This 6-inch vegan vanilla layer cake is perfect for kids parties and any small celebration. Decorated with smooth buttercream and sprinkles, it is the best cake for beginners and so easy to make. As a baker, it is so important to have a great vanilla cake recipe in your back pocket. And this recipe can be easily sized up for a larger cake or even used to make cupcakes. I just know that you’re going to love it. Not vegan but want to try this recipe anyway? Read on for my substitution recommendations.
The History of Vanilla Cake
It really is THE most classic and iconic of cake flavours so it’s no surprise that vanilla cakes have been around for a long time. Thought to date back as early as the 17th century, the Europeans are credited with making the first sponge cakes, mostly due to their early use of ovens. We can thank Spaniards for the introduction of vanilla to the wider world as Hernán Cortés is credited with naming vanilla on an expedition to Central America in the 16th century and subsequently introduced vanilla to Europe. Mexican vanilla to this day is still regarded as one of the highest quality vanillas and it is the second most expensive spice in the world.
Ingredients and Substitutions
To ensure that this recipe is vegan, I am using plant based butter, yogurt and milk in place of dairy and eggs. Check out my ingredient substitutions to see how you can swap out ingredients to suit your own dietary requirements. For more recipe tips, check out the FAQ section.
I always weigh my ingredients rather than use cup measures. This ensures accuracy for every recipe and perfect results every time. I have included US Cup measurements in the recipe card based on the ingredients that I used for this recipe. There may be some variation in consistency depending on the ingredients you use and how you scoop your measures. I recommend lightly scooping, and not packing them full.
Dry Ingredients
Cake Flour: I am using cake flour in the cake. Cake Flour has a lower protein content, less gluten and will create a more gentle texture in your baked goods. I always use it in my cakes and highly recommend it if you’re a fan of fluffy cakes. To make your own cake flour for this recipe, weigh out 200 grams of all purpose flour, remove 1.5 tablespoons and replace it with 1.5 tablespoons of cornflour. Sift two times to ensure it is incorporated fully. I will be sharing a more detailed post on flour on my website soon.
White Sugar: If you want a slightly caramelly undertone, you could sub with golden or light brown sugar. You can also substitute with coconut sugar.
Baking Powder and Salt: Baking powder helps the cakes rise. Remember that baking powder adds PUFF to a recipe which is exactly what we want here. I haven’t tried this with gluten-free flour but would recommend using a 1-to-1 GF flour substitute if you want to experiment. Salt is added to cut back on the sweetness, and also to enhance the flavours.
Wet Ingredients
Butter: I am using unsalted plant based room temperature butter to add fat to the cake. You can substitute with a light oil such as canola or coconut oil if you prefer or regular unsalted butter if you’re not dairy free.
Apple Sauce: Apple sauce is the main binding agent of this recipe. Replace with your favourite egg substitute or 2 eggs if you are not vegan.
Yogurt and Plant Based Milk: for additional moisture and richness, I am adding almond yogurt and almond milk to the recipe. Both help to elevate the lightness and colour of the cake. Feel free to sub with your favourite yogurt and milk substitutes. You can also use your preferred dairy yogurt and milk if you are not dairy free.
Vanilla Bean Paste: I always like to add vanilla bean paste to my cakes to help enhance the flavour and the colour. You can sub it with vanilla extract if you prefer or even use a completely different flavour. This recipe is a great base to experiment with.
For the buttercream
My vanilla buttercream is naturally vegan as we are removing all dairy and there is also no egg in it. It is wonderfully light and silky with just the right amount of flavour.
Plant Based Butter: I am using unsalted plant based room temperature butter as the base for the buttercream. If you are not dairy free or vegan, feel free to substitute with dairy butter. I do not recommend using ‘tub’ butter as they tend to contain more oils and water (to keep them spreadable) and will affect the consistency of the buttercream. Look out for a more detailed post about butter coming soon.
Plant Based Milk: My preference is to use almond milk in this recipe as the creaminess blends perfectly with the remaining ingredients and helps to elevate the overall flavour of the buttercream. Feel free to sub with your preferred plant based milk or with dairy milk if you are not vegan.
Icing Sugar: Ensure that your icing sugar is lump-free so that it will evenly distribute in the buttercream. I buy pre-sifted icing but if yours isn’t, I highly recommend sifting it before making the buttercream.
Salt: Salt is added to cut back on the sweetness. Due to the amount of icing sugar, this is a very sweet buttercream and needs salt to balance out all of the flavours.
Vanilla Bean Paste: I always like to add vanilla bean paste to my buttercream to help enhance the flavour and the colour. You can sub it with vanilla extract if you prefer.
