This is the Vegan Vanilla Cake Recipe that is getting shared by everyone!
Join the party and have a go at the lightest and fluffiest vegan vanilla cake you will ever try!
Perfect to pair up with just about any filling and icing you love the most!
Using golden flax meal for the egg replacer instead of brown flax meal you won’t even see the flecks!
But if you do not like using flax meal, you can of course use your favorite egg replacer here too!
I’ve used Bob’s Red Mill with great results! (1 Tablespoon)
Paired with my vanilla buttercream and homemade vegan sprinkles you really have it all right here in one place!
And for those who are already asking, yes you can add sprinkles to this cake batter for a Funfetti Cake batter!
This website may contain links as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, which means when you click a link and make a purchase through my website I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you
Notes for Success:
This is a creaming method recipe which lends lightness and airiness to the batter
Using a fine grain granulated sugar will help this tremendously
Zulka brand sugar is vegan and this is the brand I use, however the grains are quite large so I will process it down in the food processor before beginning
Many people have complained that when they use cake flour their cakes turn out “raw-like”
While this has not happened to me, I do prefer to weigh my flour on the scale for the most accurate consistent results
For those who prefer to use all purpose flour you can substitute the entire amount but be sure to take out 4 Tablespoons (32g)
Most often I bake my cakes into 3-7″ cake pans but this recipe will also accommodate 2-8″ layers or 1 single 9″ x 13″ cake layer
By using Vanilla Plant Milk in this recipe instead of plain you will intensify this vanilla batter and that is what sets this recipe apart from any other!
Flax meal can be replaced with 1 Tablespoon of another dry blend egg replacer of your choice
Reconstitute as the directions will advise but be sure to use the total amount of water listed below in the recipe
Several buttercream recipes are here for you to choose from and any one would be great on this cake!
CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE BUTTERCREAM RECIPES ON ONE PAGE
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE STEP BY STEP
The Best Vegan Vanilla Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cake
- White or AC Vinegar 1 Tablespoon (15ml)
- Vanilla Soy Milk 1 cup (237ml) *or any plant milk
- Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoons (10ml)
- Cake Flour 2½ cups (300g) *see notes for success
- Golden Flax meal 4 Tablespoons (32g) *see notes for success
- Hot Water 10 Tablespoons (150ml)
- Granulated Sugar 1 ¼ cup (250g)
- Baking Powder 4 teaspoons (10g)
- Vegan Butter 12 Tablespoons (170g)
- Salt ½ teaspoon
- 1 recipe Buttercream
- 1 Recipe Homemade Vegan Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Grease your cake pans and line them with parchment paper
- First prepare the cake batter
- Combine the flax meal with the hot water and let stand to thicken
- Add the vinegar to the soy milk to sour then add the vanilla extract
- Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt if you are using it
- Cream the slightly softened vegan butter with the sugar until light and fluffy and this may take about 3-5 minutes on medium to high speed, scrape the bottom & sides of the bowl to ensure an even mix
- Add the flax paste to the creaming mixture while mixing on medium speed, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to incorporate evenly, whip on high for 30 seconds to emulsify
- Add about 1/3 of the flour to the creamed mixture while mixing on low speed just until combined, then add half of the remaining soured milk
- Add another 1/3 of the flour and then the remaining sour milk
- Add the last amount of flour and mix just to combine evenly.
- Portion the batter between your greased and parchment lined cake pans and bake immediately in a preheated 350°F oven for approximately 25-30 minutes or until they are springy to the touch when you gently press the centers.
- Be aware that this cake recipe will not rise very much! I make 3-7" layers that end up being just a tad higher than 1" each!
- Meanwhile prepare the buttercream recipe of your choice by following the recipe on that blog post
- Build and ice the cake as you desire or as shown in the video and then decorate with my recipe for homemade vegan sprinkles!
I have a habit of baking my cakes into 3-7" cake pans but this recipe will also accommodate 2-8" layers or 1- 9" x 13" cake layer
Notes
Cake will stay fresh at room temperature for a day, but I like to store in the refrigerator for a longer shelf life- up to 1 week.
PaSean
What’s the difference between this recipe and the one in your book? I notice different measurements. Also, this recipe uses flax not plant based egg as stated .
Gretchen
Yes I noticed my discrepancy with writing the Plant Based Egg versus my video where I used flax (both work equally great, but so many people have been having a hard time getting the Plant based Egg since it is not technically “on the market yet” so I changed to flax meal to cut down on getting tons of questions in that regard) If you refresh your browser you will see the change in the written recipe. As for the book version, because of the contract I was not allowed to have exact replicas of recipes from my blog straight to the book, so it is slightly altered but nothing that would make anything “off” or wrong. Since flax meal is essentially a binder and a fat it was ok to add a bit more (in the book version) versus what I use here in this recipe. I also used cake flour in the book but so many people cannot get cake flour in other countries (and I seem to have a huge following in the UK) so AP is a fine sub for this recipe as well
Paige
If I do have cake flour, would you recommend using it? And if so, how much should I use?
Gretchen
Yes it is listed as 2½ cups cake flour
nazan
hi iwill try your cake .what is the pan size do i have to use for cake
Gretchen
I use 3-7″ pans but you can use 2-8″ if that is all you have *I include that info in the recipe written post
Lynne
Hi! I was wondering if I should omit anything if I use Cake Flour instead of AP flour.
Gretchen
Hey there, so it’s a good thing to understand the different flours and how they act in our recipes.
Cake flour does not absorb as much liquid from a recipe as AP- therefore many people have complained that their cake resulted in a gummy, almost “raw” texture. So this recipe was formulated for AP but if you want to use cake flour be aware that this is a poteential outcome. That said, knowing that the cake flour absorbs less – you can cut back on the liquids in the recipe slightly or just use all AP as listed 🙂
Kinal shah
Hi Gretchen,
I want to mango cake. Can I use this recipe for mango cake? If yes so I need to replace milk to mango puree or Do I need to add anything else???
Thank you.
Gretchen
Best to use a fruit powder (if possible) adding fruit puree (which is essentially adding more LIQUID to an already moist cake) will result in disastrous results, your cake will be heavy & gummy.
So I would not advise to alter this recipe, but rather use a recipe that is already meant for fruit puree additions.
Again I prefer to use freeze dried fruit powders to make fruit based sponge cakes for the reasons I just named above, but if you cannot get that you can modify my Peach Melba Cake here with mango instead
But for the BEST results get the fruit powder and CLICK HERE for Mango Cake Recipe
Victoria
What are your thoughts on replacing the butter with avocado?
Gretchen
I have not tried that! My first thought is that you will have a greenish, yellowish, greyish? colored cake LOL but otherwise, I am not sure how it will work, if you try it let me know please!
Tahira
Hi
Just wondering can I turn this recipe into a marble cupcake, or do you have a marble cake recipe?
Hope you can help thanks
Alicia
I followed the recipe exactly. The middle sank almost to the bottom of the tin.
Gayonna Lee
You are my SHERO!!!!!!!
Erin
hello, thanks for sharing you recipe! if i were to sub AP flour for cake, would I use same weight(300g) for the full recipe? i have such a hard time making a butter based vanilla cake that does not come out too gummy or too dry, so im anxious to try this recipe. Although, i would likely need to scale it down to a single layer or double layer. thanks
Gretchen
Sure that would be fine, just half all the ingredients and be careful of the math! Yes to same weight for the flour, but again if you are HALVING the recipe always double check your math & your measure
Felicia McClure
Do you use the same amount of egg replacer? I did and it seems lumpy. I just put it in the oven so 🤞
Gretchen
Hi Felicia, I am not sure what you mean by “same amount” (**i cannot see entire comment threads, I only get comments singly, so I am not sure what we are talking about! Sorry!)
Tahira
Hi
I was wondering would this recipe work with a DIY cake flour which is made from flour and cornstarch/cornflour?
Thanks in advance
Mona
What if I wanted to make this but use sheet cake pan? Sorry if it’s a dumb question. I’m not a baker but I wanted to make this for my sister’s birthday for about 20 people.
Gretchen
Not a dumb question! A sheet pan is 12″ x 18″ with a 1″ edge (lip) a cake pan is a 9″ x 13″ pan with a 2″ rim, some people call these “sheet pans” but they are cake pans.
At any rate I think you may mean the more common 9″ x 13″ CAKE pan, so for that you will pour ALL THE BATTER into that sized pan and bake same temp for probably 35 -40 minutes? I am guessing since I have not made that size in a long time, but I always do a toothpick test OR springy to the touch when I gently press the centers CLICK HERE FOR MORE
Deepika
Dear Gretchen,
Your recipes are amazing. I love your Vanilla Sponge cake recipe from 2015. I had saved a copy of it but have lost it in the meanwhile and could not find it anywhere in Internet. Would it be possible for you to send me the original recipe. That is the only cake my family loves it to the core. Please😢.
Thank You
Gretchen
Hi There, Since December my non vegan blog has shut down. I couldn’t keep up the cost to host it on the internet and maintain it monthly anymore
The cost to host such a huge database online was close to $400 a month with tech support monthly to keep it clean & safe and smooth.
I certainly do not (did not) make that much, so that became a pretty steep price to pay for a website that had been conflicting me financially & emotionally for so many years,
so after 5 years of keeping it free & open to the public I finally decided to shut it down.
I did not keep any of the recipes for myself when I shut down the database
(which was the only place the recipes were stored)
I just did (do) not feel comfortable anymore sharing recipes laden with animal ingredients promoting the very industry I loathe so it really didn’t make sense for me to keep them nor keep open and available such an expensive website.
I do thank you so much for your support and encouragement through the ages,
I have stunned NON Vegans with my vegan recipes, perhaps you could try to do the same?
If not, I am sure there are tons of great (if not better than mine) recipes out there for you to use!
Thanks again~ Best, Gretchen
Vera Tkocz
Hi,
I made this cake yesterday. It is a good recipe. A little too sweet for the average German taste (most agreed) but other than that it was very delicious. I guess the special flour, sifting and lots of mixing made it turn out that nicely 😉
Gretchen
Hey thanks for the comment! Yes I have learned that we here in the USA have quite the sweet tooth that is startling to most in UK and Germany ! LOL
Atakan
Could you add the cake pan sizes to recipes??
