Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you a perfectly fluffy, tender, sweet vanilla cake that’s vegan and gluten-free! Let’s bake!
This recipe is easy to make, requiring 1 bowl and 10 ingredients.
The base starts with vegan “buttermilk” made by mixing dairy-free milk and vinegar. Then add in applesauce for (oil-free!) moisture and natural sweetness and vanilla extract for that quintessential vanilla flavor. YUM.
For the dry ingredients, after much experimentation, we went with a mixture of almond flour, potato starch, and cornstarch. This combo totally nailed it! So stoked for that fluffy, crumbly texture.
Once your cake is baked, it’s time for frosting!
We included two options: one is coconut whipped cream and the other is classic vegan buttercream frosting. Both are delicious, but we were feeling classic vibes, so we went for the buttercream.
We hope you all LOVE this cake! It’s:
Fluffy
Tender
Perfectly sweet
Vanilla-infused
Easy to make
& SO delicious
This would make the perfect cake for holiday or special occasion celebrations. It’s delicious on its own but also pairs well with coconut whip, vegan buttercream (recipe below), or even chocolate frosting!
For more easy cakes, be sure to check out our Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Hazelnut Cake, Gluten-Free Birthday Cake, Vegan Gluten-Free Carrot Cake, Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes, and The Best Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes.
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers and happy baking, friend!
1-Bowl Vegan Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
WET INGREDIENTS
- 1 2/3 cup dairy-free milk (we used boxed coconut milk // almond or rice would also work)
- 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 3 1/4 cups almond flour (not meal // we prefer Wellbee's brand)
- 1 scant cup potato starch (not flour)
- 1/3 cup cornstarch (or you can try subbing arrowroot starch for grain-free)
- 1 1/3 cup organic cane sugar*
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
VEGAN BUTTERCREAM FROSTING (optional)
- 2 sticks vegan butter, softened (we prefer Earth Balance soy-free buttery sticks)
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 1/2-4 cups organic powdered sugar (sifted)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and lightly grease two standard 8-inch round cake pans, one 9x13-inch, or three 6-inch round pans* (with vegan butter or coconut oil) and dust with gluten-free flour. Shake out excess and set aside.
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In a liquid measuring cup, measure out dairy-free milk and add vinegar. Let set a few minutes. Then add applesauce and vanilla. Whisk/stir to combine.
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Add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Then add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated and no large lumps remain. The batter should be thick but pourable. Add more almond flour if too wet or dairy-free milk if too thick.
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Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans and bake on a center rack for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the edges and surface appear golden brown.
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Let cool 15 minutes in the cake pans. To remove from pans, run a dull knife around the edge of the pans to loosen the cakes. Then place a plate or cooling rack on top and quickly invert. Let cool completely (preferably overnight or at least 6 hours on a wire rack) before frosting.
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Frost with coconut whipped cream and berries for a lighter application (see inspiration here), or frost generously with my 3-ingredient Vegan Buttercream Frosting (see below).
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Store cake covered at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Freeze up to 1 month.
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FROSTING*: Add softened butter to a large mixing bowl and beat for 1 minute. Then add vanilla and mix once more. Gradually add sifted powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and beat until a thick, spreadable frosting is formed. I found about 3 1/2 cups to be the appropriate amount per 1 full cake recipe.
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If too thick, the frosting will be too hard to spread (add 1/2 tsp almond milk at a time if too thick). If too thin, the frosting will slide off the cake. If too thin, continue adding powdered sugar until you get the right texture.
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Use immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Let come to room temperature before frosting.
Notes
*If altering batch size, please note that the number of pans and frosting instructions are based on how the original recipe is written. Adjust accordingly.
*To reduce sugar, each 1/4 cup of sugar be swapped with 1 packet (1/2 tsp) of powdered stevia. Or you could try subbing a mix of maple syrup and coconut sugar, but I haven’t tested it this way and can’t guarantee results.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with the salt and without frosting.
*Prep time does not include cooling the cake.
*Recipe inspiration from The Vegan 8.
Nutrition Per Serving (1 of 10 Slices)
- Calories: 326
- Fat: 12.1g
- Saturated fat: 0.9g
- Sodium: 345mg
- Carbohydrates: 50.1g
- Fiber: 3g
- Sugar: 27.4g
- Protein: 5.4g
SUCH AN INCREDIBLE RECIPE!
Not too sweet, the almond flour flavour is very light and works so well with the vanilla. I recommend this recipe. 10/10.
I made a few substitutions
Brown sugar for cane sugar and melted coconut oil instead of applesauce – turned out great
Thanks for sharing, Anika!!
Hands down the BEST cake in the world! My family who is neither gluten free nor vegan is now in love with this. Thank you for the perfect recipe.
Whoop! We are so glad to hear that, Aaesha! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
This is a comedy of horrors in baking, but with a happy ending, no thanks to MY own messing up with things; I will credit this recipe for being resilient to incompetent tooling around.
After my initial failure with a different vegan-gluten free cake (which is still going to be used, just as decorative crumbs because YIKES, coconut flour, what did you doooooo), I googled and found this recipe. I was desperate, and made a dash to corner store to loot some ingredients, thinking “oh yeah, I got potato and maize starch at home, no probs, I’m in a super hurry now”, grabbed more almond flour after wondering if I REALLY needed more… and uh.