How to Make Vegan Vanilla Cake
This vegan vanilla layer cake is best made in a stand mixer so that you can add some of the ingredients while the mixer does all the hard work. We will be making 3 layers in total and using 9 ingredients for the cake. Start by creaming the sugar and plant based butter together. Add the apple sauce, yogurt and vanilla bean paste and mix to combine. Don’t worry that the batter looks curdled at this point. That’s completely normal when you add this many wet ingredients in one go.
Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt then add about a quarter of it to the mixing bowl. Stir to combine then continue to alternate between adding the milk and the remaining flour to the cake batter, mixing it with each addition. Scrape down the bowl to ensure everything is fully combined. Using an ice cream scoop, evenly distribute the cake batter between the 3 cake pans.
Tap the pans with your hand to level them out and bang them on the counter a few times to remove any remaining air bubbles.
Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes until the cakes are well risen and slightly firm to the touch. They will be pale in colour and slightly removed from the sides of the pan. Allow the cakes to cool completely while you clean up and make the buttercream.
How to Make Vanilla Buttercream
This is just the most gloriously silky smooth buttercream and I absolutely adore using it with my baked goods. It is perfect for covering cakes and also works well for piping. Add the room temperature plant based butter to the mixing bowl and mix for 2 minutes until the butter is light and fluffy. I prefer to use the paddle attachment when I make my buttercream so that it doesn’t incorporate too much air. Add in the salt and half the icing sugar and mix until combined. Continue to mix in the remaining icing sugar, plant based milk and vanilla bean paste.
The buttercream should be smooth and pale in colour. My recipe makes just over 830 grams of buttercream which is more than enough to fill and cover this cake.
How to Fill and Coat the Vanilla Cake
Don’t feel intimidated about decorating a layer cake. Buttercream icing is very forgiving and there is a growing trend towards not having a perfectly smooth finish. That being said, it is definitely achievable with some of my handy tips. I like to decorate my cakes on a turntable so that I am not straining my arms while decorating. I find that it also helps to have the cake lifted off a surface to make it easier to reach around the cake. If your cakes have domed slightly, feel free to level them off with a knife or cake leveller. This recipe does bake relatively flat so you might not need to do that (I skipped levelling).
We’re going to start with building and filling the cake. Add a small amount of buttercream to your cake circle and attach the first layer. Pipe a dam of icing and fill the centre with jam. You could alternate the fillings between the layers if you prefer. I’m a traditional kind of cake girl and just love homemade strawberry jam and buttercream in my layers. You can find my 2 ingredient jam recipe here.
Add the second layer on top and repeat the filling as before.
Place the final layer on top, ensuring that the crumb side is facing downwards. By adding the last layer this way, we are going to have fewer crumbs in our buttercream, which gives a cleaner finish to the cake.
Crumb coat with buttercream then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Top tip – use an offset spatula to add the buttercream to the top and sides and finish off the sides with the cake scraper.
Add your final layer of buttercream. You can leave the top edge more rustic if you prefer or scrape the excess buttercream off with a spatula.
To add a swirl to the top of the cake, angle your spatula so that it slightly touches the cake and then spin the turntable while bringing the spatula slowly towards the centre.
It’s Decorating Time!
Move the cake onto a tray then add sprinkles to the bottom of the cake. Colour a small amount of icing with blue food colouring and add to a piping bag. I highly recommend using an oil-based food colouring such as Color Mill in buttercream so that the colour will not be repelled by the fat from the butter. Add a 1M piping tip to a piping bag, cut the end off your blue icing bag and then drop it in the 1M bag. Pipe swirls on top of the cake and add sprinkles.
And voila! Your vegan vanilla layer cake looks beautiful.
Cutting the Cake
There are a few different ways that you can cut the cake to maximize either the size or number of slices. For parties, I highly recommend using the side-cutting method shown below so that you can get around 20 slices from this cake. Prefer larger slices? This cake will provide 8 generously sized triangular-shaped slices. Or 4 really large ones if you have a small gathering. Trust me, that’s what we do as we’re a family of 4 and the kids love this cake!
Common Questions
I highly recommend using an unflavoured plant based yogurt. I used almond yogurt as it adds a nice creaminess to the batter. See ingredients section for more details.
The cake should be stored at room temperature in a cake box or sealed container for 2-3 days. To freeze, cut up slices, cover with plastic wrap and place them in a sealed container. To defrost, remove from the freezer and allow to come to room temperature before unwrapping.
I recommend using oil-based food colouring to colour the buttercream. Brands such as Color Mill will not repel from the oils in the butter and will provide a smoother finish to your coloured buttercream.
