Classic Vegan White Cake
This Classic Vegan White Cake recipe is a simple way to make delectable light and fluffy vegan cakes. It features a touch of apple cider vinegar for a superior crumb and flavor depth and just the right amount of vanilla extract and almond extract for a rich flavor. Its subtle vanilla notes won't compete for attention if you're interested in adapting it into more complex cakes. Classic Vegan White Cake Recipe
¾ cup + 1 Tablespoon non-dairy milk1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1) Curdle the non-dairy milk
2) Whisk together the dry ingredients
3) Whsk together the wet ingredients
4) Mix the Vegan White Cake batter
5) Bake to perfection
User reviews
Average user rating from: 9 user(s)
| Rating | 2.0 |
Good, but wouldn't make again.
This cake tastes like cornbread. It has the consistency of cornbread (fluffy, moist and dense), looks like it (is yellow from the flax and canola oil, not white) and it somehow tastes like it too (maybe from the flax). It had mostly good reviews so that's why I tried it and I usually don't write reviews on recipes unless I feel I should warn other unsuspecting bakers who stay up all night like myself at the last minute to make a cake. I mean it would be edible, but not good. I'm going to have to remake the cake. And I tripled the recipe....blaahhhhh. I should have listened to the other reviewers that said it tasted like cornbread, because it totally does. Sorry for the not so good review. Good job for posting a vegan cake recipe though.
Thanks for the honest feedback Micheill! I'm going to revisit this recipe and see if I can make any improvements. I'll update the recipe accordingly if I find anything. The yellowness is caused by all-purpose flour going through a slight oxidation during baking. This oxidation is probably also lending some "baked" savory flavors that some might describe as "corny". I actually prefer this flavor in cakes but some people do not. This is one of the reasons why cake flour remains white after baking; it's bleached so it's not susceptible to oxidation and, hence, color changes during heat exposure. Hope you eventually found a vegan cake recipe that worked for you!
http://www.veganaugusta.com/desserts/
Most importantly, your wonderful information on the science of baking led to a discovery. I had been using the long standing box mix/can of soda recipe in some vegan outreach and while I love the concentrated sweetness, I know some prefer fluffy. And they are sticky so they were hard to frost and you could not do a layer cake using a box and 10 or 12 oz of soda. So following your sage advice, I dropped it to 8 oz and made the batter more like biscuit dough and BINGO!!! Fluffy cake!! So I posted a two method approach to the box and soda cake and will be offering both versions to people to try and reduce animal product consumption. Thanks so much for your great information!!! (both methods at the same dessert link above)
| Rating | 5.0 |
Easy, pretty, fluffy! And Soda Cake mix discovery!
I made this and no one would be able to tell it is vegan. It is light and fluffy, very quick to make. Easy to cut, easy to frost. Would be easy to do a layer cake if two were made. Again, another recipe I will recommend to all my friends and have posted a link to it from my web site.
http://www.veganaugusta.com/desserts/
Most importantly, your wonderful information on the science of baking led to a discovery. I had been using the long standing box mix/can of soda recipe in some vegan outreach and while I love the concentrated sweetness, I know some prefer fluffy. And they are sticky so they were hard to frost and you could not do a layer cake using a box and 10 or 12 oz of soda. So following your sage advice, I dropped it to 8 oz and made the batter more like biscuit dough and BINGO!!! Fluffy cake!! So I posted a two method approach to the box and soda cake and will be offering both versions to people to try and reduce animal product consumption. Thanks so much for your great information!!! (both methods at the same dessert link above)
Other Info
So happy that this cake recipe led to another cake discovery Newcindy! Thanks for sharing!
| Rating | 5.0 |
wedding cake base
What a brilliant recipe! I am making the wedding cake for a close friend and I've been baking al sorts of white cakes to find the best. And this is my winner! It's fluffy, yet not crumbly, flavourful (I used lemon instead of almond extract), easy to cut in half - perfect really. Thanks for that recipe!
That's awesome that you had such great results with this cake recipe Karin! So excited that it's finding its way into a wedding cake! I wouldn't complain if you shared a picture of the final cake haha;) I'd love to see it!
| Rating | 4.0 |
Nice! Tips on even rising?
This cake is very tasty and airy! It came out a little dry for me, but possibly I baked it a bit too long. I made half a two-layer cake by cutting one layer in half and stacking it with a creamed coconut frosting (http://www.adventures-in-cooking.com/2012/03/thai-tea-cake-with-creamed-coconut.html with vegan margarine instead of butter). One question I have is: how do I prevent the cake from rising mainly in the middle and leaving me with very thin edges? This makes it not so nice to stack... I know people usually trim their cake a bit before stacking (and I guess this probably helps the icing adhere as well) but I don't like cutting away parts of my nice cake... Thank you in advance, and keep up the good work!
Thanks Clara! It's practically impossible to design a cake recipe that rises evenly instead of slightly doming, and still results in an airy cake. This is because different parts of the cake rise at different times as the heat of the oven first heats up the exterior of the cake around the perimeter, then makes its way towards the center during the baking duration. The best way to get around this, as you mentioned, is to just cut off the domed part with a knife. I then destroy the evidence by eating it on the spot! A serrated bread knife works well for a nice clean cut.