“Hey darling Significant Otter, where’s our baking soda?” I asked once back home and going thru the cupboard, recalling the Great Baking Soda discussion we had couple of weeks ago. “We don’t have it.” Whaaaattttt. Facepalm, me on verge of tears again. “But I’m also going to store now.” “Please bring some so I can catch up with my schedule for this party-to-come.”
So I get my baking soda.
Wait, this bag of almond flour I bought… it is 300 grams. I need more. OK, I got… SOME more in my home stash. About 40 gram more. [insert swearing]
OK, OK, I’ll just compensate with other flours and starches, right? Potato flour, ah there’s my packet of it… WAIT, I got HOW MUCH left!? WHERE DID IT GO!? At least my bag of maize starch was full. This is about 80 gram more maize than the recipe originally suggested to put in.
I can’t use apples (IBS), and even bananas are a bit touch and go, but I used pureed bananas anyway. Sugar! Welp, I could make things more interesting with a bit of muscovada sugar? Except it absolutely refused to cooperate. There are chunks in it. I can’t make those chunks much smaller. They’re going to be little surprise nuggets of pure dark delight in that cake.
I tucked the cake into the oven and marched to sulk in front of my computers, expecting a catastrophic failure #2 to manifest in 35 minutes, thanks to my own level of tiredness and general incompetence with all things gluten-free and vegan (but I can bake non-vegan and gluten-y cakes just fine).
BUT! What I pulled out of the oven was beautiful, about 2 inches risen cake (yay! I can easily halve it and fill with yums!) which also tasted incredibly great based on crumb samples.
Thank you for saving my butt and butts of people who are coming to celebrate our local sci-fi club’s 30th birthday and who need their yums in vegan or gluten-free variety!
Changes: Pureed banana, extra maize starch to substitute for about 80 grams in total of potato starch and almond flour, toasted almond milk used as non-dairy variety.
The cake will be filled with dark chocolate pudding (gluten-free, vegan) and mix of banana puree-raspberry jam, and decorated with vegan buttercream frosting and topped with fresh raspberries and blackberries, some decorative food colors and edible sparkles.
Hi Skiriki, we’re so glad to hear it turned out well despite all the obstacles! Great job!!
My son is allergic to almonds. Is there another flour I can use instead? He’s allergic to corn, soy, dairy, eggs, peanuts, oats.
Hmm, that’s tough! This cake is almost entirely based with almonds. Maybe try this recipe instead but with gluten-free flour. OR, if he can have gluten you could use all purpose as suggested.
Hello! I am making this for a friend with celiac disease, and he is sensitive to corn as well. Can I replace the cornstarch with arrowroot?
That should work, but we haven’t tried it! If you do, let us know how it goes!
I have tried several gluten-free and vegan cake recipes but this one is a Keeper!!!! I made this for my grand daughter’s birthday and it was all gone before anyone could get a second piece. My family has been gluten-free and now they want to go vegan and this cake was the best I have ever had!!! I don’t want to change anything and will be using this recipe all the time!!!! Thank you!
Wonderful – thanks for sharing, Lucy!
This has a great consistency and taste! I am making a 3 tiered wedding cake and am happy with how it has baked off. Thank you!
Hi,
Can I swap out the almond flour and the potato starch for Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free all purpose flour blend?
Thanks for your help!
No, I don’t think that will work. But if you try it let us know how it goes!
hey did this work, im wanting to do the same thing?
Can this be frozen
Yes!
I made this cake today, exactly as written. I was impressed with how good it tastes! I’m pretty new to gluten free baking and until now all the recipes I’ve tried failed to impress. But thanks to you, I now have a great go-to recipe for when my sweet tooth demands cake! I had a feeling that Minimalist Baker wouldn’t let me down! ?
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it, Heather! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
This cake is DELICIOUS!!! I’ve made it a few times now- so moist and turned out perfect both times.
Thanks for sharing, Jaimee!
What size cake pans do I need to purchase for this recipe?
I recommend three 6-inch pans.
My brother is allergic to nuts. Can I replace almond flour with white rice flour?
Hi, Subbing the almond flour is difficult, but what about another seed meal, such as sunflower or hemp?
Can the almond flour be replaced with coconut flour?
We wouldn’t recommend it. They behave differently and coconut flour is much more absorbent.
I would love to make this for my baby’s first birthday but am wanting to substitute the cane sugar. Is their a no refined sugar alternative I could use? Many thanks in advance.
Our best suggestion would be using stevia to taste OR subbing half the sugar with maple syrup and the rest with stevia or monkfruit to taste. If you end up experimenting, let us know how it goes! We would recommend testing with a small batch first before committing so you don’t waste ingredients :D
Hi! My friend that will be baking this for is refined sugar free meaning she cannot have cane sugar but she can have honey. Will honey change the texture of the cake?
Hi Marisa, we haven’t tried this recipe with honey and aren’t sure how it would work. For another refined sugar free option, we might recommend subbing a mix of maple syrup and coconut sugar, but we haven’t tested it this way and can’t guarantee results.
I am gluten, dairy, and soy free (not fully vegan). Is it possible to replace the applesauce with eggs? If so how many?
