder & baking soda: For leavening agents.
  • Sugar & light brown sugar: We’ll use granulated sugar for the cake base and light brown sugar for that classic cinnamon crumble (much like you would for a crumb cake, like my vegan coffee cake!).
  • Vanilla extract: For extra flavor.
  • Vegan buttermilk: This is actually a homemade ingredient- just dairy free milk and vinegar or lemon juice!

How to make the best vegan snickerdoodle cake:

A glass bowl containing a smooth, dark brown mixture on a white marble surface.

1. To start, we’ll make the cinnamon crumble ingredients by combining all cinnamon crumble ingredients in a separate small bowl.

A wire whisk rests in a bowl of smooth, light brown batter on a marble countertop.

2. To make the cake batter, whisk together all wet ingredients, except for the vegan buttermilk.

A whisk rests in a bowl of smooth, light-tan cake batter.

3. Finish the batter by pouring in the vegan buttermilk along with stirring in the cake flour JUST until combined.

Two round cake pans filled with raw cake batter swirled with fruit jam.

4. Divide the batter evenly into three cake pans, and swirl the cinnamon crumble throughout.

Two round cinnamon swirl cakes in metal baking pans on a marble surface.

5. Bake at 350F for 28-30 minutes then let the cakes fully cool before making the frosting.

A glass mixing bowl filled with creamy, light tan frosting.

6. To make the frosting, simply cream the vegan cream cheese and vegan butter together, followed by adding in the brown sugar, cinnamon, and a cup of powdered sugar at a time. Then we finish with vanilla extract and vegan heavy cream for the ultimate frosting!

A three-layer cinnamon cake with frosting between each layer on a marble cake stand.

7. Assemble the layers by spreading 1/2 cup of frosting between each layer and applying a crumb coat, along with a final coating of frosting to finish.

A frosted layer cake topped with swirls of frosting and small fried dough balls.

8. Pipe any remaining frosting on top, and you can decorate with edible cookie dough balls of snickerdoodle cookie dough from my vegan snickerdoodle cookie recipe (just make sure to use heat-treated flour so that it’s edible!).

Pro Frosting Tip:

Make sure to mix your frosting with a silicone spatula or spoon after you use the hand mixer or stand mixer- this will get the frosting super smooth and velvety instead of having air pockets!

A three-layer cinnamon cake with cream frosting and small doughnut-like toppings, with a slice being removed.

Decorating your snickerdoodle cake:

Because I really wanted this cake to stand out as SNICKERDOODLE, I did happen to bake a small batch of my vegan snickerdoodle cookies to go on top 🙂 Instead of rolling 1.5 tbsp of dough, though I only did about 1/2 tbsp each for the cookies!

To make as cookie dough balls, like I did here, I recommend using heat-treated flour to make sure the cookie dough balls are edible.

You can fully frost the cake, or I’ve seen people also do a semi-naked style cake, and it’s beautiful! My one note if you’re opting for that route is that the cake will dry out faster if you’re serving it the next day because the frosting isn’t thick enough to insulate the moisture.

So a more heavily frosted cake will yield a much more moist cake when served!

🌟MADE THIS RECIPE & LOVED IT?🌟I’d love it if you’d like 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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A slice of cinnamon roll cake with cream cheese frosting on a plate, with a fork and a bowl of snickerdoodle cookies in the background.

MOIST Vegan Snickerdoodle Cake with Cinnamon ‘Cream Cheese’ Frosting

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 32
  • Total Time: 47 minutes
  • Yield: 12 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

Soft, “buttery,” and perfectly moist, this vegan snickerdoodle cake is swirled with a light brown sugar cinnamon filing and uses cream of tartar in the cake batter to create the most BEAUTIFUL rise and texture! Just a bowl and a whisk, and layered with a dairy free brown sugar cinnamon ‘cream cheese’ frosting, you won’t believe there’s no eggs and dairy!

Ingredients

Scale
  • Cinnamon Swirl:
  • 3/4 cup (150 g) light brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup (57 g) vegan butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup (50 g) cake flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Vanilla Cake:
  • 1 1/4 cup (300 mL) vegan buttermilk, room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cup (350 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (220 g) salted vegan butter (I recommend Miyoko’s or Flora Plant butter), melted and room temperature
  • 1 cup (240 g) dairy free yogurt, room temperature
  • 2 tbsp vanilla extract (yes, 2 tablespoons!!)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 3 2/3 cup (450 g) cake flour
  • Optional (but recommended): 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
  • Cinnamon Buttercream:
  • 1 1/2 cups vegan butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup vegan cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
  • 4 cups (480 g) organic powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup (60 mL) vegan heavy cream

Instructions

  1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease three 8″ cake pans with olive or cooking oil, and line 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. Make the cinnamon swirl filling: In a small bowl, whisk together the light brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Then add in the vegan butter and vanilla extract, and mix until you create a crumble. Set aside.
  4. Make the batter: In a stand mixer with paddle attachment or a large bowl with whisk, mix together the melted vegan butter and sugar until combined, then add in the dairy free yogurt and vanilla extract. Whisk again, before adding the baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sea salt. Add in about half of the flour, along with half of the vegan buttermilk, and whisk just until combined. Add in the remaining flour and vegan buttermilk, and whisk just no more dry ingredients. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl as well as the sides.
  5. Bake: Pour the batter into the cake pans. Sprinkle the cinnamon crumble mixture on top of the cake pans evenly per pan, and swirl with a butter knife. Bake the cake layers for 30-32 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  6. Cool: Remove from the oven and allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cooled completely (there is absolutely no warmth to the touch!), then you can prepare your frosting. This will take about an hour.
  7. Make the cream cheese frosting: When ready to frost the cakes, add vegan butter and cream cheese to a large bowl or stand mixer and cream for 2-3 minutes. Add in the light brown sugar and cinnamon, followed by 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, continuing the beat the mixture until it’s a thick frosting. Add in vanilla and vegan heavy cream, and continue to beat until desired texture.
  8. Frost and serve: Frost cake, decorate, and enjoy!

Notes

Gluten free: I recommend King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 630
  • Sugar: 60 g
  • Sodium: 159.3 mg
  • Fat: 33 g
  • Saturated Fat: 14.7 g
  • Carbohydrates: 80.1 g
  • Fiber: 1.1 g
  • Protein: 5.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 59.7 mg