Gretchen
Good idea, thank you for pointing out my error, I am updating now
Marianne Yocum
Could I substitute the soy milk for coconut milk?
Gretchen
yes
Maria
Can I substitute for almond milk? And to get flax meal can I just grind flaxseed?
Gretchen
yes to both
Evelyn
Do you think replacing AP flour with Gluten free flour will be ok? As long as it has xanthium gum?
Gretchen
HI Evelyn, I am not a GF baker, so I have no good advice for you there. I’m sorry!
Sonia
Hi, Gretchen 🙂 Must the vegan butter be in room temperature? Thank you
Gretchen
Yes good idea!
Sonia
Thank you 😊
Susan Kaufman
Hi Gretchen – I’ve been a fan of your vegan baking recipes for a while and I’m loving and sharing your book – thank you! I would like to make this cake in a much larger size – for about 50 people. I’m thinking 2 layers baked in half sheet pans. Any idea of how many times to multiply the base recipe for the right amount of batter? And how long to bake in a half sheet pan? I will definitely use your aquafaba swiss buttercream – I’ve made it before and it’s delicious. I added pistachio cream to make pistachio frosting – it’s really good. Thank you in advance!
Gretchen
hi thank you!! I appreciate that so much!
yes to half sheet pans with 2 layers will definitely serve 50 people.
I would do 1½X the recipe for each layer (total 3X recipe for both)
Susan Kaufman
Thanks so much for your help – baking the first layer today – fingers crossed! Did you have any idea of what the baking time would be in the half sheet pan?
Gretchen
I would check at 20 minutes
Pree
Hey Gretchen!
Its hard to find flax seed where I am. Can i replace it with aquafaba?
Im not an expert at vegan baking so Im not sure what can be used to replace the flax.
Gretchen
Hi Yes you can replace the flax meal with AF – add 8Tb aquafaba instead of the 4Tbs flax & 10Tbs water
Pree
Thank you!
I love all of your recipes. I’m certain this will be just as good as all the rest. 🙂
Love ya xxx
Suzie
Hi Gretchen
Thank you – this IS the best vegan vanilla cake! I’ve struggled to find a good vegan cake recipe for a while and this one works so well.
Unfortunately now I need a recipe for a gluten free vegan cake, for my brother who’s gluten intolerant. Do you have any gluten free vegan cake recipes? I’ve tried a few and they never seem to work out. Any suggestions?
I’d appreciate any help you can offer.
Thanks again 🙂
Gretchen
HI YAY! Thanks! I agree I LOVE this cake! Im sorry though, I do not do any GF Baking! It would be worth a try to use a 1:1 mix for this recipe! I want to say others have tried with success??
Jordan DeGidio
Can I use ground chia seeds instead of flax meal?
Gretchen
Yes you can however the chia will definitely give you black flecks in your cake
Piyu
Hi Gretchen. Your “vanilla sponge cake” is my go to recipe as well as my base recipe for any similar cakes. I would say that’s the best recipe ever ! Thanks a ton for being my inspiration. I wanted to do an eggless Version of your vanilla sponge cake . So what should I substitute for eggs in that recipe ! Please let me know
I’m eagerly waiting for your suggestion
Thank you
Gretchen
Hi Piyu, thankyou!! Sponge cakes rely heavily on eggs so this is one recipe that cannot easily be converted to get same results.
You may be interested in my online course where I talk all about egg replacers in vegan cake baking and even show an egg free sponge cake, while teaching how to convert your own (or any) recipe to vegan.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE!
Ema
Hello.
Which kind of vegan butter do you use to bake this receipy?
Thank you.
Gretchen
I Use Earth Balance, but whatever brand you can get is fine. Smart Balance and Blue Bonnet margarine are also vegan
Nereda
Hi. I love that your recipes are vegan. Thankyou so much for all your recipe testing and making. You’re awesome! I plan on making this cake for a 3 tiered birthday cake. I need the cake for Saturday but it has to be finished on the Friday. Please tell me if I make it in the Wednesday, ice etc Thursday and decorate Friday will it still be nice and fresh to eat Saturday? Thank you. Nereda
Gretchen
Hi! thank YOU too! and you’re welcome! You can freeze the cake layers, but honestly if you are going to just ice it Thursday? Maybe you can bake it AND ice it Thursday? Once the icing is on that acts like a seal and will keep the cake fresh inside (just keep it refrigerated until you serve and then bring it to room temperature before serving and it will be fine for those 3 days
Nina Barbosa
Hi Gretchen,
I am a big fan of your desserts, so thank you for all your delicious inspiration! I was wondering if you could sub in another flour to make gluten free?
Gretchen
Hi Nina! Thank you! When it comes to GF+vegan it isn’t always a straight sub unfortunately. BUT my friend Deborah has developed a gluten free flour mix that works GREAT with the Plant Based Egg (an egg replacer that I helped her develop) it is going to be available on Amazon in just a couple weeks, but for now you can visit her either here on Facebook at The Plant Based Egg page or on her website where she has so many great vegan + GF recipes!
Check out this article she wrote about gluten free flour blends
Nina
Thanks for the recommendation, I will check out Deborah’s work. I am looking forward to purchasing your book as well.
Chathuri Galagamamudali
Hi Gretchen.. my question , since my family only dislikes eggs, can i replace soy milk with normal milk and vegan butter with margarine (i cant get vegan butter where i live ). Thank you in advance ❤️
Rose
Gretchen!! I have been going nuts over all your blogs and I wish I had all the time in the world to bake all of them!! Someday I will! So your vanilla fudge cupcakes are out of this world and the BEST vegan white cake I’ve ever tried! And I have been practicing vegan for over 10years, so that is WOW! I compared this recipe to that, and it seems the only difference is that this cake recipe has half as much vinegar. Curious why that change? Seems like it would make a denser cake, no? I like cakes light and fluffy is why I am hesitant. Thank you and Keep up the great work you are amazing!! Ugggggg Let’s not get started on all my wonderful thoughts about your new eclair recipe!
Gretchen
Hi Rose! thank you! Definitely NOT a dense cake for sure! This cake is light and fluffy you are going to love it! I have tested so many recipe over and again and have settled on this formula for the perfect balance! I hope you try it!
naim
HI! I am going to be baking this recipe today. still havent found a vanilla vegan cake and i am soooo hoping this will be the one!!
if i make cupcakes, how long do i bake them for?
and can i use apple cider vinegar instead of white?
thank you!
Gretchen
Hi! Yes to ACV instead of white and cupcakes will take about 18-20 minutes, just check them at 15 to see how they are going
Margarita
Hello, Gretchen, thanks for your vegan vanilla recipe. I’ve been following you since the Woodland Bakery! My daughter has been vegan for 2 years now and I’ve been searching for recipes for her birthday and this one sounds lovely. The problem is we don’t have flax seeds or meal here in Cyprus. Is there an easy alternative I could use instead, like apple sauce or anything similar?
Thank you very much.
Gretchen
Hi Thanks!! You can use any egg replacer brand you can find near you, sub in for equivalent of 2 eggs
Ray
This is the best cake recipe I have ever tried. Thank you so much! I used apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar and it worked fine.It was very firm and help it’s shape very well, the flavour was perfect, and it was so simple.. Every other recipe I’ve tried is always too moist and crumbly. This one is definitely a keeper.
Roger
Hi Gretchen! If this recipe works ou, I’ll definitely be using this instead of my old vanilla cake recipe since flax is so much cheaper than eggs XD How do the taste and texture of this cake differ from your old non-vegan butter and vanilla cakes?
Gretchen
Great! I love this cake so much I use it for everything I need VANILLA! Taste is a unique personal phenomena so you will have to decide! I think it is FAB! So moist and fluffy!
Christine
So, this recipe came up in my emails and as I was reading, I’m thinking, “this sounds good but I’m happy with the vanilla cake recipe I already have”, and then came to where you wrote, “So while you may be thinking, “Eh I don’t need to try this recipe, I already have a vanilla cake that works….”Please do try just one more! I promise you will be happy you did!”
So I did try your recipe and YES, I am very happy I did!!!
Your recipe is lighter and fluffier than the one I used to make, and the taste is delicious and buttery.
Thank you for putting the challenge out there.
LOVE your work!
Gretchen
awesome! thanks for the feedback!
stephen B.
can I use the recipe as stated for a 13 x 9 pan?
Gretchen
yes all the batter into that size pan
Arpita Venugopal
Hi Gretchen,
Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes. It is so great to see somebody having put in such great efforts into dissecting vegan baking and producing fabulous results. I have also been enjoying making recipes from your book.
I have just one burning question. Would it be okay if I substituted oil for butter? Since oil and sugar wouldn’t really cream, would it vastly affect the texture of the cake?
Thank you
Gretchen
Hi Thankyou!! and you are welcome too! You are correct the oil would not cream into the sugar so it would affect the outcome here, since the creaming is really needed to help the fluffiness and rise of this cake CLICK HERE FOR MORE
Ellen
Hi! Thanks sooo much for this recipe!! Hoping to impress my nonvegan family with it.
How do you get the flaxseeds not to show up in your cake? Do you grind them down more of sieve it after mixing it with water?
Gretchen
Hi Thanks! I know you will love it (and they will too!) I am using golden flax seed
Kana
Hi if I use chai seed what will be the measurement?
Thank you
Gretchen
yes same
Neha
Thanks so much for the recipe – can’t wait to try it! One quick question – I’m planning to use this recipe to make a two tier cake for my niece. My over is TINY though, so I would have to bake it in two batches. Is it okay to make all the batter in one go, and then leave half to sit out while I bake the other half? Thank you!
Gretchen
yes this recipe is more forgiving so it will be OK
Annie
I tried this recipe and it is incredibly good, super moist and fluffy. I made another batch and instead of butter, use coconut oil and also worked out great.
I have an entire unused bag of egg replacer, I wanted to know if instead of using flaxseed I can use that, and if so, should I lower the amount of baking powder? since the one I have has baking soda (Bob’s Red Mill)
Thanks
Gretchen
Awesome!! thanks for the coconut oil tip! Yes you can use the Bobs Red mill in place of 2 eggs – Im not sure how the leavening action of the BRM one is though, so I would say yes to cut back on maybe 1/4tsp?