Then I apply a "crumb coat" which is an extremely thin layer of frosting designed coat the cake, crumbs and all. This is then refrigerated and later, the frosting is applied to the cold, firm crumb coating to ensure that crumbs don't get mixed into the main frosting layer.
When doing layer cakes, I usually do one eight inch round cake pan per layer, unless I'm making extremely thin layers.
| Rating | 5.0 |
Grand!
This turned out beautifully, you've now given me my go-to white sponge cake recipe. I also made this a "lemon cake" but really don't recommend trying to make lemony cakes by adding to the batter*.... instead make a sugar/lemon juice/lemon zest glaze, puncture holes into the cake whilst it's still a bit warm then drizzle the glaze over, it will absorb the liquid and dry to a glossy, transparent finish on top. I then make a lemon icing/frosting (thicker, often with a tablespoon or two of vegan "butter" or coconut butter lot's of lemon zest, vanilla extract and powdered sugar) and paste it on top, leave in a cool place to harden. A GORGEOUS cake! Thankyou.
So glad you liked this cake H.D! I love your lemon variation. Allowing the lemon glaze to infuse into the cake before applying an icing is brilliant!
| Rating | 5.0 |
Great White Cake Recipe!
The cake came out nice and fluffy. I followed the recipe exact. I did use an 8x8 square pan instead because I don't have a cake pan (yet). Thank you for this amazing recipe!
So glad this cake recipe worked out for you razzldazzl23!
Jelly Roll..?
Hi Mattie! Haven't tried this recipe yet, but I trust your recipes. I was just wondering if I could tweak it into a jelly roll with any success. How fragile is it? Some people said it has a good moist, crumb so I think I am going to try it....I will hook you up with my results :)
Hi cupcakefdoom, I've been wanting to make a jelly roll too! I don't know if this cake will work for that- you need an incredibly flexible and well binded cake to do that which is particularly difficult to get with vegan baking. I'd love to work on this. I'd start by over mixing the batter slightly to purposely develop some of the gluten, which is usually a big no-no in regular cake recipes. I think the secret to nailing this is determining how much and how long to mix this batter for so you can dial in the perfect amount of gluten-based bind. Let me know if you break any ground on this!
Cupcakes?
Do you think this would translate well to cupcakes?
Hi Jenny May! This recipe should work out well for cupcakes but I think my Vanilla Cupcake recipe would work out better because it's designed from-the-ground-up for cupcakes.
http://www.veganbaking.net/cakes/cupcakes/559-vanilla-cupcakes-quick-bread-method
Good luck!
| Rating | 4.0 |
tender cake
This came out very well, nice and tender. I quadrupled it to make the triple layered checker-board cake (dyed red and green) for a friend's birthday and it looked lovely. thank you for sharing this.
| Rating | 5.0 |
delicious!
I made this today and it was absolutely delicious! It was exactly what I was looking for. It was light and had a great texture. I had made another vanilla cake from another source and it was too heavy and dense and not as sweet even though the other recipe used more sugar. This is definitely a hit in our house. I used 2 tbls water instead of the oil and it didn't affect it at all. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad this worked out for you patty! Good to know that it works well in its fat-free incarnation too!
I want to emphasize that this makes one layer, which I wouldn't actually call a "cake." I didn't notice that (my bad), so once I realized it, I just went ahead and finished the one layer and started over to make another one so I'd have an entire layer cake. Not a huge problem since all the ingredients and cups were still out.
| Rating | 3.0 |
Double it!
I can only give it a 3 based on my changes, so maybe not a fair score for the white cake. I made it Lemon Cake by using lemon juice in place of vinegar, which was fine. I used a teaspoon+ of lemon extract for the extracts. They say on the bottle to be careful because it's so concentrated. But it was only vaguely lemony. The cake itself was rather heavy or dense. But at least it didn't crumble like some vegan cakes. It was an extremely thick batter. For my second layer (see below), I added a bit of water to the batter. So maybe altering this recipe was not the best way to make a lemon cake. I'll try it again as a white cake sometime!
I want to emphasize that this makes one layer, which I wouldn't actually call a "cake." I didn't notice that (my bad), so once I realized it, I just went ahead and finished the one layer and started over to make another one so I'd have an entire layer cake. Not a huge problem since all the ingredients and cups were still out.
Thanks for your detailed input andreanewengland! I just updated the recipe to be more clear that it makes one 8 inch round.
Thanks Mattie!!
Need Help.
Help, I need to make a tangy lemon cake tomorrow morning for my daughter's b'day cake. She wants lemon with chocolate frosting all of a sudden. Can I use lemon juice instead of the vinegar? And use lemon extract or oil for the extracts?
Thanks Mattie!!
Hi Andrea! You can definitely use lemon juice instead of vinegar. I'd use no more than about 2 or 3 teaspoons lemon juice and use lemon extract for the rest of the lemon flavor. The acidity of lemon juice can prematurely gelatinize the starches and negatively affect protein coagulation, resulting in a rising, then sinking cake. Don't forget to reduce the non-dairy milk in the recipe to compensate for the liquids you add. Good luck and let me know how it works out!
can you skip the oil? not a big fan.
Hi patty, Since it's only 2 Tablespoons of oil you should be able to get by with just substituting it with water. Good luck!