25 Amazing Vegan Cake Recipes

There are several options, though my personal favorite is aquafaba, the liquid from a can of chickpeas. When it is lightly whipped, it mimics the texture of beaten eggs quite well. It adds a light, airy texture, which is perfect in cakes, which should generally be light and fluffy.

If you’d like to read more, I’ve got a whole blog post on egg substitutions in baking.

Fortunately, replacing butter is much easier than replacing eggs, as there are a growing number of high-quality vegan butters that bake just as well as dairy-based butters.

If you live in the US, the Earth Balance Buttery Stick is a widely available option that works really well.

This one is pretty simple. I like to use oat milk or soy milk in baking because they have somewhat similar proteins and fats to dairy milk. Always use full-fat or creamy varieties, not low-fat varieties. Cakes, and most baked goods in general, need enough fat to avoid a dry cardboard-y mouthfeel.

I find that oat milk leads to baked goods that are the brownest (probably from the natural sugar content), whereas soy milk curds when mixed with an acid like lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, so it’s a great buttermilk sub.

For cream, canned coconut milk and coconut cream are usually the best options for their fat content. A chilled can of coconut milk + sugar is all you need for dairy-free whipped cream; You can find my easy recipe in my Strawberry and Cream Sheet Cake Recipe below.

If a cake recipe calls for yogurt or sour cream, it’s probably because the creaminess keeps the cake moist. Look for plain-flavored vegan yogurts that are relatively creamy but not too thick. For sour cream, I like Kite Hill Foods, Follow Your Heart, and Tofuty brands (the latter is quite thick, so you may need to thin it with water).

It depends. If you live in the US, most regular Sugar is not vegetarian, as it is refined by digesting animal bones. However, all refined sugar is labeled organic In the US they are vegetarians, because they cannot contain animal products. So if you buy organic cane sugar, organic brown sugar, or organic powdered sugar, you are safe.

There are a few brands of non-organic sugar in the US that are certified vegan, including Julka Morena and Whole Foods 365 Fair Trade Certified Vegan Sugar.

Generally, yes. Gluten comes from wheat, which is a plant-based product so most vegan cakes contain gluten. The gluten in the flour provides quite a bit of texture to vegan cakes, which lack some texture due to the absence of eggs.

However, I’ve included several gluten-free vegan cake recipes in this roundup, so if you have an allergy, just bold”gluten freeNote in the recipe description.

It depends. A standard frosted vanilla or chocolate cake can be stored at room temperature, covered, for several days. Cakes with fruit or cream cheese icing, however, should be refrigerated.