Vegan vanilla cake made without eggs! A small cake made in a 6 inch pan, but easily doubled or quadrupled for any pan size. It’s a vegan birthday cake for any size party!
Vegan vanilla cake without eggs:
It turns out, if you make a vegan person vegan enchiladas and vegan chocolate cake, they’re just going to want more vegan food. (If you’re new here, I love butter and runny eggs, but my husband is a vegan).
It’s totally fine, though—I really don’t mind making all of my husband’s favorite cakes in a vegan version. And, as it turns out, we’ve had a lot of occasions where we have needed cake lately.
It could just be my imagination, but vegan baking is a lot easier than traditional baking. I don’t have to wait for butter and eggs to come to room temperature, and most of the recipes come together in just one bowl.
If all cakes were vegan, would I bake even more than I already do? (Most definitely).
Easy vegan birthday cake:
This cake is so quick to make! I had both the large vegan vanilla cake and the small batch version in the oven during the brief afternoon nap my son takes after lunch. The following day, I had both versions frosted and photographed before noon, even though my son chose to wake up from his nap an hour early. Maybe my baby smells cake in his crib, and I really can’t blame him for waking up to that smell.
I know you’re going to ask, so I’ll mention that YES, you may stir sprinkles into the cake batter here, and make a vegan confetti cake! If you’ve had your eye on my mini funfetti cake, but have always wanted a version without eggs or dairy, today is your lucky day!
How to scale down a cake recipe:
Typically, when I scale down a cake recipe to a small 6 inch cake, the recipe divides in half easily. In the case of my vegan chocolate cake, the 6 inch and 9 inch version are the same recipe doubled. However, when it comes to this vegan vanilla cake, everything is doubled when scaling up—except for the vinegar!
For changing the cake size, the same instructions for most of my small cake recipes apply here:
-The recipe below is for one 6 inch small cake. Slice it in half and fill with buttercream to make it a layer cake as seen in the photos.
-If you double the recipe below, you’ll get one 9 inch cake. However, be sure to only use 1 tablespoon of vinegar, not 4 teaspoons, if doubling. If you quadruple the recipe, you’ll get two 9 inch layer cakes, just like a normal layer cake. Or, you can double it and bake two 6 inch small cakes for stacking higher.
Why do vegan cake recipes have vinegar?
I’m so glad you asked this question! You see, most regular non-vegan cake recipes contain a dairy product. Dairy products are acidic, and as such, they react with the leaveners in a recipe (the baking soda and baking powder). But since vegan cakes don’t have dairy, we add a very small amount of vinegar to the cake batter to activate the baking soda. Cool, right?
Vegan Vanilla Birthday Cake
Vegan vanilla birthday cake without eggs. Recipe doubles for a single layer 9" cake pan. Or, quadruple the recipe for a 2 layer 9" cake. If doubling the recipe, use just 1 tablespoon of vinegar instead of 4 teaspoons.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 7 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/3 cup milk alternative* (soy, almond, or coconut)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
For the vegan vanilla buttercream:
- 1 stick plant-based butter substitute
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
- splash of milk alternative, to bring it together
- decorative sprinkles
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350, and place an oven rack in the center position of the oven.
Spray one 6" cake pan with 2" sides with cooking spray, and then line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper and spray again.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
In a large measuring cup, whisk together the milk, vanilla, oil, and vinegar.
Slowly pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients while whisking. Whisk until the cake batter is mostly lump-free, but try not to mix too much and make a dense cake batter.
Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake on the center rack of the oven for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
While the cake cools, make the frosting: beat together the softened 'butter' with the powdered sugar, vanilla, pinch of salt and splash of milk. Add extra milk if needed to bring it together.
Once the cake is cool, slice it in half horizontally. Place the bottom of the cake on a plate, and scoop 1/3 of the frosting on top. Spread the frosting almost to the edges. Place the remaining cake layer on top, and frost with the remaining frosting. If desired, portion some frosting into a bag fitted with an open star tip and decorate the cake with buttercream swirls and sprinkles.
Notes
*I tested this recipe with soy milk, almond milk in the refrigerated carton, and coconut milk in the carton. I do not recommend canned coconut milk because the consistency varies.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 733Total Fat: 38gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 486mgCarbohydrates: 97gFiber: 1gSugar: 77gProtein: 3g
Hi cake looks good can we use regular vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar?
Hi! Would love to try! Do you have any pointers on how to adapt this to an 8 inch pan?
Thanks!
Did you see the recipe notes about how to double the recipe? It’s in the text.
If I quadruple the recipe, am I to use 2 tablespoons of vinegar? That is not clear in your instructions to double and quadruple the recipe. Also, I assume I can simply bake in an 8 inch pan vs a 9 inch pan and watch the baking time. I did this already in a 6 inch pan and it was wonderful!
I made this over the weekend. I used almond extract instead of vanilla and it was good. The rise was great, the texture perfect, very moist. I have no problem using regular milk but I often run out of eggs so this cake is great for that. Also a great desert for this single without too much fuss.
Can I use regular vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar? Since the cake is vegan and doesn’t contain dairy products, is it okay to not refrigerate it? Will that soften the “buttercream” too much?
Yes, regular vinegar is fine. Technically, you don’t have to refrigerate it, but if your house is warm, it might melt.
Hi! How many Cup cakes can be made with this recipe?
Hi, I made this recipe and it turned out delicious!! I actually made it as cupcakes because I didn’t have any cake pan that would fit sush a small cake and they were soooo good! I got 6 cupcakes and baked them for just 12 minutes. The texture was so moist and soft! This one will be a keeper in our kitched for sure!
Didn’t have any eggs and was happy to find this recipe for my son’s 4th birthday. Ran out of granulated sugar and had to substitute a few tablespoons of brown sugar in order to double the recipe but the cakes turned out amazing. Delicious and moist! Stacked the two 6 in cakes and my son loved the look and taste!
Thank you so much for this recipe. Having failed at baking so many cakes, this one turned out to be perfect. Your recipes are foolproof. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Hi,
I would love to try this recipe but I don’t have soy or almond milk. I’m not vegan so can I use regular 2% milk as a substitute? And would I still use the vinegar? Is there any way of using unsweetened applesauce to substitute for the oil?
Thanks,
Ann
Yes, use regular milk and still use the vinegar. We’re making ‘faux buttermilk’ here.
As for the applesauce, I haven’t tried it, but I think it’s a 1:1 substitution. Good luck :)
If I’d like to use buttermilk do I just swap in in for the non dairy milk part and eliminate the vinegar? So excited to try this recipe for my 1 year olds bday cake (he has egg allergy).
Yes, you got it! No vinegar if you’re using real buttermilk.