Thanks! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Hi Jennifer, we haven’t tried this recipe with eggs and aren’t sure how it would turn out! Let us know if you give it a try! Otherwise, another idea would be to try subbing the same amount of banana or another mashed fruit puree?
I’m currently dealing with several good intolerances (ugh). Do you think I could use a pineapple purée? Both apple and banana are no-gos. Thanks!
Hmm, it’s worth a shot! Let us know if you give that a try!
Thanks for this. I use your gf recipes all the time (I’m gluten sensitive), and now it’s time for my daughter’s first birthday cake, and it’s becoming evident that she’s intolerant to egg. Looking forward to making this and to more gf and—now egg-free—baking!
Lovely! Let us know how it goes!
Made the cake as is. I just added some lemon zest to the batter. Best gluten and dairy free cake I’ve had. I also feel good that we are using almond flour so there is some nutritional value to it as well. I’m going to make it again today but I’m gonna change out the flavors and I’m going to use the coconut frosting. I’ll let you know how it goes.
So glad you enjoy this recipe, Debra! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
I want to make this cake for me nephew’s birthday. He’s allergic to apple, so can I subsitute it for banana please?
Hi Elizabeth, we haven’t tried it, but think it will work! It may have a slight banana taste though. Let us know if you give it a try!
Has anyone made this with arrowroot starch instead of corn starch !? If so, how did it turn out in terms of consistency … is it still fluffy ?
Thanks !
We would recommend doing a search for “arrowroot” in the comments section to see other readers feedback. Most mentioned they had success! Let us know if you give it a try!
Yes, I always sub arrowroot and it comes out perfect.
xxLindsey
Hi! I have a question, what is the egg substitute in the recipe? Trying to learn!
The applesauce!
Hi! I’m making this for a birthday party on Saturday. I can’t find almond flour anywhere – could I substitute white flour for it? Thank you!
Hmm, I don’t think that would be the recipe to try subbing gluten flour for. Perhaps try this instead? You can leave out the sprinkles.
Could you recommend a gluten free replacement for potato starch? Thanks!
Hmm, it’s somewhat of a staple ingredient in this recipe. Is there some reason you can’t consume it? I don’t have another recommendation at this time…
My cake was flat. I used tapioca starch instead of potato starch — otherwise everything the same. Could the tapioca starch have affected that?
Hmm, we’ve never tried this with tapioca starch. Perhaps that could’ve been it?
Hi! This cake is delicious! Thank you! I am hosting mystery dinner party next week. I plan to have a Caribbean menu. However, I will be adding this cake to the menu :) Any icing and filling recommendations to switch it up a bit to coordinate with the party? It’s summer and hot of course. I usually make this cake with your traditional buttercream icing which we love!
I haven’t tried your coconut whipped cream icing yet.
p.s. I’m looking to purchase new cake pans. Do you have any brands you recommend?
Thank you!!
Patty ?
Hmm, you could add coconut flake and pineapple on top?
Which of your icings do you recommend with the pineapple topping you recommended? Thanks!
Probably the buttercream!
Thanks for your recipes. This one had gotten such great reviews that I’m wondering if it would make a good bundt cake? And if so, what adjustments need to be made. I looked through the comments and no one seemed to try this. (I’m on a bit of a bundt cake roll right now)
Hi Spring, we think it would work, though we haven’t tried it and aren’t certain! Let us know if you give it a try!
Hello!! i want to try your recipe BUT i need to make it a “champagne cake”. I was thinking on reducing champagne and substituting some of the milk for the reduction….what do you think? Will it work?
Ooh, that sounds fun! I don’t know how it will react with the other ingredients but it’s certainly possible. And I think the way you’re going about it is exactly how I’d do it. You could also see if there’s a “champagne extract” – ha! Seems like a long shot, but potentially an option. Let us know how it goes!
Amoretti makes an excellent Champaign extract, it’s my favorite flavor for cakes. I can’t recommend it enough
Apparently I can’t spell either ?. Champagne
This cake was unbelievable!! Thank you so much for the recipe. Everyone loved it!! I made a half batch to make a dozen cupcakes topped with coconut whipped cream and berries for kids. And a normal batch for a two layer cake with vegan buttercream frosting, dyed purple with purple carrot juice and edible flowers. The only swaps I made were to use coconut sugar for the cake and added lemon zest and juice for a lemon flavor. Everyone raved and demanded the recipe, especially finding out later it was vegan and gluten-free. THANK YOU!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Amy! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications! xo
This recipe came out great! I even added sprinkles to make a funfetti cake. I want to try it again as a rum cake. Do you think I’d be able to sub the milk for some rum?
Thanks for sharing, Cristina! I think the rum substitution should work! Let us know if you try it.
Next time would you mind adding a rating to your review? It’s super helpful to us and other readers! xoxo
Hello,
We want to try this recipe — it looks so yummy! Can I sub vanilla powder for essence? If so, how do you suggest? I have run out of essence and only have powder (which seemed like a good buy at the time however I don’t know how to use it).
Thanks :)
Hi Vix, we would recommend a ratio of 1/2 tsp vanilla powder to replace 1 tsp vanilla extract. Hope that helps! Let us know if you give it a try!
