Vegan Vanilla Cake

by Karissa's Vegan Kitchen

Easy and fluffy vegan vanilla cake. This moist cake is perfect for a birthday or any occasion! This recipe calls for simple and easily accessible ingredients.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Vegan

Servings: slices

Calories: 631kcal

Author: Karissa's Vegan Kitchen

Ingredients

Vanilla Cake

2 cups oat milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup canola oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1¾ cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Buttercream Frosting

1½ cup vegan butter softened (3 sticks of Earth Balance buttery sticks)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons non-dairy milk
6 cups powdered sugar sifted

Instructions

Vanilla Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans: Grease the pans, line with parchment paper, then grease the top of the parchment paper. I cut the parchment paper into a circle to fit into the bottom of the pan.
Mix together the oat milk and vinegar. Set aside for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, stir together the wet ingredients: oil, vanilla, and oat milk mixture.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. I use a whisk to reduce clumps and a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Pour or scoop the batter evenly into the pans.
Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when stuck into the center of the cake.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely before removing from the pans. After 15 minutes of cooling at room temperature, you can put the cake pans in the fridge to speed up the process.

Buttercream Frosting

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, whip the room temperature butter for about 2 minutes at medium speed. This step helps to aerate the butter and create a fluffy frosting.
Mix in the vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of milk to start.
Beat in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time at low speed until frosting is smooth.
Add more milk if the frosting is too thick, or more powdered sugar if too thin.
Once the cake is completely cooled (not even a little bit warm) you can frost it. On a cake platter, place one cake layer upside down so the bottom is now the top (this makes for a super even, flat-topped cake.) Spread some frosting evenly on top for the middle layer (I use about 1 to 1½ cup of frosting here.) Then place the second layer of cake on top (again, upside down so the flattest side is now the top.) Frost the top and outsides of the cake.
Add berries or sprinkles as decoration and serve!

Notes

You can use any unsweetened non-dairy milk for this recipe. I prefer oat milk for the neutral flavor.
White vinegar can be used in place of apple cider vinegar.
9x13 cake: Bake for 28-32 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cupcakes: Fill cupcake liners up about ¾ of the way. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

Nutrition