Ana
HiAnnie and Gretchen.. How much coconut oil did you use to replace the vegan butter? Can I use blue bonnet margarine to replace the vegan butter? I really want to try this recipe..
Keysi
Hello Gretchen
As always, a delicious recipe.
I want to make this recipe in a larger mold, a 9-inch with three layers, I was wondering if you could tell me how much should I increase the size of the recipe? I was thinking that as you did 3 layers in a 7-inch one, maybe with a recipe and a half I could get three out of 9 inches …?
I ask this because I have read that in terms of cakes, it does not always work to simply duplicate the recipe to have good results.
Thank you.
Gretchen
Hi YES! That is the exact quantity for 3-9″ layers
Atarah
If I was making a 9″ 3 layer strawberry cake, how would you convert this recipe? I have seen some recipes replace all the milk with strawberry puree or half strawberry and half milk as well as some strawberry extract/emulsion.
Gretchen
I would want you to do a small test first, sometimes adding in fruit purees in place of the milk will leave you with a gummy cake, due to the natural pectins in the fruit.
I have always preferred to add FRUIT COMPOUNDS since they are super concentrated flavor and rarely affect the texture of the cake
Atarah
There’s a bakery supply store near me, but those compounds are pricey! lol
Atarah
How would you do it with the fruit compounds? There’s a pastry supply store near me, I was just trying to avoid spending $35 lol
Gretchen
I Know they are very expensive but a little goes a long way. I would start with 2-4Tbs to 1 whole batch of buttercream, taste to your liking
NAQSHPA
ive concentrated strawberry puree by half its amount and reduced the liquid by that much and used it in recipes for cakes . though i dont know how it would turn out with this recipie
sata67
I would like to prepare this cake but I only have one pan of this size.
I would like to know if I can bake the 3 layers one at a time?
In your recipe you wrote “bake immediately”
Thanks 🙂
Gretchen
While it is always best to bake the batter right after mixing for best results, this recipe is a bit more forgiving than some others, so yes you can do it
Nicholas
I was thinking about making a lemon blueberry cake using this as a base ans subbing out some of the milk with lemon juice and adding zest. Is the batter be thick enough to support folding in blueberries?
Gretchen
yes will be fine!
Ana
Thank you for the recipe! Do you think that it will make enough batter to make a 3 layer cake in 3- 8″ cake pans?
Gretchen
yes it will – yours will just be slightly thinner layers
Jerrie Hutchison
Hi Gretchen, i have access to an egg replacement powder (potato & tapioca starch, calcium carbonate, citric acid and vegetable gum) 1 tsp with 30mls water equals 1 egg. Would this be suitable to use instead of the flax, if so, how much would be required?
Thanks
Jerrie
Gretchen
HI Jerrie, since all egg replacers yield different results it’s hard to say exactly how this one that you have will turn out without a test. BUT based on the teachings from my Vegan Baking Mastery Egg Replacers Course – I suspect this one would be closer to EnerG egg replacer with the calcium carbonate. Im not sure how much leavening it will add to the cake though and those added gums and starches will definitely bind (not sure the result will be gummy though?) so it will definitely take a test run.
The original recipe I used here is to replace 2 eggs.
The flax in my recipe is being reconstituted with the 10Tbs of water, so you may need to add a bit more soy milk to your batter if it seems really thick from those gums
lyn
could I make a caramel sponge out of this if I substitute the white sugar to brown sugar?
Gretchen
yes
ann
Hi, so when you change the sugar from white to brown you automatically get a caramel a sponge? So how would you call a sponge with vanilla but made with caramel?
Gretchen
Hi Ann, I am not really in that boat for people who say using brown sugar automatically makes the cake caramel. I do not find that to be true, since for me I taste NO caramel if I use brown sugar instead of white.
lyn
Gretchen i want to make a sticky toffee pudding cake and the recipe called for dates puree. if i add dates puree to the vegan vanilla cake will it affect it in any way?
Gretchen
HI Lyn! Yes it will affect it most definitely. It’s not a great idea to add “foreign” ingredients to recipes that have been formulated to work specifically as written. I would always recommend to find a recipe (even a non vegan one) that is already a sticky toffee pudding recipe then veganize it. You will have much more success that way than trying to change a vanilla cake recipe. Do a quick google search for sticky toffee pudding cake and then compare the recipe to this vanilla cake. Most likely you will see how different the ingredients are and the ratios of ingredients too.
But this will give you a better place to start when you can see the ingredients and how you can then interchange them to your liking.
Robin
Hi Gretchen, Can I substitute the white sugar in this recipe for another type of sugar? I am so looking forward to baking this cake!!
Thank you
Gretchen
YES! But which one? Lol as long as it is a crystal sugar (meaning not a liquid sugar) it will work fine
Robin
Great! For example, coconut sugar? Or Swerve?
Gretchen
yes to both!
lyn
gretchen i don’t know what happened but my cake turned very dence and oily
Gretchen
Hmm, it’s hard to say why. I always tell everyone the same thing whenever there is a recipe fail, if you use all the exact ingredients I use in the EXACT measurements you should get the same result.
Was there something different? Did you mix different? Was your measure perhaps off somehow?
Lauren
Hi there – i just made this cake. i baked in same size pAns and the outside was golden brown and a little bit of a crust when it was ready. Is this cake supposed to be extra moist? Not dense but too wet? Any idea what i could have done wrong. I am a pastry chef and followed the instructions to a T.
Gretchen
This is a very moist cake yes. I don’t ever experience a “crust” though, I rarely have to trim this cake for any reason, I typically just use the layers straight away.
I’d say double check your measurements? That could be the only thing that may have gone wrong if you followed the instructions exactly.
Lauren
Hi. So now i have tried it again, do you seem to mix it for some time after adding the last measure of dry ingredients? I assumed maybe i overmixed but i only mixed until it was all combined…..
They seem to have sunk in the middle but i checked almost every single thing down the list and that´s all i can think of is maybe i overmixed…
Gretchen
No I just mix until it is combined also. Perhaps the pans are overfilled? I use 3- 7″ pans most of the time, but I have used this entire recipe for 2-8″ as well and it is perfect. over-filled batter can also cause sinking in the middle
Lauren
I just posted a comment but i don’t seeem to see it…
I tried this again and i can’t ever get it to not have this “crust” on the outside. Do you find that when you use the AP flour and cornstarch your cakes come out exactly the same as if you used cake flour? I’m wondering if this is the issue, i cannot find cake flour here in iceland. About how high would you feel each pan (for ones that aren’t 8” or 7”)… UGH this is driving me *insane*!
I also use nonstick spray and cant seem to ever get this to not stick. My pans are also nonstick amd only one month old
Gretchen
Hi Lauren, I am answering all your comments. You do have to wait for me to “approve it” first though (in the interest of spam) so sometimes it takes me a little while if I am not at my computer, but I have seen all your questions today and have answered every one. Try to refresh your browser
Try using all AP flour instead, since this may seem like the reason? However (as I answered in the last comment) others have used the AP + cornstarch solution to cake flour with no trouble.
I always use my Pro Pan Grease recipe and parchment circles and never get stuck cake.
I always fill pans half full no matter what the size
Lauren
Hi gretchen,
So i tried this again, and i am still getting a different looking cake than yours. Yes the inside is very fluffy, but the top and sides are always a bit darker than yours and have a crispier top to it than yours. Do you think this is due to the face i use the “corn starch with AP flour” substitute? I did everything just like the video, i just don’t understand why mine don’t look like yours…. it’s darker too, but i don’t think i overbaked it it just seems to come out this way….
And i spray nonstick spray on the pans and ALWAYS have to slide a knife around the edges to get them out. These pans are not even a month old 🙁
Gretchen
hmmm, well since all the other things seem to be like what I am using (except for the cake flour) it is quite possible it is that. The reason I use an AP + cake flour blend (versus all cake flour) is that in such a high liquid recipe (especially since we are replacing the eggs in the original with more liquid) I wanted to use a flour that absorbs slightly more than cake flour, so that would be AP.
You can use all AP flour here for those that cannot get cake flour, but others have tried it with the cornstach blend as you are doing with fine results. Can you try again with all AP? Process of elimination.
Lauren
Sorry, i did not know if it went through or not. I’m in iceland just on my phone so i wasn’t sure if i pressed send or not, no worries 🙂
Don’t you think that using all AP flour would then change the texture of the inside of the cake as well?
Gretchen
That’s Ok, many people think it did not go through because I have to moderate first.
I have used all AP in the past with no trouble, I see very little difference in the cake + AP versus all AP versions to be honest.
Lauren
Hi gretchen,
Could i add grated carrots to this cake? I know that spices will no affect the texture, but wondered if carrrots could ruin it.
Thanks 🙂
Gretchen
While I have not tried it, I think it will be OK! (Just make sure they are not really drippy and wet)
GG
Hi Gretchen, I don’t have flax meal or a spice grinder to grind up the flax so I was wondering if I could use flax whites like you made for your aqua-flaxa buttercream instead?
Gretchen
Yes you can use that, no more than 3Tbs though
Melissa
I really love your buttercream recipe, it’s delicious … but it’s very unstable, it literally melts if you work it a lot, it’s not that sticky to say it in any way.
I made this cake using the buttercream, the cake is delicious. I wanted it filled with strawberries, like a compote, I put a light layer of buttercream on each level and I made a “wall” of buttercream and then I put the compote, when I put the last layer of cake, the buttercream and the strawberries came out on the sides, it’s as if the layers of cake were very heavy and pressed the cake a lot, then all the buttercream and the filling went out on the sides, it was a total disaster :(, although it tasted delicious.
Gretchen
What shortening are you using? I Have recently resorted back to Crisco since Sweetex changed their formula, and the Spectrum shortening was a soupy nightmare. I also use Earth Balance butter which is the best, but sometimes use Fleishmanns Margarine. The different brands have different water contents and this could be a problem
Melissa
Thanks for the reply
I used Fleishmanns sticks. I compared them both (Fleishmanns and Earth Balance) and it seemed to me that Fleishmanns had a better price and almost the same amount of fat as Earth Balance. Next time I will try EB.
