How to make the best easy vegan cake from scratch, with absolutely NO eggs, no milk, and no butter!
This is my go-to vegan vanilla cake recipe.
It’s a perfect choice for holidays, birthday parties, or any occasion at all.
Just one taste of the ultra soft and fluffy homemade cake, and you will never go back to boxed cake mix ever again.
The recipe can hold its own against any classic nonvegan vanilla cake, because it’s made with only traditional ingredients – no chia or flax eggs, no tofu, no beans or chickpeas, and no fancy expensive flours.
Also try these Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Not only is it easy to make a cake without any eggs or milk, vegan birthday cake can taste so light, fluffy, and delicious that you might even find yourself choosing this vegan recipe as your new go-to cake recipe…
Even if you’re not a vegan!
Vegan Cake Recipes
You can also add 1/2 cup of sprinkles to the basic cake recipe below for a kid friendly rainbow vegan funfetti cake.
Or stir 1 tsp of coconut extract and a handful of shredded coconut into the batter, then frost with coconut icing for a vegan coconut cake.
How to make vegan cake
Start by gathering all of the ingredients.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease two 8-inch pans or one 9×13 pan, then set the pans aside while you make the batter.
Combine the nondairy milk, vinegar, oil, and pure vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl, and let this sit for at least ten minutes.
Stir together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a new bowl. (For a one bowl cake, you can add the dry ingredients to the first bowl if you prefer. Just be sure to do this after letting the liquid mixture sit.)
Pour dry into wet, and stir just until evenly mixed. Overmixing cakes can activate the gluten too much and thus result in tough or chewy baked goods.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan or pans, and bake on the oven’s center rack for 30 minutes or until the cakes have risen and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
You may also like this Vegan Pizza – just 4 ingredients
Eggless Cake
Even if you’re not a vegan, knowing how to make a cake without eggs is a good idea for so many reasons:
- If you need to make dessert but don’t have any eggs on hand.
- When you’re baking for a friend or family member with an egg allergy or someone who’s watching their cholesterol.
- For those times when you want to bake a cake and eat spoonfuls of the cake batter as you work.
After all, who doesn’t love cake batter?!
Frosting Ideas
There are so many ways you can frost a vegan white cake, including Healthy Chocolate Frosting, raspberry jam, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, or chocolate ganache.
Or top it with fresh fruit and Coconut Whipped Cream.
Surprisingly, many store-bought icings are accidentally vegan, including some flavors from both Duncan Hines and Pillsbury.
To make an easy homemade vegan cream cheese frosting, simply whip together 8 oz store-bought or homemade Vegan Cream Cheese with 4 oz vegan butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, and 1 tsp pure vanilla extract.
For the cake in the photos, I used my Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Above, watch the vegan layer cake recipe video
The recipe was adapted from these Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes.
Vegan Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup milk of choice
- 1 1/2 tbsp white or cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup oil
- 2 cups white, spelt, or oat flour (for low carb, make this Keto Cake)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar, unrefined if desired
Instructions
- The recipe makes two 8-inch cakes, or one 9×13 sheet cake, or three 6-inch cakes. To make the vegan cake, start by preheating the oven to 350 F. Whisk liquid ingredients in a large bowl. Let sit at least 10 minutes, then add remaining ingredients to form a batter. Smooth into greased baking pans. Bake 30 minutes, or until cake is risen and cooked through. (If you are a visual learner, feel free to watch the recipe video above.) View Nutrition Facts
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
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More Vegan Recipes
Liv13 says
This looks beatiful! Must try it!!
Mom of a vegan says
This might be the fastest time I’ve gone from seeing a recipe online to making it. Your vegan cake recipe came up as a new recipe while I was literally on your blog looking for a vegan birthday cake for my daughter! If that’s not meant to be, I don’t know what is!
I made the double layer cake version and frosted it with a homemade vegan buttercream icing, topped with candles and it was quite perfect! Thank you so much for this gem of a recipe!
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making it!
Candida Schwartz says
Hi Katie! Love you so thank you!
Question… have you substituted the white sugar for maple syrup or coconut sugar? If so, how does it change the crumb? This cake looks in incredible!
CCK Media Team says
We have never tried it with a liquid sweetener so don’t know how/if that would work. Coconut sugar is fine to use. With some brands (such as coconut secret), the coconut sugar is much finer, so be sure to pack it very tightly when measuring to get the same sweetness as sugar.
Jessica says
Hi Katie,
This recipe looks awesome. Have you made this into cupcakes? If so, do you have an idea for adjusted baking time? My daughter is allergic to eggs and loves funfetti and I think this could be a hit for her!
CCK Media Team says
We are sure you could do cupcakes! We haven’t tried it with this recipe so don’t know the baking time, but be sure to report back if you experiment.