Thankyou!!! I’m just starting to bake now. x
I am clear that this recipe is gluten free and vegan. Can you verify for me if it contains soy? I am making this for a client and do not want any mistakes. Thank you!
Correct – it should not contain soy unless your dairy-free milk contained soy as an additive.
Hi, I am planning on making this cake for my mom for her birthday. We are sugar free so I was wondering if I could sub something for the powdered sugar in the buttercream frosting. I have granulated monk fruit sugar that can be used just like regular granulated sugar so I don’t need a substitute for that. Thanks!!
Hi Maya, we haven’t tried this recipe with any sugar substitutes and aren’t sure how they would turn out. We would recommend checking the other comments as some readers have experimented. Someone reported success with an erythritol/stevia blend. If you do some experimenting, we would love to hear how it goes!
You can make powdered sugar by grinding coconut sugar in a coffee bean grinder into a finer powder and mixing it with arrowroot powder.
I attempted to make this delicious looking cake for my birthday though made a different buttercream than the recipe called for. When I took the cake out of the oven I noticed that it hadn’t risen as much as I would have thought. As the cakes cooled and I began to assemble them they looked very compact and dense, almost like an uncooked cookie. I followed the instructions to the dot. Is there something that I missed?? Please help.
Hmm, what size pans did you use and did the cakes get cooked through all the way? In the photos I believe we used 3 6-inch pans to give it more height as this cake naturally won’t rise as high without eggs / gluten. I’m also wondering if your leavening ingredients were fresh? Please let us know! We’d love to help troubleshoot.
I’ve made this twice already! It’s amazing ? I made it as a sheet cake once with the coco whip. Sooo this time I’m making it as a layered cake but wanted to do 4 layers with 2 layers being a strawberry cake! Can I sub blended strawberries for the milk?
Smart idea! I’m not sure how that will go but I think it should work? Let us now if you try it!
Well I tried subbing strawberry purée for the milk and it worked, however the taste was of strawberry was super faint. I also had to bake it longer and it didn’t have a pink color just a darker brown. Probably could use some tweaking but I pulled it off! I used your butter cream frosting recipe and added strawberry purée to give color and strawberry taste which worked out perfect. I also only did 3 layers at 8” and saved 1 strawberry layer for taste testing lol! I wish I could post a pic, it came out really cute for my daughters bday cake:) Love your recipes, thank you!
How great! Thanks for sharing your experience Aimee! We’ll add testing a strawberry version to our list!
I cannot find Potato Starch anywhere near me and I have to bake this for this weekend so I don’t have time to wait on Amazon to bring me any. What can I use instead of the Potato Starch? Anything?
Hi Tracie, perhaps a blend of arrowroot and/or a GF blend would work? Let us know if you give it a try!
Ok…. This cake is the one! I have vegans and gf folks in my DnD group, so always turn to Dana when I wanna bring something special!!
I wanted a “Queen Victoria sponge” look with tropical flavors, so I substituted half of the vanilla with coconut extract before baking. To decorate the cake, I filled the cake with a thick layer of mango-peach preserves and an even thicker layer of So Delicious Cocowhip. I then dusted the top of the cake with powdered sugar. SO yummy and so cute. I definitely recommend serving it this way!
Also: I set the number of servings to 6 and prepared the batter, dividing it into two 6 inch cake pans. The result was a perfectly sized tiny cake with no leftovers.
Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Dana, can the apple sauce be substituted with something? Like banana or flax egg? What would be the right portions? I’d like to make this cake for the yummy walnut frosting my husband asked for, for his birthday! Thanks so much
Hmm, we haven’t tried it, but I’m guessing you could sub the same amount of banana or another mashed fruit puree?
Thanks. I’ve gone through the other comments and decided to go with oil. I used sunflower oil and it worked perfectly. My new favourite cake recipe!
Thanks for sharing!
Can I use coconut oil instead of applesauce
We haven’t tried that. But if you do let us know how it goes!
I wanted to try out this recipe using all purpose flour, since I didn’t have any gf substitutes on hand. I kept the corn starch in since I was hoping to get some nice crumb texture, and used the all purpose instead of the almond and potato. I halved the recipe and ended up with a great imbalance of wets to dry- the batter was more dough-like- so I went ahead and added an additional half of the wet ingredients and that ended up working out! I also did a puree blend of mangoes, bananas and pineapple and lemon juice instead of applesauce and that was very tasty. This recipe is truly one of a kind in the fact that you can play around and the ratios don’t seem to need to be absolutely perfect, like most vegan recipes. Very appreciated!
Hi Katy!
I’m looking to make this recipe with all purpose flour as well — do you mind posting the exact measurements that ended up working out?
Jenna
This cake looks amazing and I am hoping to make it for my sisters birthday! Unfortunately she is allergic to all nuts and cannot have almond flour is there any other flour I could substitute for the almond flour? Any recommendations would help!
Hi Eden, Subbing the almond flour is difficult, but what about another seed meal, such as sunflower or hemp?
Made this recipe into 24 cupcakes, and the frosting recipe covers them beautifully, no left overs. They are delicious. After mixing the batter, I added a little almond flour a bit at a time until the consistency looked like thin cream of wheat. To the frosting, I added 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. Very easy and all the ingredients I had on hand. I will make this recipe again very soon. ?