Maybe I’m being very generous with the fruit filling (How much would be the correct amount for each layer? I put about 1/4 cup each layer.) or I am mixing my ingredients badly and my cake is very heavy (each layer weighed approximately 370 g). I noticed that my layers had air holes, Not many, but those who had the cake were something big, like half a centimeter I guess that’s not a good thing, right?
Gretchen
Hmm, sounds suspect. That sort of tunneling usually means too much leavener, or a batter that is too dense (heavy) and the leavener is trying too hard to escape. In the picture of my cake you see there is no tunneling at all, So it could have been an off measure of the baking powder? or perhaps for a double recipe maybe holding back on 1 teaspoon is the way too go. A heavy hand in measuring flour can add too much causing a heavy batter too, which is why I do encourage measuring with a scale.. But also the video tutorial I hope gives a pretty good visual of all the steps that’s why I do video as it is the best way to SEE how to mix
¼ filling does not sound like too much to me, but if the buttercream was super soft then any amount would cause it to be unstable
Melissa
I had this same issue once but I was able to work around it by applying my first layer of buttercream/filling and refrigerating or freezing until it was firm. Repeating that process after each layer. It takes some time but it’s worth it (-:
Stephanie
Hi Gretchen. I made this cake a few days ago. I used ground flaxseeds but I definitely felt like it gave the cake a different flavor. And my 11 yr old (who was bringing the cake to school) asked why it looked like it had chia seeds in it. Lol. What egg replacer do you recommend? Aquafaba? Ener-G? Also o think part of the problem was the frosting. I tried half and half earth balance and Spectrum. (+powdered sugar and almond milk). Am I the only one that feels like Spectrum has a distinct taste? It was odd. And slippery. I will try Crisco next time.
Gretchen
Hi Stephanie, I have had some flax seeds that almost smelled “fishy” to me. It was odd. I wonder if your flax had not turned off? It’s helpful to keep them in the freezer because they do go rancid quickly due to the high fat content.
I have another version of this cake using The Plant Based Egg- egg replcaer which I LOVE for 99% of all my baking now.
CLICK HERE for the recipe
I do not really like the Spectrum shortening either. I have resorted back to Crisco, since we use it for stability in the recipe and Spectrum is the softest of all the shortenings! So why bother! You can use all vegan butter in place of the shortening, but again it’s for stability unless you don’t need to pipe or have a very stable cake. Its your choice
I have several Buttercream recipes to choose from CLICK HERE
Stephanie
Thank you so much! My flaxseeds are in the feeezer but they have been there for quite awhile. I will try the egg replacer.
Kay
Thanks for sharing. Can I sub regular milk and oil for soymilk and vegan butter? And if I freeze the cakes won’t they get soft and crumbly when I decorate them? Can I use sugar syrup to make them extra moist?
Gretchen
Hi Yes to regular milk, but the oil is a no here, because this is a creaming method, so it needs a solid fat (butter/shortening/vegan butter etc).
This cake is also very moist, so to add sugar syrup may just make it soggy. Simple syrup is used mainly on genoise style cakes which are by nature dry.
You may be better off using a non vegan recipe rather than trying to tweek this one backwards so much to the point it is not going to work out correctly
lauren
hi gretchen,
i was wondering about freezing the cake layers as well. i had one come out very dense after it came to room temperature – but it was not like that at all before i put it in the freezer. any idea why?
Gretchen
HI Lauren When I answer the comments/questions here, I get them in a separate notifications (not all cohesive in one long thread, as you are probably seeing it?) So I feel like your question is an addendum to an earlier question?? In which case I am not seeing that first question. At any rate, I do not like freezing very many vegan cakes (especially cheesecakes) since the texture does change significantly as you have just learned first hand. I cannot be 100% sure why it happens, but I will suspect the oils (vs butter) that we are using and lack of aeration in the recipe from eggs in traditional recipes can be the cause. I never thought I would say this, but I do prefer to freeze whole cakes in vegan baking vs just layers before building, as I did in non vegan baking! The result is much better- that is if you MUST freeze at all!
lauren
thanks so much for the reply. well i make this recipe often so i am only coming across some issues here and there as i go on…. still doing the same recipe exact and following instructions.
i have another thing i wonder if anyone else had issues with or if you ever had this happen. i use 3” deep pans, so let’s say i fill one that makes about one layer. then lets say i fill the pan with more dough, then i could get two layers but then the top of the cake is completely different looking than my other one.. even the edges on the cake come out differently. i know that overfilling the pans can cause cakes to sink in the middle – in this case it was only about half way or so in the pan.
any idea why this happens? it’s really sensitive/unstable and means i can really only bake 1” layers at a time
Gretchen
I almost always bake my cakes in individual layers, they just bake better and don’t over-bake on top and sides as it may when filling to try to get 2 layers in one. (as you have seen first hand)
I have never used 3″ cake pans I think they are too tall and people have a tendency to overfill. If you fill a 2″ cake pan to slightly more than half full you will get a rise just to the top of the pan and you can then slice that large cake into 2 layers (having 1″ layers)
christina
Can I use this recipe for a marble cake?
Gretchen
yes, take out 1/3 of the batter and add ½-¼ cup cocoa powder to it
Christina N Williams
Awesome!!! I’ll be baking this in the morning!! Thank you so much!!!!
Lav
Made this today with ACV and just 1 cup of brown sugar, and baked it in 2 9-inch square pans. Added chopped walnuts for a crunch and topped it with some semi-sweet chocolate chips. It baked for about 18mins at 350F.
It was yummy, everyone loved it, and it was SO SOFT! This recipe is a keeper, thank you!!
Michalina
Hi! I was wondering if I can use Almond milk instead of Soy milk?
Gretchen
yes!
Teresa
What icing tip did you use to pipe the frosting on top of the cake in the picture? The pipe detail is so pretty
Gretchen
thanks! Its Ateco #826
Catherine
Hi Gretchen,
I’m just loving your vegan recipes, I’ve tried you vegan smbc and it’s a gem!!!
Now, I am really looking forward to trying this vanilla cake, it looks so light and fluffy compared to all the other vegan vanilla cakes I’ve tried, I’m always dissapointed by the density of them.
I have a question: can I use chia seeds instead of flax seeds, I have some white chia seeds just waiting to be used! If yes, do I proceed in the same way, and same quantity?
As soon as I get your magical answer, I will be baking this cake, I can’t wait!
Thanks in advance!
Gretchen
Hi Thanks! You will LOVE this cake it is getting rave reviews from everyone who has tried it! YES to chia! no changes to the recipe
Catherine
Mega thanks Gretchen for your fast response!
I am so excited, will bake it asap and get back to you with my impressions!
Sharon A.
CANNOT WAIT to try this! Can you use your own cake flour (i.e make your own with AP flour, removing some, and adding cornstarch)?
Gretchen
Great! Yes CLICK HERE
kay
I have noticed that cakes made with oil are still moist after refrigerating as opposed to cakes made with butter. Have you had such an experience with this cake?
Gretchen
Yes that is true because butter when cold is hard. Oil will not do that, so yes you are correct. HOWEVER when using vegan butter (which is essentially oil) I find they stay same softness upon refrigeration as the oil cakes.
YAY Vegan for the WIN! LOL
Alison
Hi Grethchen! This looks fabulous! How many cups of batter does this make? I will be using it for 2 12in round pans. Thank You!
Gretchen
Hi Alison thanks! You will need ALL the batter for 1-12″ layer (so double recipe for 2 layers)
Brenda Gomez
hello! love your recipes really you have no idea how much your recipes have improved my starting baking business here in Mexico, I am still a novice though ? I have one question, from your easy vanilla cake recipe from your cookbook how many times should I multiply it for a 100 people cake? and what pan size would you recomend? thank you very much in advance for your answer!!
Gretchen
Hi Brenda, great thanks! and you are welcome too! For 1- 1/2 sheet cake (meaning 2 layers of cake, filling, icing) this would serve 50 people. So you will need to do 2- HALF sheet cakes for 100 ppl. I recipe of the cake (all the batter into a 12″ x 18″ pan) will give you 1 layer. So you will need 4 recipes to make 4 layers for a total of 2 half sheet cakes.
Kay
Gretchen, thank you so much for your prompt responses. I have a few questions.
1. Sometimes I use box cake mixes if I’m in a hurry to make a vegan cake. I’ve used applesauce as an egg sub but my cakes have always come out soft and crumbly. Any suggestions on how I can improve this? Maybe add flax meal?
2. Does freezing and soaking with simple syrup add extra moisture to eggless/vegan cakes?
Your quick response will be greatly appreciated!
Gretchen
Hi Kay! Interesting you should ask! I have bene playing with box cakes for quite a while now, using all the recommended subs like applesauce, cans of soda, etc etc the list goes on forever.
All with terrible results.
Gummy, falling apart, heavy dense, you name it- to me it was all unacceptable!
I have finally perfected the box cake with the best vegan egg sub and some minor adjustments that were necessary for structure, I will have to get on that ASAP as I have been meaning to get a video going to share with everyone!
And since Duncan Hines is the only TRUE vegan box cake (yes I called the company and their Mono & Di-glycerides are all VEGAN! YAY!
I will get those recipes and videos done ASAP!!!
Kay
Thanks Gretchen. Can’t wait to see those videos 🙂
kay
Any particular brand of box cake mix you recommend?
Kay
Hi Gretchen, I need to make a 3 tier cake using this recipe and need your help with measurements please. For the bottom 10″ layer, can i use the same recipe and make two layers for filling in between? Same for next two smaller layers? Will it be too heavy to carry?
A prompt response will be greatly appreciated.
Gretchen
1 recipe that makes 2 thick -8″ layers (like this one) will also make 2 thinner 10″ layers.
Or double the recipe for 2 thicker 10″ layers.
Tiered cakes are naturally heavier, but “too heavy” I suppose is subjective lol since I don’t know how strong you are LOL
I used to carry and transport 4 tiered cakes in my younger years, now with my back injury, forget it- I can barely carry a sheet cake!
