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Vegan Vanilla Cake

This vegan vanilla cake is soft and fluffy and topped with a lush, creamy vegan vanilla buttercream finished off with sprinkles. This cake is so delicious and easy making it the perfect vegan birthday cake recipe.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Australian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Servings 12 servings
Calories 726kcal
Author Sally

Ingredients

For the vegan vanilla cake:

  • 2 cups almond milk
  • 2 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 3 ½ cups plain flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • cup canola oil
  • 1 ½ cups white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the vegan vanilla buttercream:

  • 1 cup (250 grams) dairy-free butter
  • 6 cups icing sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2-3 tablespoons vanilla almond milk
  • pink gel food colouring optional
  • sprinkles optional

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C and spray 3 x 8 inch round cake pans with cooking oil and line with baking paper.
  • Make the Vanilla Cake. In a small bowl, mix together the almond milk and white vinegar and set aside. It will split but that’s ok. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
  • In another large bowl, Whisk together the canola oil, white sugar and vanilla until combined.
  • Add in the dry ingredients ½ cup at a time, alternating with the milk whisking to combine between each addition. Continue until everything has been added and the batter is just combined and smooth.
  • Divide the batter into the three prepared pans evenly. I like to use my kitchen scales to weigh it out to make sure it is exact. Place the cakes in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer when inserted comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly touched.
  • Let cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pans before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Make the Vanilla Buttercream. Using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitted, lightly beat the dairy-free butter and vanilla so it’s smooth. Add in 3 cups of icing sugar and beat until creamy. Add in another 3 cups of icing sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating on medium speed. While the mixer is running, gradually add in the milk until super smooth and creamy. If the mixture is still too thin, add more icing sugar until the frosting is smooth but thick enough to hold its shape, alternatively if it’s too thick, add a little more milk.
  • Assemble the cake. Level the cakes with a bread knife if required. Smooth a little buttercream on a cake stand or serving board and place the first layer down. Top with buttercream to cover the cake, then add the next layer. Again add more buttercream, then the final cake layer upside down so you have a smooth top. Top with more buttercream around the tops and the sides and smooth out, scraping off any excess. You should be able to see the cake through the frosting yet still have smooth, straight sides. Let the cake chill in the fridge at least an hour up to overnight.
  • When ready to decorate, with the remaining buttercream, separate and tint your desired colours. For this ombre design, I separated the frosting into 3 bowls keeping one white and tinting the other 2 different shades of pink.
  • Place the coloured frosting into separate piping bags (zip lock bags also work here), and start by piping the darkest colour around the base ⅓ of the cake. Next, pipe around the lighter pink, and finally the white. Use a cake smoother to gently smooth out the frosting until the colours start to blend together.
  • To finish, smooth some white frosting over the top of the cake and place any remaining frosting into a single piping bag with your favourite piping tip attached and pipe swirls around the top. Press some sprinkles into the bottom using your hand if desired, and sprinkle over the top of the buttercream swirls.

Notes

See blog post for more detail on decorating your cake and all my tips to ensure you get the best results.

Nutrition

Calories: 726kcal | Carbohydrates: 113g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 3g | Sodium: 434mg | Potassium: 47mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 84g | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 2mg