Shelby says
Would it be possible to substitute applesauce for the oil? Thank you for this recipe!
CCK Media Team says
If you don’t mind a much denser/chewy texture (i.e. typical texture of fat free baked goods) and less richness to the cake, then we would think it would be fine (but we have not tried). Be sure to report back if you try it.
Stacy Vakassian says
Do you think gluten free flour would work ?
CCK Media Team says
We haven’t tried it in this recipe. In general, we have good results in recipes with Bob’s cup for cup gluten free flour, very loosely packing it because it weights a little more than all purpose. If you try gluten free flour, be sure to report back for other readers!
Linda Messer says
I tried with bobs red mill and the layers were very thin so i will try to pack more loosely – would it be the same gram weight per cup?
joe says
Hi Kate
Not only Katie is chocolate covered even the cake is ha ha.
CCK Media Team says
Every recipe should be chocolate covered 😉
Maggie says
Thank you so much for this recipe! We made it and topped it with vegan whipped cream and sliced strawberries. It was like strawberry shortcake!
CCK Media Team says
That sounds so good!
Geraldine Robinson says
Best cake ever, keeps together and has a great texture. No funny ingredients. Perfect for my daughter who can’t eat dairy or eggs.
CCK Media Team says
This made us so happy to read. Thank you for trying it!
Kari Wichner says
What is the best way to store this cake and for how long? I made it yesterday and had lots of leftovers.
CCK Media Team says
You can store it as you would any traditional vanilla cake – we personally like to put it in the fridge (covered) for freshness after a day.
Justine says
Hi, what’s the best type of oil to use for this? Coconut? Olive? Thank you! Looks amazing! Can’t wait to make!
CCK Media Team says
Sunflower, vegetable, or melted coconut oil all work! If using coconut oil, just make sure other ingredients aren’t cold first (so the oil doesn’t solidify).
Maria from Finland says
Hi, can I make just one cake and cut it into layers?
CCK Media Team says
Sure!
Erin says
How do you measure out your flour for this recipe to ensure lightness and fluffiness? Is the cake moist too? Do you use all purpose flour or cake flour? Thanks for sharing!
CCK Media Team says
We’ve tried it with all purpose flour, not yet with cake flour. Measure the flour loosely packed instead of firmly packed. If you have a food scale, around 120g = a cup.
shyamala radhakrishnan says
Does it have to be oil or can I sub apple sauce? Love you almond flour chocolate cake. I don’t eat eggs and I try to eat low carb mostly, your recipes are a life saver. 🙂
CCK Media Team says
Applesauce will make a dense and not as rich cake, but if you are used to the gummy texture of fat free baked goods then it would probably turn out like that. Be sure to report back if you experiment 🙂
Faaiumalo says
This recipe is so simple yet so delicious. I’ve made this recipe as plain vanilla cake and also added blueberries and lemon zest experimenting and the result was delicate and mouthwatering! Thank you for sharing Katie ❤️
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making it!
Sarah says
Hi, I plan to make this using oat flour. But, will the oat flour make it dense? I hope to hear back! Thanks!
Dani G says
Id like to know the answer to this also please. My son and I are celiac with nut allergy and I’ve been trying to find an oat flour vanilla cake recipe for weeks for his birthday Saturday ( he’s sick of chocolate). How exactly do we use the oat flour to make the cake gluten free and fluffy. Thanks so much
Maryke Pienaar says
Hi there,
Can I bake this in a bunt cake tin? Also, can I add mini marshmallows into the batter?
Stefanie says
Turned out amazing! Probably the best vegan cake I’ve made….the rise was perfect (some vegan cakes don’t rise enough or fall flat after baking). And so delicious…great texture!! The only thing is, it didn’t make enough batter for my two round cake pans, so ended up putting all the batter into one pan. Next time – if I want a two layer cake – I will double the recipe. But otherwise….SO GOOD!! Made with Healthy Chocolate Frosting recipe.
CCK Media Team says
This made us so happy to read 🙂
Rav says
Used all purpose flour, (liquid) coconut oil (I’m in a warm climate, so no issues with it solidifying), baking powder, vanilla essence (didn’t have the extract), sugar, white vinegar, salt. Let the mixed liquids sit for the required 10 minutes. Oven (convection off) was preheated to 350oF. Used 2 x 8” tins. I wonder though… many other vegan recipes I’ve come across use baking soda when using vinegar. Should I have used baking soda instead of baking powder?
CCK Media Team says
Hi Rav, how did it taste? This cake doesn’t rise a ton, which is helpful for stacking if you’re doing layers 🙂
Kris says
I’m confused. The batter is really thin and it only fills a 9×13 pan about 1/2 inch. There’s NO WAY that this will rise up enough to make a decent sized cake. Are you sure 2 cups is enough flour?