Thanks for sharing, Joanne! So glad to hear you enjoyed them!
Why did you add almond flour to the batter, was it too runny? Also do you remember how long the cupcakes baked?
How long did you bake the cupcakes for?
Has anyone tried this with all purpose flour? If we used AP, would we omit the cornstarch and potato starch? Just omit potato starch? Thanks for any recommendations!
Hi Marissa, we are not sure if this cake would be a good fit for all purpose flour (we haven’t tested it). But if you do give it a try, we would say replace both with the all purpose. Let us know how if you give it a try!
I saw where you said we could try to substitute the cornstarch with arrowroot starch, but could I substitute the potato starch with arrowroot starch? Crazy as it is, I cannot find anyone that has potato starch in stock or that even carries it.
Hi Brittany, the potato starch is a pretty specific ingredient that helps the texture go a long way. But perhaps a blend of arrowroot and/or a GF blend would work? We would recommend getting potato starch (you should be able to get online!), if possible.
I am very happy to share that the arrowroot starch worked (thank goodness). I figured potato starch would be a very common thing, but not one store in my city carried it. I wouldn’t have been able to order it in the time that I needed it, so I just went with a prayer and arrowroot, haha. I added some coconut flour to it and it was a huge hit. It did come out a little more dense than fluffy, but really moist and kind of melted in your mouth. The crowd really loved it and I was asked to make it for another person’s birthday next month. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It really is a wonderful cake recipe, and bonus is it’s not complicated.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, Brittany! We are so glad to hear it turned out for you! xo
Can anyone tell me if the cake is made as directed, does it need to be refrigerated? I need it for an event on Friday, but need to bake and frost on Wednesday due to travel. Thanks in advance.
Hi Anneliese, making in advance should work! We would recommend baking the cake, wrapping it in plastic wrap, and putting in the fridge. Then, the day of the event, frost and garnish it. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much!!
Could I sub the vanilla for almond extract for an almond cake? Also I find it too sweet for my taste w/o buttercream. I will reduce sugar next time. But still a very very delicious cake.
Hi Jada, we haven’t tried that, but we think it should work! Let us know if you give it a try!
This recipe is amazing! I just made it for my toddler who can’t eat gluten, dairy or eggs. I made cupcakes. They baked for 20 min and turned out great. We couldn’t believe how cake-like they were. So good!! Now I have a cake recipe for her birthday :))) I can’t thank you enough!
Thanks for sharing!!
My friends keep begging me to make this cake again. I made it with a lavender infused vegan buttercream, and then put the berries on top and they freaked out. It was seriously delish.
That sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing, Lindsey!
I made this cake again and added the lemon juice instead of cider vinegar, and zest of a lemon for a lemon infused cake. To the vegan buttercream I also added lemon juice and zest, and then when layering I put a layer of seedless raspberry preserve on top of the lemon buttercream. It was knock out good, and looked so pretty. I put fresh raspberries on top. This cake is so fun to play with and tailor to different tastes!
Oh, and I added poppyseeds, so it was lemon poppyseed :P
Wow, Lindsey! That sounds absolutely incredible! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
I’ve made this recipe before and it was an absolute success! It was so great finding this recipe with the alternative ingredients you used because I have many food allergies/intolerances. I wanted to make it into a sheet cake instead of a round cake the next time I bake the cake. What are your thoughts on baking the recipe in a different way?
Hi Bethany, we aren’t sure but think that would work! You will likely need to adjust the baking time. Let us know if you give it a try!
Will this work in cupcake form? Has anyone tried this?
Hi Catherine, we haven’t tried it, but other readers have had success making cupcakes with this recipe! They mentioned that the batter makes 24 cupcakes baked for about 15 minutes (not sure how full each was, sorry). Hope that helps!
HELP. I can’t find potato starch anywhere. Just went to 5 stores. Any substitutes??
Thanks!
M
Hi Melissa, the potato starch is a pretty specific ingredient that helps the texture go a long way. But perhaps a blend of arrowroot and/or a GF blend would work? We would recommend getting potato starch (you should be able to get online!), if possible.
This looks fantastic! I want to try for my daughters birthday since she has many allergies. Just one question. Can I use oil instead of applesauce? Thanks!
I haven’t tried it with oil, but let us know how it goes!
Hello! I recently made this cake for a friends daughter’s third birthday. It was a big hit! When she told me she needed a vegan and gluten-free cake, I was a bit discouraged. But I tried this recipe out at home and was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was. She wanted a Funfetti cake so I added sprinkles to it and it was perfect. Now my sister needs a gluten-free vegan cake for her daughter and wants strawberry flavored cake with lemon frosting. I’m pretty sure I can pull off the lemon frosting, but I’m wondering if I could add reduced pureed strawberries instead of the applesauce and maybe strawberry essence instead of vanilla. Would that work? Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Jen! Thanks for the lovely review! We think a strawberry puree would work well in place of the applesauce. We haven’t used strawberry essence so we can’t comment on that. Let us know how it goes!
Hello! I just did a trial run on the strawberry cupcakes. I did 1/3 cup of reduced strawberry purée and 2 tsp strawberry extract. I am not getting a lot of strawberry flavor still. Do you think it would work if I reduced the dairy free milk and increased the purée as long as the liquid level stays the same as the original recipe? With the substitutions I made the texture is still spot on!
