Easy Vegan Vanilla Layer Cake
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Moist and light, this easy Vegan Vanilla Layer Cake is a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting and rainbow sprinkles. There isn’t an occasion that this cake wouldn’t be perfect for!
If you are looking for more vegan dessert recipes, check out my Vegan Strawberry Carrot Cake, Vegan Chocolate Birthday Cake, or my Vegan Toasted Coconut Brownies.
Table of Contents
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Easy: You will love this recipe because this is an easy one bowl cake! This Vegan Vanilla Cake from scratch can be made in a bowl with a whisk, with your hand mixer, or in your stand mixer. Any option will work. Whenever cakes are oil-based and not butter based, it’s really easy to mix them together in one bowl. The benefit of these kinds of cakes is that they never have any clumps, and you get a nice smooth batter, even if you are a beginner baker!
Perfectly Vanilla: This is the best Vegan Vanilla Cake because the vanilla cake perfectly compliments the vanilla frosting. I finish this cake with a classic vegan buttercream frosting. I use Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening for the frosting, which is my favorite vegan butter to use for frostings. It’s really light and it’s white in color which makes for a beautiful vegan vanilla cake from scratch!
Naturally Colored: I top this easy Vegan Vanilla Layer Cake with natural rainbow sprinkles. I use a mix of India Tree Nature’s Colors Carnival Mix and ColorKitchen Nonpareils. Using natural sprinkles makes the best Vegan Vanilla Cake because it's free of artificial colors!
Ingredients
La Tourangelle Organic Canola Oil
Real Coco Organic Coconut Milk
Costco Kirkland Organic Cane Sugar
Cairnspring Mills Organic All Purpose Flour
Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening
Wholesome Organic Powdered Sugar
Simply Organic Vanilla Extract
India Tree Nature’s Colors Sprinkles
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
Step 2
To make the batter: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the cane sugar, canola oil, coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, hot water, and vanilla extract. Mix together.
Add in the pastry flour, all purpose flour, Irish moss powder, baking powder, and sea salt in that order. Mix on low until combined and you have a smooth batter.
Step 3
Divide evenly into the cake pans, about 370 grams each. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the cake pans. (Be sure to check the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for high altitude baking instructions).
Step 4
To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the vegetable shortening, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and coconut milk. Mix on low until combined, then speed up mixer to high and mix for 2 to 3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through mixing, and continue mixing.
Step 5
Crumb coat the cake, and then frost it with a spiral design or however you like. Add rainbow sprinkles on top.
FAQ's
No! You can use a hand mixer or even a bowl with a whisk to make the cake. You will need some kind of mixer for the frosting though, whether that is a hand mixer or a stand mixer.
Yes, if you prefer, you can use sunflower oil. I haven’t tested this cake with melted coconut oil, but it may work. You can also use olive oil or avocado oil, but those will provide a flavor to the cake that I wouldn’t recommend. That’s why I chose canola oil as it’s the most neutral flavor.
Yes, if you want to use almond milk or pistachio milk you can use those as well. Oat milk would even work in this recipe! I always prefer coconut milk as it’s my favorite, and I feel it has the best flavor for baking.
You can’t find Irish moss powder online you can also use cornstarch in its place. This is a natural thickening agent and I like using it in vegan bakes!
You can use white vinegar in its place if you don’t have apple cider vinegar. Worst case, you can leave it out, but your cake may be a bit denser. This can help vegan cakes with texture.
You can use cake flour in place of pastry flour. Try my Homemade Cake Flour recipe!
Yes, if you want to use the Miyoko’s Organic Vegan Butter with Sea Salt that one will also be great in the frosting!
This is the best Vegan Vanilla Cake because you can add so many different toppings! You could add fresh strawberries, chocolate chips, or Vegan Chocolate Ganache on top of this cake in place of sprinkles. All would be delicious!
This easy Vegan Vanilla Layer Cake is moist so it needs to be stored in an airtight container to retain its moisture and texture. You can leave at room temperature, or also store in the fridge.
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Easy Vegan Vanilla Layer Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Batter
- 226 grams cane sugar
- ½ cup canola oil
- heaping ½ cup coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 142 grams pastry flour (or cake flour)
- 127 grams all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon Irish moss powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
Frosting
- 170 grams vegetable shortening (softened)
- 340 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons coconut milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- To make the batter: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the cane sugar, canola oil, coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, hot water, and vanilla extract. Mix together.
- Add in the pastry flour, all purpose flour, Irish moss powder, baking powder, and sea salt in that order. Mix on low until combined and you have a smooth batter.
- Divide evenly into the cake pans, about 370 grams each. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the cake pans.
- To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the vegetable shortening, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and coconut milk. Mix on low until combined, then speed up mixer to high and mix for 2 to 3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through mixing, and continue mixing.
- Crumb coat the cake, and then frost it with a spiral design or however you like. Add rainbow sprinkles on top.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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