Basic Vegan White Cake Recipe

By
Jolinda Hackett
Jolinda Hackett
Jolinda Hackett has written five books about plant-based cooking and has developed hundreds of vegan and vegetarian recipes.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 01/3/23
Slice of vegan white cake on a white plate with a blue napkin
The Spruce
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 40 mins
Total: 50 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
255 Calories
8g Fat
45g Carbs
2g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 255
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 10%
Saturated Fat 2g 8%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 800mg 35%
Total Carbohydrate 45g 16%
Dietary Fiber 1g 5%
Protein 2g
Calcium 81mg 6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

As a vegan, you might love cooking with egg replacer, but what's a vegan to do if you don't have any on hand? That's when recipes such as this no-egg and no-egg-replacer vegan white cake come in handy. In this simple vegan white cake recipe, the apple cider vinegar replaces the egg and will help make sure your white cake is light and fluffy.

If you're looking for a simple white cake recipe perfect for a birthday, this is a good one to try. No matter the occasion, birthday or not, keep it simple by topping off your white cake with an easy vegan vanilla frosting, or get creative with an unusual frosting. A vegan almond-flavored frosting might be nice or maybe even a vegan chocolate mint frosting. Don't forget the sprinkles! And yes, you can get some vegan sprinkles online. 

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups pastry flour (regular all-purpose flour will also work)
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt (kosher salt or sea salt is always best)
  • 1/3 cup vegan margarine (most vegans strongly prefer Earth Balance brand)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 2 tbsp. vanilla
  • 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather your ingredients.

    Basic Vegan White Cake Ingredients
    The Spruce

  2. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.

  3. Grease and flour an 8-inch cake pan. Because this vegan white cake has very little fat, you might also want to line the pan with parchment paper to prevent it from sticking.

    Baking pan lined with parchment paper
    The Spruce

  4. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Note: Even if you usually skip this step, you need it for this vegan white cake - so don't skip it! Sift sift sift!

    Sifting flour
    The Spruce

  5. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk the salt, margarine, sugar, water, vanilla, and vinegar until blended. 

    Whisking ingredients
     The Spruce

  6. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, whisking until smooth.

    Mixing wet and dry ingredients
    The Spruce

  7. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.  

    Cake batter in a pan
    The Spruce

  8. Bake your cake in the pre-heated for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

    Cooling cake
    The Spruce

  9. Cool the cake in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes, then carefully remove the cake from the pan to allow it to cool completely before frosting.

    Basic Vegan White Cake
    The Spruce

  10. Enjoy!

Tips

  • Note that while regular white flour works just fine in most cake recipes and vegan cake recipes, when you're making a white cake, you may want to invest in pastry flour for the lightest and fluffiest cake possible. This white cake isn't quite as light and fluffy as, say, an angel food cake, but a few extra steps and tender loving care and patience can help you have the best possible finished product. 
  • This recipe makes just enough for a single layer 8-inch cake, so you may need to double the recipe if you need to make a larger sheet cake or a layer cake. 

Like making vegan cakes at home? Here's more easy vegan cake recipes to try. Enjoy!