Thanks for sharing, Jen! That might work! Crossing our fingers! xo
I highly recommend using concentrates instead of fruit purée. Fruit purées can be difficult to work with and throw throw your ratios off without much flavor payout
I have made this cake 3 times, I love it! BUT it sinks in the middle every time. I can still make a cake but it’s a pretty substantial sinkage. Any thoughts on why?
A little sinkage in the middle is normal. But you could try and make the batter a bit more dry (with flours) to help with this! Or, add more leavening ingredients.
Do you need to adjust for altitude? That’s what I have to do it all my cakes sink regardless of ingredients
The cake itself was moist and delicious and I will probably make it again adding lemon juice and peel for a version of lemon drizzle cake. It was very moist and held together well. I used the buttercream frosting which was too sweet for my tastes though my friends with a sweet tooth seemed to like it as it was. The recipe, though very expensive to make, is a keeper for me.
Hi! I have the cakes in the oven right now. I’m not sure why but the batter was super runny. I added well over an additional cup of almond flour to try to thicken it up. It seems like so much more than what the recipe called for. Even if I eyeballed the wet measurements even a bit off which I’m not sure how since I was very careful I don’t think it would require that much extra almond flour. The batter thickness was thicker but not sure if it was right. Any idea why the batter would have been so soupy? Thanks!
Hi Patty, hmm, we aren’t sure what happened as we haven’t had this issue! How did the cakes turn out? Did you make any modifications?
I’ve noticed that almond flour will continue to absorb liquid over time, so I’ll let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes before adjusting.
Hi there, it’s my son’s first birthday tomorrow and I am making this cake as his birthday cake today because he is allergic to wheat, eggs, dairy etc. I’m all the way in Ivory Coast though and I cannot find vegan butter. Can I substitute with an oil of some kind?
Hmm, I haven’t tested it without butter of some kind. You could try coconut oil, but I’m not sure how it would work. Keep us posted?
Thanks for the quick reply. I can also try a margarine. Perhaps that’s a better bet. I’ll let you know how it goes!
This recipe is amazing! I have made it several times now, and every batch has turned out delicious!
I have made it for two events where it has sat on display in a warm room for a few hours before being cut, and it has held its own (doubled recipe, four layers stacked – using 20cm cake tins).
Although a couple of people have, I personally wouldn’t recommend freezing – worked out ok, but found it was a little dryer than usual! Also the almond meal doesn’t work as a substitute for all of the almond flour, but worked fine when i was about 1/3 cup short of flour!
I didn’t reveal to guests that it was GF/vegan until they’d finished eating and everyone was stunned! Thank you for this wonderful recipe! :)
Hi Isobel, Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your experience. We are so glad you enjoy this recipe! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
Hi. I am making this for my daughter’s birthday today. I do not have potato starch. Would I use 1 1/3 cup cornstarch? Is this an egg replacement? If she can have eggs could I use eggs instead?
Hi Stacey, the potato starch is a pretty specific ingredient that helps the texture go a long way. But perhaps a blend of arrowroot and/or a GF blend would work? We would recommend getting potato starch, if possible.
I’ve previously made your 1 bowl vegan chocolate cake and it was amazing! I decorated with vegan buttercream, sprinkles and coconut whipped cream.
I’ve been asked to make this vegan + gluten free cake for my friend but almond flour isn’t readily available in my area, and when it is it’s quite expensive. Would coconut flour work? Or would ground almonds be better? Not sure if the latter is fine enough!
Thanks :)
Hi Isabella, so glad you enjoyed our chocolate cake! Coconut flour is a lot more dense than almond flour, so we do not think that will work! In a pinch, you could sub almond meal. We haven’t tested it with any other alternative flours so we don’t have any other recommendations at this time.
I’m needing to make some gluten free cupcakes for an event this weekend and wondered if this recipe will work. I’m new to gluten free baking so I wasn’t sure if it translates as well in cupcake form. If it will work how full should I fill the liners?
Hi Nicole, we haven’t tried it, but other readers have had success making cupcakes with this recipe! They mentioned that the batter makes 24 cupcakes baked for about 15 minutes (not sure how full each was, sorry). Hope that helps!
Please help!
I followed your recipe to the dot…
My cakes sank in middl.
What am i doing wrong?
Thanks a lot for ur help!
Best
Shobaa
Hi Shobaa, A little sinkage in the middle is normal. But you could try and make the batter a bit more dry (with flours) to help with this! Or, add more leavening ingredients. Hope that helps!
That is not great advice for high altitude bakers. It’s counter intuitive but as you increase altitude, you decrease leavening agents. If your readers are at 3000-5000 feet, they might want to consider some high attitude adjustments. I looked over your site and I can’t figure out where you’re located but altitude is too often a forgotten piece of a baking puzzle.
Amazing recipe, taste is absolutely divine. I love all you’re recipes, you are my vegan go too!
Thanks, Tia!
Are there any specific recipe modifications that you would suggest for using a 9″ cake pan for one big cake? I’m making a two layer, and I just wondered if I should increase bake time or any ingredients, I made it last week and it turned out great. Only a teeny bit crumbly
Nothing I can think of, other than decreasing bake time shortly, perhaps. But check in with a toothpick and monitor the color as it goes!