Kay
Thanks Gretchen for your response above., Any update on how to make a vegan cake using a box mix?
Gretchen
Emailed you!
Michelle
Hi! Just wondering if this recipe will work with applesauce instead of flax seed as the egg replacer? Thanks!
Gretchen
Will it work? Hmm, the short answer is yes. Will it be good?
That’s a question that sparked me to create an entire course called Vegan Baking Mastery – the Egg Replacers Course LOL
Not all egg replacers are created equally, you will have different results with each one.
That said- the short answer again is yes, but it will probably make it slightly gummy and heavy?
It really depends on what you think is an acceptable outcome. So if you DO change it, please note that the best version of this cake is with either The Plant Based Egg or FLAX as listed
CLICK HERE FOR MORE
Karen
Hi Gretchen,
I was wondering if you can use whole flax seeds and boil them to make the gel from the flax seeds, let it cool and strain them so you don’t get the seeds. You can take out what you need and store any leftovers.
I want to keep the batter lighter in color.
Gretchen
Yes you can do that for sure, I actually did that CLICK HERE for myAquaflaxa Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Marliese Traver
Hi I just made this cake and while it looks golden and delicious, there are significant flax seeds showing, almost like it’s a chocolate chip cake. We’re these supposed to dissolve? I used bobs red mill whole ground flaxseed meal.
Gretchen
Hmm, perhaps the grind on that particular brand/bag was not as fine as it could have been? I also prefer to use golden flax to combat the seeds showing through.
Shawn Richardson
Hi Gretchen, just found you and i love this recipe. I want to try it next weekend for my engagement party. I have a severe dairy allergy but I can eat eggs. Can I substitute the flax meal for eggs in this recipe? Would I need to change anything else if I use real eggs. Thanks so much
Gretchen
Hi Shawn, this recipe was specifically designed to work without eggs, and I’ve really perfected the ratios here. Since I don’t use eggs anymore, I cannot say how it would turn out if you did use them instead. So to answer your second question, yes some other things do change when replacing eggs (like oil amounts, water amounts and even leaveners since eggs add all those properties to a baked recipe) so with that said, I feel better to direct you to a recipe that is already using eggs rather than tweek this one backwards – unless of course you are willing to do some testing to make it work.
OR you can just use the flax and know that it is going to be perfect! LOL
Shawn Richardson
Thanks so much for letting me know what you think I never ate flaxseed so I am nervous of how it will taste since I am giving this out to people but i trust your recommendation. Should I buy Bob’s Red Mill Flaxseed Meal? Btw where could I find the recipe with the eggs that you feel better about. Thanks for everything
Gretchen
Oh yes, this cake is highly acclaimed, I am honored in all the facebook groups I am in, when I see people recommending this cake pretty much everyday! It’s a real winner!
Shawn Richardson
Thanks for getting back to me so fast. I was nervous about trying Flaxseed because I never had that and wondered how it would taste. But I trust your recommendation. Should I buy Bob’s Red Mill Flaxseed Meal? Also where can I find the recipe with eggs that you would recommend if I wanted to do eggs? Thanks so much for everything.
Gretchen
You will not find it tastes like anything in the final cake. Flax on it’s own however, gives a slight nutty taste (I add it ground to my oatmeal all the time! it’s rich in Omegas!
But yes Bob’s is a fine brand, if you buy whole, you have to grind it in a spice grinder very fine. I recommend GOLDEN flax for baking though since you will not see any specs in the final cake.
Since I don’t do any NON vegan recipes anymore, I don’t have any to recommend, sorry!
Shawn Richardson
One last question to Gretchen which brand of cake flour do you like the best? You are the best I can’t wait to make this cake.
Gretchen
Thank you!! I use Softasilk Cake Flour, but I will say I am not brand loyal to cake flour.
Mariah
Hello can I use water instead of milk? Or milk Alternatives because the person I’m making the cake for is allergic to Soy and all other milk alternatives.
Gretchen
Another milk would be best (like oat for example) , since the proteins in the milk DO help carry the other ingredients, however water would still work.
Mariah
Thanks for the fast reply! Right, as of what he’s told me he’s allergic or intolerant to every milk alternative and milk. But at lest it’ll still work I guess thanks so much.
Jeri
Hi from the UK, Gretchen. Thank you so much for this brilliant recipe. It made a huge hit as a celebration cake for my stepdaughter’s University graduation. Of course it wasn’t as pretty as yours, but it came close. I even made my own sprinkles, so thanks for that, too. My epic fail was with the Aquafaba buttercream and I was wondering if the process is the same as making Swiss meringue? I followed your instructions as closely as I could. The Aquafaba was fine. It whipped up a treat and the addition of the icing sugar turned it glossy. When it came to adding the fats it broke apart and looked like badly cooked scrambled eggs – yuck. As I recall from an enormous wedding cake I did the full fat Swiss meringue called for adding the fat in small pieces and whipping on medium. I wonder if that would have made a difference? I also note that you use high ratio shortening. I used Trex, a white vegetable shortening that I have successfully subbed into recipes calling for Crisco, and vegan butter. It wasn’t particularly warm in the kitchen. Do you have any thoughts? I made up some regular vegan vanilla buttercream in the end as I didn’t have time to experiment further with the Aquafaba. Thank you again. We’re having a barbecue for Father’s day so your chocolate cake will make an appearance.
Gretchen
Hi Jeri thanks for the feedback I am so happy your cake came out great! Everything you explain is quite normal with the buttercream CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO I am not familiar with Trex as I am in the USA< but I know many people DO USE IT as a shortening for icings
Jeri
Thank you Gretchen and for the link to your excellent video. I can see straight away that my fats were too soft and I added them too quickly. Back to the drawing board with more Aquafaba to see if I can get it right.
Kelly LeBlanc
Hi Gretchen,
I would like to make 3 8in layers. Would I just double the recipe? Sorry for the basic question.
Thanks for your time : )
Gretchen
1½ X would be fine, fill pans half full 🙂
Yolanda Pavey
I made this today as daughter requested white cupcakes for her birthday. I used the powdered egg from Amazon.
It was delicious and we all agreed a ” winner”. Moist and not heavy , and made from scratch !
Shida
Omgsh!!! I just made this cake… and OMG its soooo good! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe! Well thank you for sharing all of your recipes. They never disappoint.
Tess
Hi Gretchen
Does it really change the cake that much if it is frozen? As I need to use it for a wedding cake and have no choice but to freeze it. Any other suggestions would be appreciated as it has to be vegan, dairy free, gluten free and nut free…
Thank you
Gretchen
Well, I did notice it was slightly heavier, more dense after freezing. Not terrible, but noticeable (to me).
The lightness and fluffiness of this cake is signature, so after freezing just the layers I noticed the crumb did not spring back the way I expected, the cake was still great, just not as it was out of the oven.
As a fix for that, I have more recently been just wrapping the cake layers and refrigerating them for up to 3 days before building the cake and that does not happen! If 3 days in advance is enough time for you- then I would say do that!
naqshpa
how much oil can i replace for the butter. vegan butter is not readily available where i live
Gretchen
oil will not work here in this recipe, as it is a creaming method.
Darice
I followed the recipe in the written instructions and my batter looks nothing like yours in the video. First off, my batter is much more “liquidy” compared to yours. With my batter you can see the brown speckles that came from the milled flax seeds, another obvious difference from your batter. I haven’t baked the batter yet and am nervous that it won’t come out right since it looks nothing like yours in the video. The recipe called for 12 tablespoons of vegan butter, yet in your video, it looked like you used half of that amount. Here’s to hoping for the best!
Martha
Hi Gretchen!
Thank you so much for all that you do! Your vegan recipes are my go-to for all of my vegan baking and they’ve really assisted my understanding of vegan baking in general!
I am looking to make a lighter vanilla cake, as close to a “sponge” cake as possible, and I was wondering about using an aquafaba meringue to achieve that. Do you have a recipe for a cake like that, or could this vanilla cake recipe be tweaked to allow for that addition? Folding in a meringue here as-is I would suspect would collapse the cake. Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice?
Thank you so much in advance!
Gretchen
Hi Thanks! I do not have much success with baking AF for a sponge or foamed egg type cake. there are many on the internet claiming great results (some I have tried too, with suspicious results, hmmm)
Tiki
I don’t know what has happened but I’m so disappointed with the outcome. I did follow (almost) every step. The only thing I’ve changed is the amount of sugar: I used 200g instead of 300g – 100g coconut flower sugar and 100g ordinary white sugar. I also just split my cake into 2 layers à 10′. May this have ruined my cake?
My oven is also super powerful, so I let the cakes bake for 25 min at 170C. When I took them out, the top was super dry and cookie-ish and at some parts even slightly burned – the insight, in comparison, was super moist. I’d say too wet and some sort of underbaked. Is the cake supposed to be super, super wet inside? So moist that you’d be able to make little cake balls out of it?
I really don’t know what has happened. Any idea how to solve this mess? It was (thankfully) just my ‘cake rehearsal’ for a cake I’ll have to make for a special event…It needs to work perfectly next time.
Gretchen
Hi There, here is your problem : The only thing I’ve changed is the amount of sugar: I used 200g instead of 300g – 100g coconut flower sugar and 100g ordinary white sugar.
You cannot just change ingredients in a recipe and expect it to come out the way it was intended, too many things change (especially in vegan baking) there is a delicate balance with the ingredients and any changes will always effect the outcome.
Coconut sugar is a more “dry” sugar and I have found when using it – it will definitely make the recipe dry almost crumbly.
The oven temp (or the fact that is is “super powerful” could have caused the issue too. But you DID turn it down. Also baking the layers in 10″ will make the cake much thinner than my cakes here, also causing dryness if overbaked.
I always recommend to try the recipe as it is written before trying to adjust so you can FIRST see how the cake is supposed to be, then decide if in fact you even CAN make changes – or need to.
I like the idea of making cake balls out of it, I always do that with failed recipe! CLICK HERE for my latest fail turned into something awesome!
Leyla Ballard
Hi, this recipe looks really nice so I’m going to try it for my littlw girls birthday. What decorating tool did you use around the cake?