The Best Vegan Vanilla Layer Cake
You simply can’t go wrong with this vegan vanilla layer cake and its silky smooth buttercream icing. Best enjoyed as soon as decorated but will last for a few days when stored in a cake box at room temperature. This cake makes 8 triangular-shaped slices or 20 small slices which are ideal for a small celebration or kids party. I’m sure you will love it as much as we do. You can also make cupcakes with this recipe with no adjustments needed.
Craving More Cake?
Here are some of our favourites that we bake regularly:
- Great British Bake Off inspired Red Velvet Layer Cake (dairy free)
- My childhood favourite – Chocolate Fudge Cake (DF and GF)
- The perfect party tray bake Butterscotch Cake (DF)
And learn how to decorate cakes on my Cake Decorating 101 page.
The Best Vegan Vanilla Layer Cake
Equipment
- Teaspoon Measure
- Sellotape
- Cake Scraper optional
- Tray optional but recommended to catch runaway sprinkles
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 200 grams Plant Based Butter (unsalted) (Just under 1 US cup or 1 3/4 sticks)
- 200 grams White Sugar (1 US Cup)
- 100 grams Apple Sauce (1/2 US Cup)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
- 120 grams Plant Based Yogurt (See note. 1/2 US Cup)
- 200 grams Cake Flour (1 2/3 US Cups)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 0.5 tsp Salt
- 120 ml Plant Based Milk (1/2 US Cup)
For the buttercream:
- 480 grams Icing Sugar (4 US Cups)
- 225 grams Plant Based Butter (unsalted) (1 US Cups)
- 50 ml Plant Based Milk (Just under 1/4 US Cup)
- Pinch Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
For decoration:
- Strawberry Jam for filling the cake
- Sprinkles
- Blue Food Colouring see note
Instructions
Prep:
- Gather all ingredients and equipment. All ingredients should be at room temperature.
- Grease then line the cake pans with parchment paper.
To make the cake:
- Cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the apple sauce, yogurt and vanilla bean paste. Mix to combine. The batter will look curdled at this point but don't worry!
- Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt then add about a quarter to the mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Alternate between adding the milk and the remaining flour to the cake batter, mixing it with each addition.
- Scrape down the bowl to ensure everything is fully combined.
- Using an ice cream scoop, evenly distribute the cake batter between the 3 cake pans. Tap the pans with your hand to level them out and bang them on the counter a few times to remove any remaining air bubbles.
- Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes until the cakes are well risen and slightly firm to the touch. They will be pale in colour and slightly removed from the sides of the pan.
- Allow the cakes to cool completely.
To make the buttercream:
- Add the plant based butter to the mixing bowl.
- Mix for 2 minutes until butter is light and fluffy.
- Add in the salt and half the icing sugar. Mix until combined.
- Add the remaining icing sugar, plant based milk and vanilla bean paste. Mix until fully combined. The buttercream should be smooth and pale in colour.
To decorate the cake:
- Add a small amount of buttercream to your cake circle and attach the first layer. Pipe a dam of icing and fill the centre with jam.
- Add the second layer on top and repeat the filling as before.
- Place the final layer on top, ensuring that the crumb side is facing downwards.
- Crumb coat with buttercream then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. TOP TIP – use an offset spatula to add the buttercream to the top and sides and finish off the sides with the cake scraper.
- Add your final layer of buttercream. To add a swirl to the top of the cake, angle your spatula so that it slightly touches the cake and then spin the turntable while bringing the spatula slowly towards the centre.
- Move the cake onto a tray then add sprinkles to the bottom of the cake.
- Colour a small amount of icing with blue food colouring and add to a piping bag.
- Add a 1M piping tip to a piping bag, cut the end off your blue icing bag and then drop it in the 1M bag.
- Pipe swirls on top of the cake and add sprinkles.
- Cut the cake and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- All ingredients should be at room temperature.
- I highly recommend using an unflavoured plant based yogurt. I used almond yogurt as it adds a nice creaminess to the batter. See recipe post for more details.
- This cake makes 8-10 regular (triangular) slices or 20 side (straight) slices. See recipe post for cutting guide.
- Cake can be stored at room temperature in a cake box or sealed container for 2-3 days.
- To freeze, cut up slices, cover with plastic wrap and place in a sealed container. To defrost, remove from the freezer and allow to come to room temperature before unwrapping.
- I recommend using oil-based food colouring to colour the buttercream. See the full post for more details.
- I always weigh my ingredients rather than use cup measures. This ensures accuracy for every recipe and perfect results every time. I have added US Cup measurements based on the ingredients that I used for this recipe. There may be some variation in consistency depending on the ingredients you use and how you scoop your measures. I recommend lightly scooping, and not packing them full.
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