If I can make a gluten-free, vegan and sugar-free cake I might literally jump for joy! Have you tried substituting with liquid or packs of Stevia? Wondering if it turns out right as the sugar would add some bulk I would imagine. Thanks!
We’ll add that to the list! If subbing this recipe with stevia, do so to taste and add more almond flour as needed to dry out the texture.
Is it possible to use King Arthur’s Gluten Free flour instead of the almond flour, potato and corn starch? I’m not sure how much of the Gluten Free flour mix I should use…
Hmm, we haven’t tested it that way. But let us know how it goes!!
Hello – did you try this with gf flour instead of the suggested blend? Thanks
I’m going to give it a try! Will let you know how it goes!
Please let me know if you tried it as I need to make that and gf flour is all I have.
I did give it a try and it turned out quite well! I used 4 1/2 cups of King Authur’s Gluten Free Flour Mix. It was a little dry after I mixed it and needed to add more coconut milk so maybe a little less flour would be better? 4 cups instead? I also used honey instead of sugar – 3/4 if you don’t like it too sweet. I prefer sweeter so maybe try 1 cup honey. Hope it turns out well for you! It’s a fun and easy cake to make!!!
I gave it a try with the gluten free flour mix and it turned out quite well! I used 4 1/2 cups of King Authur’s Gluten Free Flour Mix. It was a little dry after I mixed it and needed to add more coconut milk so maybe a little less flour would be better? 4 cups instead? I also used honey instead of sugar – 3/4 if you don’t like it too sweet. I prefer sweeter so maybe try 1 cup honey. Hope it turns out well for you! It’s a fun and easy cake to make!!!
hello, I was most excited to make this recipe. Unfortunately, the batter didn’t not turn out as described at all. It was a stoggy lump. Something seems to be wrong with the starch ratios. It has the texture of mocha.
Hi there, I’d love to help troubleshoot! The batter shouldn’t be the texture of “mocha” – I assume you mean the drink? Are you sure you read the measurements correctly, and did you sub any ingredients?
So I have made this twice now. The first time as written and it turned out well. The second time I made it for my friend’s birthday and she requested either lemon or strawberry cake. So I made the cake as written, but added lemon zest from half a large lemon and juice from half a large lemon to the batter. It turned out great. I also made the buttercream frosting and added the zest and juice from the other half of the lemon. I made the cake in two six inch rounds and sliced the rounds in half for presentation.
I filled the cake with a thick strawberry coulis and frosted it with the lemon buttercream. I made 6 cupcakes with the extra batter. This cake was so well received that my friend’s son requested one for his birthday and he is neither vegan nor gf.
Great! Thanks for sharing, Elle! So helpful for us and other readers!!
Dana just wanted to let you know that this cake, with the lemon additions noted in my earlier comment, has become the most requested birthday cake I make. Thank you so much for this recipe that comes out great every time. I am making it again today for my niece’s birthday. Thank you for all the great recipes you share. I also wanted to share that I have tried it cutting back on the sugar to 1 cup and replacing half the granulated sugar with coconut sugar. It turned out fine. I added about an extra 1/4 cup of almond meal to even out the wet/dry ratio.
Thanks so much for your kind words and for sharing your modifications, Elle! We are so glad everyone enjoys it! xo
Does this turn out well non gluten free? I am just needing vegan. How would I substitute?
Hi Lia, we are not sure if this cake would be a good fit for all purpose flour (we haven’t tested it). But if you do give it a try, let us know how it goes!
I have made tons of gluten free, vegan cakes and frostings but this was BY FAR the BEST cake we’ve ever had. It was moist, had no “allergy free” taste and the buttercream frosting tasted like the real thing! This will be our new go-to recipe for birthdays!!!
This was the most amazing cake! I had never made a cake from scratch, let alone a vegan gluten-free one, so I was anxious about how mine would turn out. I made this for mothers day and my entire family was getting together and everyone absolutely loved it! I was nervous because my family isn’t one for “healthified” recipes and they were so impressed and I only had one slice leftover. The texture, moisture, and flavor was all on point. I can’t wait to make this again! I feel way more confident in my cake baking skills now and now that it’s gone I find myself craving it :)
So glad to hear it, Barbie! We are so glad everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!
Hi there! I’ve made tons of your recipes and loved them all, so I was really looking forward to making this cake, but it didn’t turn out quite right for me. I followed measurements and instructions well, but the cake hardly rose at all. They turned out very flat – like less than an inch tall. Any thoughts?? Thank you!
Hmm, did you make any substitutions at all? Also, did you bake it in one pan or more? It doesn’t rise as much as a cake with gluten, but it shouldn’t be flat. And you didn’t forget the leavener?
You had it spot on, I divided it into three 9” pans, completely read instructions wrong!! Thank you so much, attempting again tonight for party tomorrow!
What can I use to substitute for potato starch? I am not finding this anywhere in stores.
Hi Michelle, that’s a pretty specific ingredient that helps the texture go a long way. But perhaps a blend of arrowroot and/or a GF blend would work?
Hello, it looks like it has a really nice texture, light and airy with large crumbs, which is exactly what I have been looking for in a basic cake recipe (usually they have added coconut flour to get this lovely texture).