Carrie says
Made this cake yesterday and had enough batter to fill 2 6 inch round tins. Perfect for my mini cake but will probably double the recipe when making a full sized round in the future. Cake smells amazing and has great texture! Getting ready to make the chocolate frosting, can’t wait to try this when it’s finished!
Gili says
Im making this for the first time, following all the instructions to a T, however, there isn’t enough batter for a 9×13 pan (even measured since my pan is metric!) unless it requires doubling the recipe. I’m slightly confused as it barely covered the bottom of the pan and I doubt it rises that substancially (??) Where did I go wrong? I transferred it to a smaller sheet pan before placing in the oven and hoping it will still work for my daughter’s bday! It’s in the oven now. Curious to hear your input.
CCK Media Team says
Hi, that is so strange and we aren’t sure what might be happening, because most 9×13 vanilla cakes will call for 2 to 2 1/2 cups of flour. It *does* rise a little, so perhaps there isn’t actually anything wrong at all? What do you mean by your pan being metric? We are in the US, so maybe we are talking about different measurements from what you have? Hoping it turns out well in any case!
Gili says
I’m not in the US currently (used to be) so I converted 9 inches to cm and the same for 13 to make sure I “matched” the pan size. With 9×13 it was such a thin layer that it didn’t seem like it would be a cake vs a cracker which seemed strange. Even with the smaller pan I moved the batter to, it’s less than a whole fingernail’s height 🤔
Wish I could send a picture because the recipe did seem so simple! I took it out after 20 min to not burn it. I’m wondering if I should double the recipe next time?!? I’m using US measuring cups and spoons. So so strange! Ugh.
Thanks for your quick response.
CCK Media Team says
Hi, no problem, and we want the recipes to work for everyone, especially since it’s a birthday. We’ve ever converted a pan before. Did you use 33 x 23 cm? Feel free to email me chocolatecoveredmedia at gmail if you want to send a picture and hopefully we can get to the bottom of this over there!
Eggfree says
The Recipe for Vegan Cake is very wonderful!
Katie says
I used a canned coconut cream for the milk and this came out awesome!! My friend has an egg allergy and she was so excited to have cake on her bday!! I’d like to try a chocolate one next!! Thank you for posting, I will definitely make this again!!
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for trying it 🙂
chris says
not to be rude, but how can this be vegan if it has milk in it. i am trying to lose weight and think about going vegan, but this isn’t vegan.
Dominque says
You can use coconut milk, Hemp Milk. There are other options.
Jme says
My family absolutely LOVED this recipe! They ask for it daily. Thank you so much for creating it and posting it for all of us to enjoy.
Delonda McCullum says
Can I use a sugar substitute.
Cait says
Where are the cute sprinkles from?
Caseyanne says
Best recipe eggless and gluten free I have found just wondering what would help to make it taste more vanilla? Not very sweet would using brown sugar help and adding more vanilla
Kim says
Hi Katie,
I used lemon juice instead of vineager, 1/2 cup of pure maple syrup instead of sugar, a 9X9 in pan and baked for 35 minutes and it turned out beautiful. It smells lovely and I can’t wait to taste it. 😊
Marj Sweet says
Did you increase the flour since you used maple syrup instead of sugar?
Claudia says
Hi, I would like to make the cake with oat flour. How much should I use? Thank you
Jamie says
Super tasty! We loved this cake! The only problem is that the recipe does not make enough batter for the size of pan called for. I had to double the recipe to get enough batter to make a 9×13 cake. But that problem is easy to fix. Thanks so much for a great recipe!
Florence says
Hi. I would like to make this cake and use Healthy Chocolate Frosting. How many cups do I need to cover the cake? Is it enough to double the recipe? Thank you
Katie says
Has anyone tried making this in advance and freezing it for a week? Thanks!
Maria says
This has become my go to cake recipe. Have received compliments from people and when I tell them what’s in it they can’t believe it’s gluten free and vegan. So soft and delicious! Going to try subbing pumpkin for the oil and add some pumpkin spices to see if I can make some delicious pumpkin bars.
Kim says
Taste delicious!! Perfect for my dairy and egg allergic kiddo. So easy!! Thank u!!
Jenna Pfeifer says
Hi! Does this need to be refrigerated after baking or left at room temperature? I’m making one day ahead for my daughter’s birthday and just want to store it properly for the big day! Thank you!
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Room temp for a day is fine!
Caitlin says
Very excited to try this recipe! I was wondering- do you recommend almond or soy milk? Thank you!
Karree says
I am making these for the second time right now – these are wonderful and so quick to make. I have made them as cupcakes – baked at 350° for 20 minutes and they are perfection! So excited to serve these up to our non-vegan friends tomorrow and see what they think.
Emily says
Made it now 4 times. always a succes! Thank you