25 Amazing Vegan Cake Recipes

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

If you want to read more, I’ve got a whole blog post on substituting eggs in baking.

Luckily, substituting butter is much easier than substituting eggs, as there are increasing numbers of excellent-quality vegan butters that bake very, very similar to dairy-based butter.

If you live in the U.S., Earth Balance buttery sticks are a widely available option that work really well.

This one is pretty easy too. I like to use oat milk or soy milk in baking because they have somewhat similar protein and fat levels to dairy milk. Always use full-fat or creamy varieties, not low-fat varieties. Cakes, and most baked goods in general, need a decent amount of fat to avoid that dry cardboard-y mouthfeel.

I find that oat milk leads to baked goods that brown the most (likely from the natural sugar content), whereas soy milk curdles 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, given their fat content. A chilled can of coconut milk + sugar is all you ned for dairy-free whipped cream; you can find my simple recipe in my Strawberries and Cream Sheet Cake recipe below.

If a cake recipe calls for yogurt or sour cream, it’s likely 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 Tofutti brands (the latter is quite thick, so you may need to thin it out with water).

It depends. If you live in the U.S., most regular sugar is not vegan, as it’s refined through animal bone char. However, all refined sugars labeled organic in the U.S. are vegan, as they cannot contain animal products. So if you buy organic cane sugar, organic brown sugar, or organic powdered sugar, you’re safe.

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

Usually, yes. Gluten comes from wheat, which is a plant-based product so most vegan cakes do contain gluten. The gluten in flour provides quite a bit of structure in vegan cakes, which lack some structure from not having eggs.

However, I’ve included several gluten-free vegan cake recipes in this roundup, so if you’ve got an allergy, just look out for the bolded “gluten-free” note 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 icings, however, should be refrigerated.