Gretchen
Hey thanks! Thats a cake decorators comb, you can get them on amazon or though Wilton
Wendi
Hello! I just found your page and I am so excited to get started trying all of your wonderful looki,g recipes! I want to make this vanilla cake for my son’s birthday tomorrow. Just one question, can I sub the vegan butter for unflavored coconut oil? I’m a little worried about the melting points being different. I could run to the store but would just as soon use what I have on hand if possible. What do you suggest?
Thank you,
Wendi
Gretchen
Hi Thanks! Yes you are correct that coconut oil is very fragile and will turn to oil almost immediately, so it is necessary to use vegan butter (or margarine) since this is a creaming method recipe.
You can use a different recipe CLICK HERE using oil – I know this one is orange cake, but you can leave out the orange part and increase plant milk by 1/2 cup
Brittany
So I haven’t been able to find granulated vegan sugar, so used Pure cane sugar and put it in the mixer on low with cold butter for about 20 min while I was preparing the other ingredients. I also used raspberry extract instead of vanilla and red mill egg replacer. They come out nice and soft, not too sweet and the raspberry extract gives it a nice raspberry flavor than would go nice with some lemon frosting.
Carolina Marin
Hello, i am planning on making this cake for my daughter 3rd bday party, but i wanted to use regular eggs, do you have an idea of how many shoud i use?
Gretchen
Hey there, this recipe is worked out perfectly as a vegan recipe, so to try to add eggs to it will result in a not so great result, as it is not just a simple sub from egg replacer to real eggs- the flour amounts change, the fat rations change etc…. If you MUST use eggs I would suggest to look for a recipe that is NON vegan OR try the flax egg replacer as written here and join the hundreds and hundreds of people who have been raving about this cake! 🙂
I hope you try it! You will not be sorry! 🙂
rardhek
posso usare l’italiano or english
rardhek
i am from Italy hello. Can you help me translate? /rardor
Samantha T.
Delicious, thank you!
Jay
I just made this cake for the first time. I love the flavor, but after cooking it when I taste it, it has a consistency of it taking raw or uncooked. I baked it for the time as directed and went 15 minutes over and when I placed a butter knife in the center it came out clean. Any suggestions?
Gretchen
Did you use the flax or the Plant Based Egg Egg replacer? While I do like the falx version (it was my original creation) I now use the Plant Based Egg replacer since it has gone to market. If using the flax version though I find that whipping it ion high speed after adding it to the butter/sugar mixture helps to lighten it up
Valory
Hi Gretchen,
Just wanted to appreciate the way you take time out to respond to the comments on your recipes. Truly admirable! And thank you for blessing the world with your many yummy recipes.
Camille
Where can I find all your old recipes? They’ve seemed to disappear off the face of the planet 🙁
Gretchen
Hi Camille, yes it is true, my non vegan blog is shut down
I just couldn’t keep up the cost to host it on the internet and maintain it monthly anymore
I had always said I would continue to share my recipes for free & give free tutorials on YouTube for as long as I could afford to do so, and well.. I just can’t anymore. Many people had been helping through Patreon & PayPal, but at this point it is just not enough to pay for everything to keep it all going.
The cost to host such a huge database was close to $400 a month (with the maintenance cost, I needed to hire a tech guy to help keep it running smoothly)
So that cost was severely outweighing any small profits I had been making though running ads on the videos & blogsite.
I have not kept any of the non vegan recipes, since for over 4 years now I have been strictly vegan;
so for me they are of no use. They were all housed in the database and that has shut down. Sorry
Not to mention I am not comfortable sharing non vegan recipes anymore,
as it promotes animal abuse and torture not to mention animal agriculture is a disease on the earth as well as human health.
Thanks for your support and encouragement though the ages!
~Gretchen
Carol
Any thoughts about what to do with sugar? I have a friend’s daughter who isn’t diabetic, but doesn’t have the enzyme to break down sugar so can only do very small amounts…. any cake recipes with small amounts of sugar or ways I can alter the recipe!!?
Thanks Carol
Gretchen
Hi Carol! Hmm interesting and unfortunate. I do not recommend to alter (severely) these recipes as they really rely on the sugar in more ways than just sweetening the recipe.
I would recommend to try a more natural vegan baking site like Fragrant Vanilla Cake blog, I tried her Gingerbread Roll cake and it was AMAZING!! No refined sugar in the recipe! (So that actually poses another question is it REFINED sugar or ALL SUGAR including fruit sugars??)
Carol
Gretchen…she has CSID so it is fructose and all sugars basically. They are trying to keep the amount low as it is all a new diagnosis. Natural sugars are better than the processed, but they still take into consideration all of them. Thank you for the suggestion of the other site. We will look & have her taste test things there to find something for a graduation party later on! Thank you so much! If you have any other suggestions, let me know!
Carol
Atieh
i learned baking with your recipe and they have been always great!! my family and friends are not vegan so how i can have your recipes for carrot cake and other recipes in your old website?!!! i used to bake by your recipes as have been always the best recipe i tried.
please help me how can i have your non vegan recipes?
Gretchen
Hi Atieh, thank you my non vegan blog is shut down
I just couldn’t keep up the cost to host it on the internet and maintain it monthly anymore
I had always said I would continue to share my recipes for free & give free tutorials on YouTube for as long as I could afford to do so, and well.. I just can’t anymore.
Many people had been helping through Patreon & PayPal, but at this point it is just not enough to pay for everything to keep it all going.
The cost to host such a huge database was close to $400 a month (with the maintenance cost, I needed to hire a tech guy to help keep it running smoothly)
So that cost was severely outweighing any small profits I had been making though running ads on the videos & blogsite.
I have not kept any of the non vegan recipes, since for over 4 years now I have been strictly vegan;
so for me they are of no use. They were all housed in the database and that has shut down. Sorry
Not to mention I am not comfortable sharing non vegan recipes anymore,
as it promotes animal abuse and torture not to mention animal agriculture is a disease on the earth as well as human health.
Thanks for your support and encouragement though the ages!
~Gretchen
Siana
This looks so yummy! Can’t wait to try your recipe.
Siana Xx
Rajinder Bharaj
Hi Gretchen
Thank you so much for your recipes. Would the above recipe still work if butter and non vegan yoghurt was used?
Can’t wait for the Plant Egg to be available in the UK.
Many thanks
Raj
Juliet
Hi Gretchen ! can I use this recipe and make cupcakes with it ?
Gretchen
Yes!! Fill 3/4 of the way, bake same temp…about 18min?
Lux
Dear Gretchen!
Thank you again for your great work that’s helping scores of our likes.
I found myself nodding wildly when I read your notes on egg substitutes on how aquafaba cakes would rise well in the oven only to dive into a dense short cake later…. exactly what happened to me two days ago.
So I was searching for your cake recipe and found this, thankfully!
I still have a question – what difference does taking the cake out of the oven right after it is “done” (an insert comes out clean…) or the prescribed time, versus leaving it in the oven for longer? Which is safer to not lose the spongy leavened texture?
Thank you and hugs
Lux
Gretchen
HI Great thanks! Im am not 100% clear on what you are asking.. but most basically, you take the cake out “When it is done” ….. leaving it in the oven for longer…ummm…well would overbake it. Dry it? Brown it? Lots of not so desirable results happen when overbaking a cake. Again, Im not entirely sure I understnad what you are asking?
Lux
Hi Gretchen!
I repeated this recipe today and got great results.
Thank you again!
Earlier I was asking – what would happen if we leave the cake to cool in the oven instead of outside on a rack. Guess that was stupid and we must cool only in the rack. But what I still want to really know is this: what if I dont have guests and we cannot eat so much right away? how to preserve the “fluff” for longer??? The cake would sink if left on the counter, or in the fridge, or in the oven – any temperature, right? So how to preserve the fluff? Or is there a way to “redo” the fluff like bake again just before eating?
Thanks!
Lux
Chloe Christie
Hey Gretchen, this is my go to vanilla recipe, however I have recently moved house and I can’t figure this new oven out! I have tried making the recipe 4 times in a 6 inch cake tin at various temperatures (from 165-190C) and they are all taking over an hour to cook, but still gummy in the middle. Do you have any advice for me?
Gretchen
Hmm that’s odd. First of all I would get an oven thermometer, to make sure your oven is calibrated properly, then you can look to the recipe if oven seems fine. Since you had success previously with this recipe (as have most) I would have to say it’s the oven, or perhaps a measureing error?
Susana Stockard
I plan on making this recipe with a number pan. Will I need to double it if I need 2 layers? Also, can I sub the granulated sugar for raw cane sugar?
Gretchen
granulated sugar is fine, It’s hard to say since I don’t know exactly your pan size, but no matter what size pan you have- fill batter half way full
Kerstin
Hey Gretchen. First of all, I LOVE your website, recipes and book and youtube vids and recommend them to anyone whether they want to hear it or not 😉
I’ve got a question. It’s my uncles 70th birthday soon and I am building a cake for him. Mountain-themed, with fondant and fancy colors on the outside, but rather “healthy and organic” inside, as this is as he likes his cakes 😉
Everyone tells me to “leave some sugar out” as he doesn’t like his stuff too sweet. Now I am wondering… with this recipe, could I just reduce the sugar without any other adaptations? Or would I have to substitute anything for the left-out sugar to work?
It’s not about the calories, just tastewise.
Would be so happy if you could help me here.
Ronak Mehta
The cake looks perfect and fabulous to bake for a special day. Yes, its definitely the best vanilla cake. Lovely!!
GRACE
I would like to try this recipe for my son’s first holy communion. Do you think I can use ready to roll icing instead of frosting? Thank you.
Gretchen
Hi Yes of course! Any icing would be fine
Fae
(For reference: Im 16 with baking experience, I made this for my sister’s friends who are vegan 🙂 !) This cake was so good!! I made 1.5x the recipe and got 3 4″-round cakes and 5 cakesicles out of it. Instead of 4 (6 because of 1.5x) eggs, I used 3/4 JUST plant-based egg and 1/4 unsweeted applesauce as egg replacement. I used countrycrock avocado oil vegan butter. It tasted so amazing. When it was uncooked the batter tasted a little salty and that scared me a bit, but it ended up making it even better 🙂 Just the right amount of sweet and the salt in the just egg and plant butter balanced it out perfectly. I used the vegan buttercream recipe and decorated as normal, everybody loved it!! said it was the best cake (not even just best vegan cake, best cake period) that they had ever had 🙂 So delicious, thank you so much!!
