One Bowl MOIST Vegan Snickerdoodle Cake with Cinnamon ‘Cream Cheese’ Frosting
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!
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?!
Oh, and did I mention, you just need a bowl and a whisk? Seriously, this vegan snickerdoodle cake is THAT easy!
How is this cake made with no eggs and no dairy?
This may come as a shock to many, but you really don’t need any eggs nor dairy in your baking these days. The substitutes are as good, if not better, than traditional ingredients.
Instead of eggs, which often provide not only rise but moisture and soft texture in cakes, we’re using dairy free yogurt for this snickerdoodle cake! 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.
And instead of butter and milk, we’re using- you guessed it – vegan butter and dairy free milk! But don’t worry- the vegan butter these days is really good. I use Miyoko’s, and it really somehow makes everything taste so “buttery” and rich!
The Key Ingredient: Cream of Tartar
I actually may start using this in all of my vegan cake recipes because wow. I’ve never met a cake with a more gorgeous texture (okay, maybe my vegan vanilla cake is really on par 😉 ).
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!
And a shockingly fantastic one. The rise is so beautiful, not too fast, not too slow, and yet the texture is left to be so incredibly moist. You only taste the cream of tartar ever so slightly, so you do get that kick of tang that we associate with snickerdoodle. But it’s just perfect in this cake recipe.
The Cinnamon ‘Cream Cheese’ Frosting:
If there’s one thing that may actually rival the actual cake itself, it’s this cinnamon dairy free cream cheese 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.
And it comes together so easily too. No need for cornstarch or any other thickener to make your cream cheese frosting able to be used for layer cakes!
And it’s so easy too- just 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!
Pro 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!
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!
They baked into the cutest little cookies to top in between swirls of that gorgeous cinnamon cream cheese frosting.
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!
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MOIST Vegan Snickerdoodle Cake with Cinnamon ‘Cream Cheese’ Frosting
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 32
- Total Time: 47 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
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
Cinnamon Swirl:
- 3/4 cup (150 g) light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (57 g) vegan butter, melted
- 2 tbsp all purpose 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) unsweetened applesauce or 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) all-purpose flour (or 512 g gluten free 1:1 baking flour + 1 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch)
- 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
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease three 8″ cake pans with olive or cooking oil, and line 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Frost and serve: Frost cake, decorate, and enjoy!
Notes
Gluten free: I recommend King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour.
question from a *not so great* baker- and this goes for all of your cakes that i always want to make but don’t quite have the confidence 😂 (i have made your vegan cut outs- SO good) — but would any of your cakes be able to be made in a rectangular cake pan? like sheet cake style with one layer? thanks in advance!!
Oh my goodness, I’m sure you’re a GREAT baker!! But yes absolutely, all of my cakes can be made in a rectangular cake pan for a sheet cake style!! The bake time will vary between the cakes (this one should be about 35-37 minutes, but always check with the oven light and then toothpick!). Let me know how this goes!! ENJOY!
Hi Britt
This sounds amazing, but I have a question for you… when you list baking temperatures, are you translating that to regular oven temperatures or are they for convection ovens?
Thanks!
Hi Glenda! The baking temps are for convection ovens 🙂 Great question!!
Ahhh okay; sometimes I feel like my bakes take longer than they should for your recipes.
So should I always adjust my oven (a regular gas one) to be 25° higher than your recipes says?
I think this might be useful for you to state in your recipes in the future! I’m used to people saying things like “ (x)° fan forced oven”
That would be part of the reason!! I will definitely make a note for future recipes and try to go through the most popular ones right now and add that in 🙂 Thank you so much for letting me know!!
just making this for the first time and I’m noticing it’s taking a lot longer to bake than what the recipe states. I have my cakes in the oven for 45+minutes. it’s baking.. just slowly is this normal or did I do something wrong?
Hmm this may have been an issue with your oven actually! Have you used an oven thermometer to check the temp? Are you using convection as well? Do you notice any of your other bakes taking longer?
Have you ever made this as a regular cake vs vegan?!? If so any adjustments?
I have only ever tested the vegan version, I’m so sorry!
I plan on making this cake this weekend. Does it need to go in the refrigerator at all? Or can it stay at room temperature?
Oh wonderful! I’d say once it’s fully frosted it’s best to keep it in the fridge until about 15 minutes before you’re ready to serve!
What kind of dairy for yogurt do you use?
I use Forager Project greek-style, but kite hill also works great or FP’s plain regular dairy free yogurt!
Thank you for your response. Would So Delicious plain coconut work? Or should it be Greek-style?
Yes absolutely it will! You can use Greek-style or plain- I find that Greek-style usually has more protein in it, so that gives the cake a bit more structure, but honestly, it’ll work with just plain as well (I’ve made it that way too, and it’s just fine!).
What did you use for the heavy cream?!
I use Silk, but Country Crock plant heavy cream is also wonderful!
I made this cake for Thanksgiving and it was soooo good. It tastes just like a cinnamon roll to me. Probably one of the best cakes I’ve ever had.
This is awesome 🙂 WOW!! Thank you so much for the review! ENJOY!
If I were to make this into cupcakes… do you know the temp and cook time I would need to use? Thanks in advance!
Temp would be 350F, and bake about 25-26 minutes 🙂 Make sure you don’t fill them more than 3/4 of the way full! Enjoy!!