Gretchen
Awesome! Thank you for the feedback and for providing your “tweaks” for others to have success too! I’m so glad you tried it and Love it!
Natasha
Hi I plan to bake this cake for my daughters bday tomorrow. I have vanilla almond milk sweetened or I sweeten or vanilla unsweetened oat milk I can substitute with which do you think would give the BEST flavour also would you use the sweetened or unsweetened milk? I’m very excited to try this recipe.
Gretchen
Hi Great! Thanks! I have used almond milk with great results, Oat milk would also be fine! You choose! 🙂
Definitely unsweetened on all the plant milks for baking though
Tamar Carter
Dear Gretchen,
I am thinking about making this cake for my step dad’s birthday this Friday. I was wondering if you can strain the flax egg and use it that way I’m worried about the bits of seed being noticeable can you taste them? I’m trying to win over a family of non vegans with this cake.
Gretchen
Hi! You can use GOLDEN flax seed which is way less noticeable compared to what I used here. And if you have a spice grinder, you can take that milled flax seed that you buy and grind it down even more fine. the trouble with straining it, is that you will be straining out the very thing that makes the flax seed gloopy and binding! 😀
If you want to avoid the flax altogether, you can try the Plant Based Egg version of this recipe, but that would require you buying the actual egg replacer, which you may not want to do CLICK HERE FORM MORE INFO ON THAT
Jennyfer Alvarez
Will replacing the butter for oil change the over all texture? I heard that butter does make the moistest cake and that oil is the way to go?
Gretchen
yes because this is a creaming method recipe, so you can’t technically “cream” oil with sugar, it will just slosh around in the bowl. So for this recipe you have to use the solid butter. I think I have to share my one bowl mix recipe for vanilla cake out of my cookbook, this uses oil and people LOVE it!
Theresa F
Mad respect to you for going vegan. I loved your site and recipes before you switched over but now that your recipes are all vegan, I canNOT express how much this means to us who support plant based. xox
Zohar
Hi! Few questions- does the cake need time in the fridge before I build it with the butter cream? I only have one pan available, can I bake one layer and then the other? If so should I keep the cake batter in the fridge/in room temperature? Can I bake one tall cake and then cut it in half? If I’m using a hand mixer it will work? And if so what beater should I use? Thank you anyways ❤️
Gretchen
I often refrigerate my cake layers before building because #1 I am usually too tired to do it all in 1 day LOL
But #2 Yes it will help to prevent the fresh baked cake from crumbling apart, so good idea to get it nice and cold before building.
yes this is a very friendly recipe that can be left on the counter (not refridge) while the other one bakes.
By baking a very tall cake and then cutting it.. I dont reallllly like that idea because it is difficult to bake a deep cake pan thoroughly. It will get over brown on the edges and stay raw on the inside so it is just best to bake separate layers. yes hand beater is fine, I am not sure what kind you have but whatever does the job for CREAMING is best, NOT a whip – that’s for sure
Meg
After recipe testing 6 or 7 vegan cakes, this is by far the best! It is the only one I’ve found that doesn’t have a weird mouthfeel in the afterbite or is too dry. To make it into a lemon cake, I added the lemon zest of 2 lemons, substituted lemon juice for the vinegar, and 2 teaspoons of lemon extract. Excellent!
Gretchen
YAY! thank you! I just found out a great secret too! use VANILLA SOY MILK (rather than plain) for an intense vanilla kick up!
Natalia
Hello Gretchen,
when converting to european ovens, do I do 350F in conventional or fan forced setting?
Thank you for the recipe!
Gretchen
I always use a conventional oven setting at 350F
So if you are using a forced fan setting be sure to knock that temp down about 25°
Cindy
Hi there, I was wondering if the quantities will work out if I double the recipe and make 3 x 9″ rounds?
Thanks for the recipe btw – I’ve made the Swiss Buttercream before and it was literally the best vegan buttercream I have ever made.
Gretchen
Hey thanks!! Yes! Just double check your math & measuring, that is usually where we mess up. By “we” I mean “me” LOL
Natasha Fiorelli
Can this be made with gluten free flour? I need this cake to be vegan and gluten free
Thank you
Gretchen
yes straight 1:1 sub
Lauren
Hi how much egg replacer would I use? I can’t find the note you mention in the ingredients list (sorry if I’m just being blind!)
Gretchen
Hey thanks for pointing that out! I just updated the post to read::
If you want to use an egg replacer instead of the flax as listed below, you can use any one you prefer and follow the directions listed on the package to replace 2 eggs.
If your egg replacer asks you to reconstitute with liquid, use some of the liquid from this recipe listed below DO NOT ADD MORE LIQUID.
Jen
Hi Gretchen, I hate to be one more person to comment on your egg substitutes, but normally when I replace 1 egg with a flax egg, it is 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed with 2.5 Tbsp water. In your notes, you say to use enough egg replacer to replace 2 eggs. So, if I have done my math correctly, the flax eggs in the recipe (4 Tbsp ground flaxseed and 10 Tbsp water) is actually 4 eggs. Should it be 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed and 5 Tbsp water, instead, to replace 2 eggs?
Gretchen
hi Jen it’s no problem, I understand the confusion and here is my thinking.
When I found that many people didn’t want to use my recipes using flax as listed here, but for whatever reason preferred to use an egg replacer? I cannot know WHICH egg replacer they are using, and they are all quite different.
So to give a standard conversion based on my flax measurement would not make sense, since yes you are correct typically we say 1 egg = 1 Tbs flax meal + **i use 3 Tbs water… but at any rate yes this is the standard conversion.
Since I have worked out this recipe to be perfect with the flax meal as the egg replacerr & liquids as listed, it’s not an easy answer to tell people to just go and use whatever else they want, since whatever else they want (*those different egg replacers) will all turn out different. SO~ the safer way to advise folks to stray from my recipe is to just say “replace for 2 eggs”
EVEN THOUGH I worked out this recipe not necessarily just replacing 2 eggs from the original recipe, but I often tweak much more than that to make the recipe the best it can be.
I hope that makes sense.
In short- I create these recipes not just by substituting vegan ingredients for non vegan ingredients as a straight up sub. Much of the formulas has to change to support the changes in those main ingredients.
Jen
Interesting. I used the flax and water as written in the recipe, but it was much runnier than yours, so I added less of the milk mixture. It cooked up pretty well, but didn’t have quite the same texture as shown in your pictures.
Also, do you cook yours to a certain internal temperature (like 205F or 210F) or just go by looks and feel?
Angie
Hi! I’ve made this recipe several times and in different sized pans. I love the flavor, texture and structure of this cake. The only thing is I often get pockets of what seems to be melted butter which then hardens when cooled into a mass that is a different texture then the rest of the cake. I have followed the directions as written and also have been super mindful of make sure the soften butter (earth balance or Plant-based country crock sticks) are completely combined. There are no lumps of butter when I put the batter into the pans. Do you have any idea of why this could be happening?
Gretchen
Hmmm that sounds really odd!
I am stumped especially because you explained (what I would have first pointed to) in that the butter is being sufficiently creamed etc…
I wonder if it is not the egg replacer you are using? And not the butter at all?
Angie
Hi Gretchen,
Thanks for your quick response.
The egg replacer I use is the flaxseed mixture as written in the recipe. I have considered trying bob’s red mill egg replacer though, do you think that could work as a good egg replacer for this cake?
I also read in a previous comment with someone who said they had big holes in their cake, you had pointed out that maybe the baking powder might need to be adjusted. Could this be the case as well?
Kiran
Hello Gretchen. To make 2 x 6 inch cake would I need to halve the quantity of the ingredients or should I keep your original measurements. Many thanks xx
Gretchen
Yes to half!
Pat
Hi!! I made this and it was amazing… my only comment is that I feel the cake did not rise and nough and overall it seemed too dense…. i divided mixture into two round pans and 28 mins in oven til center was springy. can you tell me what i did wrong?
Gretchen
Hey! Hmm, it is really hard to trouble shoot when I am not sure if you had all the same exact ingredients as me, and whether you used a scale to measure YOUR INGREDIENTS or cups measuring?
This could be the main factor since cups measuring system can be drastically different from one person to another, for example my 1 cup of flour could result in a far different amount than yours depending on how the flour was scooped, or spooned in or sifted first etc etc…
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ON MEASURING
Tahira
This vanilla recipe looks so easy and so soft. I want to make this recipe into a victoria sponge/fresh cream cake. Would it require a sugar syrup on the sponge?
Hope you can help
Leah
Hi Gretchen,
In Australia our Plain Flour is only 8% protein and is naturally bleached (bleaching flour has been illegal here since the 70’s). My question is, would I still have to add cornflour to make a ‘cake flour’, or will that turn out to ‘gluggy’?
Gretchen
No I think with a protein % of 9% that is close to our cake flour already. I think you will be fine using your flour in same quantity as I have listed with no changes to the recipe
akshay
Thanks for the great recipe dear,
Tahira
My cakes were quite thin. They didn’t rise as much as I thought.
I creamed the butter and the sugar using a hand mixer, and did the rest by hand as I didn’t want to overmix the flour (as I have had previous fails with dense cakes).
I found that there wasn’t much batter – 2 1/2 c flour didn’t seem enough. I just about managed to fill the pans.
I ended up uses the flax seeds that I had at home which weren’t the golden ones. But I found I didn’t need as much water I only did 8tb of water or else they wouldn’t thicken properly.
Think I’ll try the other yellow cake recipe next time since they don’t include a flax egg.
Gretchen
Hey there, I did not get a notification for this comment, sorry for the late reply.
I’m sorry this recipe did not work out for you, but I can see where the problem lies.
Creaming the butter and sugar together is necessary for rise in a cake batter. Which is why I always say cream it on medium to high speed for 3-5 minutes. This will increase the air/volume of the butter – sugar mixture to almost double and you would clearly see the color turn from dull beige to a light fluffy white. Not only does it increase the air/volume but also smashes the sugar crystals into the fat molecules causing tiny air bubbles that when heated (baking) turn to steam causing more rise in your batter for a light fluffy cake.
By using a hand beater, this is fine to do but your mixing time may go from 5 minutes to 8 or 10 to get sufficient creaming action to take place. The flax seeds are ok to use dark or golden, but I find the golden doesn’t show in the batter as much.
However you also decreased the amount of water in the recipe by 2 Tbs, so there are several things here that just did not go according to the recipe instructions.
Again, I am sorry this did not work out for you, but it is important to always follow the recipes exactly as they are written.
Creaming method cakes are no problem with hand beaters however you just have to keep beating it until it is light & fluffy,m again this may take longer with a hand beater.
I think you may prefer my own bowl mix, no mixers required recipe for yellow cake! Check it out!
It is slightly more dense than this cake (because we are not creaming it, it is an oil based cake) but it is a converted recipe from my bakery!
CLICK HERE FOR YELLOW CAKE!
Arthur F
I have made this cake following your recipe and the results were excellent. The only complaint I received from my son was concerning the texture of the flax seed. I have started using ArrowRoot as an egg replacement, but can’t seem to get the moisture level right. Do you have any suggestions for using arrowroot as an egg replacement in this recipe? My results have been extremely moist, but good.
Also, do you have a strawberry cake recipe. The wife’s birthday is coming up and this year she has requested a vegan strawberry cake. Thanks in advance. . . .
Gretchen
Hey there thanks for the comment and the feedback! I understand about the flax flecks, I use golden flax super fine meal now to avoid that and I do think that is the best replacement for this recipe, but have used others like Bob’s Red Mill or another store bought brand with good results. I have not tried arrowroot as a thickener though for my cakes, however I have used cornstarch in the past *which is very similar in terms of their thickening abilities.
If I am understanding you correctly, you are saying the cake is TOO Moist?? Often times Vegan Cakes will border on too moist and sometimes even gummy which is a major turnoff, but I think this recipe is on point when measured exactly as written.
That said, I do have another cake recipe you may prefer? It’s an easy one bowl mix for bakery Style Yellow Cake- it has the texture more like pound cake~ I finer crumb not so fluffy as this one CLICK HERE TO SEE IT
CLICK HERE FOR STRAWBERRY CAKE
Mahie Bakery
Baked this cake for my wife and it was an absolute hit! So moist and tasty. Thank you for your recipe
Blissmygift
Nice ! Great Content this s for us.
Thanks for sharing.
C. Rose
Made this cake and was disappointed; the flavor of flax overwhelms the vanilla and leaves you with a gird-your-britches wholesomeness I would rather leave out of my sweets. I’ve made so many of your other cakes with delight, but this one I won’t revisit without an alternative egg substitute to the flax.
Matisse B
Hi Gretchen!
I just found your blog and videos and it has given me hope that I can continue to bake after I have become vegan. My question is about sizing and ratios. I have 9″ cake pans and I was planning on doing three layers how would I adjust the recipe?
Gretchen
YAY! awesome! I would do 1½ X the recipe for 3-9″ layers bake time & temp same
Rinki
cool!!!
AMIT
I have been looking forever for the perfect vanilla cake recipe and thanks to you, I found it! Thank you! This cake turned out moist and light. Perfect!
Paige
Hi Gretchen! Just wondering, we can’t get good vegan butter here in Australia and I was wondering if you had any advice for me using a margarine substitute…I compared the fat contents between the brand I want to use (nuttellex) and the earth balance and it is 68g per 100g compared with 78g, so it’s less fatty and probably more watery (it comes in a tub, not sticks or anything…). Any tips for me trying to use this? Or should I hunt for a recipe that specifically uses this margarine? Thanks so much for your help and your work! <3 Paige
Gretchen
Hi Paige! Yes the struggle is real! While I find Earth Balance to be the best it is so darned expensive and where I live now, it’s so hard to find! I have from time to time used a regular ol’ margarine with good results in this recipe. So compensate for the moisture content you can add another tablespoon of flour to the recipe
Amanda
Hi Gretchen!! I’m super excited to make this cake!! If I am doing three 9in pans should i fully double the recipe or more?? THANKS!
Gretchen
You can get 3 THINNER 9″ cake layers out of 1 recipe, but for nice 2″ layers you should double ~~ yes!
Just fill pans 3/4 full and bake same temp ~ check at 22minutes
Jodie
Hi Gretchen! I want to make a layer cake with fillings that need to stay refrigerated. Most butter cakes are hard straight out of the fridge… do you know if that is the case with this one? I was thinking of trying to sub out a portion of the butter for oil to ensure it stays soft when cold. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Amanda
Hi Gretchen! Love this cake! If I want to make 3 nine in layers would I need to 1.5 this or more? Thanks!
Sue
Hi Gretchen – Can’t wait to try this vanilla recipe. I’ve been requested to make a marble cake for a wedding cake; doing 8” and 6” tiered cakes, and they want a naked cake, so partially iced with cake showing thru.
First – have you ever modified this recipe to make a marble cake. I don’t want as much chocolate ratio to the vanilla. No more than 1/3 at best. would even 1/4 chocolate batter work? Just mixed dry cocoa powder into the batter, or also add a little extra liquid to account for the added dry cocoa powder?
Also hoping I can somehow marble it, keeping the chocolate more to the middle of the cake so it doesn’t show on the outer edges when I scrape the icing off for the naked cake effect. Would prefer it to look as if it is just vanilla cake on the outer edges. Any suggestions to achieve this when layering the batter for the marble effect?
Thanks so much in advance.
Gretchen
Hi Sue! I would recommend to follow my recent marble Cake recipe where I use my Bakery style yellow cake recipe for the base cake then added chocolate (*& pumpkin but you can leave out the pumpkin and just make vanilla/choco)
As for the marble staying in the middle, sure, just be sure to marble only the center portion of the batter
Sue
thanks so much for your quick response Gretchen!
So it looks like you are recommending I follow your bakery style yellow cake (which gives baking directions for round cakes; I’m using 8” and 6”), and then take 1/3 of that to do the chocolate part with your recommendation of 4 Tbsp cocoa, and oil. Could I use a little less cocoa on that so not as intense chocolate or do you think it really needs that?
A few more questions/concerns:
– As this is for a wedding cake, I want the cake to be as “light and fluffy” as possible, as opposed to dense, Will this cake be as fluffy as your vanilla cake recipe with the flax egg that I was going to try?
– What acts as a egg replacement in the yellow cake?
– I’m a little nervous at how the yellow cake is made by whisking everything together at once. Your vanilla cake is more traditional using a blender to cream butter sugar, and then alternating dry/wet ingredients, so thinking it will be heavier and not raise the same?
– the marble cake will be filled with chocolate ganache, salted caramel and pecans; so that will be between every layer (very sweet I’m thinking, but that’s what they want). Which cake do you think will pair best with this filling?
– I don’t think I should use more than 1 1/2 cups of sugar in the cake recipe itself, with this very rich filling?
Sorry for all the added questions, but I really want to get this right; I’ve never done a vegan cake so a new venture and challenge!
Appreciate all your help!!
Gretchen
Yes you can adjust the cocoa down for less intense chocolate! Also it sounds like you want less chocolate marble so I would say to just take 1/4 of the total batter to marble not 1/3
As for the yellow cake recipe vs the vanilla cake you are referring to, you are correct the yellow cake is more pound cake style and the vanilla cake is a fluffier lighter crumb for sure.
Maybe do a very small test of both recipes & see which one you prefer?
There is no egg replacer needed in the yellow cake as this is the original “wacky cake” or depression era cake recipe
Both cakes will go nicely with the filling that you mention, if you want to reduce the sugar in the YELLOW cake by 1/4 cup I think you will be ok, anything more than that could change the texture of the cake drastically so be aware of taking out too much sugar from a perfectly balanced cake formula ratio
Again I really think you should do a small test of both cakes first to see which you prefer and THEN decide if you want to reduce the sugar slightly
Sue
Hi Gretchen – I am going to try your white cake, But wondered if whipped Aquafaba Would work instead of the golden flax meal for egg replacer. If you think it is safe to try, how much whipped aquafaba would I need?
I am going to also take a quarter of the batter and make it chocolate with emulsion of 2 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa and 2 tablespoons oil.
If you wouldn’t recommend making this substitution with the Aquafaba, I won’t risk it. Thanks so much
Gretchen
Hi Sue I have not been getting notifications for comments! I just saw this! I have a white cake recipe that already uses AF as the egg replacer, you may want to try it! CLICK HERE
It would probably work with the fluffy vanilla cake too though, although I have not tried that
Peggie Zamiaty
Gretchen, I LOVE your recipes, however, I am not a vegan. How can I continue replicating your delicious, beautifully delectable recipes, how do I convert to traditional ingredients?
Is there somewhere in the recipe, you can mention the substitution?
FYI
I’ve printed out a bunch of your recipes from the old Crumb Boss youtube videos, somehow the vanilla cake recipe is missing 🙁
Again, I thoroughly enjoy watching you create such visually pleasing and tasty recipes.
Thanks and I’m STILL watching! 😉
Gretchen
Hi Peggy thank you! And thank you so much for the support all these years! I truly appreciate it! I transitioned my life & business to full vegan in early 2016.
I did keep the non vegan website open and free to everyone with continues baking support for nearly 4 years but ultimately had to shut it down as it was conflicting me emotionally & financially for that many years.
I no longer share non vegan recipes but I would love it if you would try my recipes here, as always knew I would only share a recipe that is perfection, so you can bet that is the case here too!
Crystal Reid
your Vanilla Cake Recipe got me started I got dry cake when I used vegan butter, so I switched to organic canola oil. I would really like to go oil-free; could I use applesauce ? Also, I have been using Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer, but it’s getting hard to find & expensive. Does Golden Flax Seed have the same “earthy” taste as “regular” flax seed ?
Crystal Reid
Gretchen, do you make your own cake flour? I’ve been using Swans Down, but I’d like to make my own with Organic All Purpose Flour & Organic Cornstarch.