I was wondering if I can substitute the applesauce with anything?
Good question! Check the comments for other readers’ substitutions. I haven’t tried subbing applesauce but I’d think another non-starchy fruit puree would work, such as pear?
My husband asked what cake I want for Mother’s Day (it’s tradition that we bake some treats for a family member’s special day) and I said this one! Now I am wondering if the coconut whipped cream of the V+GF birthday cake would work on this one?
It should!
This looks really good but what could be substituted for almond flour? It is good for people with gluten allergies but I have family members with tree nut & coconut allergies. I never heard of potato starch. Where do you get that? Thank you.
Potato starch can be found in grocery stores or online! Subbing the almond flour is difficult, but what about another seed meal, such as sunflower or hemp?
Made this for my sons 1st Birthday. This cake turned out amazing! I used coconut sugar instead, and it worked great! My niece said, ‘this is the best cake in the world!’
Thank you for the sweet recipe ❤️
Tried this recipe out and adjusted for a family member who has food allergies to wheat, nuts, and dairy. I really enjoyed it! I like how it’s more dense than normal cake and not too sweet. The vanilla flavor came through really well. I used unsweetened coconut milk (refrigerated kind in the carton just from a regular grocery store).
I adjusted the recipe to replace almond flour (due to nut allergies)—3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp coconut flour (plus around 6 Tbsp more so batter not as watery) and 3 eggs.
Also tried another variation—3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp coconut flour (plus around 1/2 cup more so batter not as watery), 3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp tapioca flour, 2.5 eggs, and 3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp coconut milk—that resulted in a chewier texture (not in a bad way), but I didn’t feel like it “kept” as well as the first variation the next day.
Had another family member make a trifle with a cake like this with strawberries and coconut whipped cream and that was really good! Didn’t try it this time, but when I find the right brand of coconut cream I will give it a go. Don’t know how much it affected the results, but I do live at an elevation of around 4500 ft above sea level. Really appreciate how detailed your recipes are and having videos and great pictures also helped me to know if I had the right consistency when I’m cooking/baking. Your site has also been great for adjusting for food allergies! :)
Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications! We are so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
So I made it with two 9” pans and after the cake has cooled down it seems to fall apart. Do you think it’s because of the pan size ? I have not changed anything besides that
Hi Thuy, we wouldn’t expect that to cause an issue, but it is possible! It sounds more like it needed additional moisture (such as almond milk). Hope that helps!
I don’t know if I’d call it a vanilla cake, I would say it’s more like an almond breakfast cake. Usually I love all MB recipes, and I made this one as precise to the directions as possible, but I think I was just disappointed because I was expecting a more traditional vanilla cake. For an almondy breakfast cake thing, delicious!
Hi Nina, Sorry to hear this wasn’t what you were hoping for! You may enjoy our Funfetti Cupcakes (minus the sprinkles) as they are a more traditional vanilla cake recipe. Hope that helps!
I just saw a comment asking how to make the Funfetti cupcakes gluten free and you directed them to this recipe ?
Hi Monica, yes! Rainbow sprinkles can be added to this recipe in a similar way to the funfetti cupcakes to make a gluten-free funfetti cupcake. It won’t be quite as traditional, but similar.
I made this cake on Saturday . Well actually twice. The first time, since I didn’t have potato starch, I subbed in tapioca (this after carefully researching). Fell apart! Don’t sub tapioca in such large quantities.
Second time, I subbed gf flour mixture and it was great. Used homemade low sugar blueberry jam in between layers (with frosting natch) and frosted using the butter cream recipe. Blueberries on top. And it was declared beautiful and yummy by all.
So glad you enjoyed it! That blueberry jam addition sounds dreamy!
I made a double batch of this recipe so that I could make a large triple layer easter cake for a large family get together. I had not made before, but have made enough MB gluten free recipes to trust that it would be good, and it really exceeded my expectations. If you like a slightly denser, richer cake you will love this one. We used the buttercream icing and as it was an easter cake it was decorated with lots of pastel colours. It is a little more effort because of the ingredient list (which I followed exactly)but well worth the effort. Will definitely make again.
So glad you liked it, Anna! Thanks for sharing!
This is the first gluten free cake recipe I have ever made and it was delicious! It was moist, not gritty and the gluten eaters I fed it to were pleasantly surprised. They DIDN’T say, “Pretty good for gluten-free”! I used a cream cheese icing instead of the icing recipe you supplied. I substituted the arrowroot for tapioca and made my own applesauce to use in the recipe.
Thanks!
Glad to hear it! Thanks for sharing, Sylvia!
I did the recipe as the instructions, i spent a lot on all these special flours and unfortunately my batter was not pourable and the cake did not come out well:( Can you give me pointers, I’ve mad your vegan chocolate cake many times and I was wondering why this cake had no oil or vegan butter in the batter. Thank you!
Hi! It sounds like you need to add more dairy-free milk until it is a pourable batter. This recipe is an oil-free one, but you may prefer our Vanilla Cupcakes if you are looking for a more traditional recipe.
Hi! I tried this today and this may be a very silly question…how full do you fill the cake pans with batter? New to baking and feel like it was too full so wanted to clarify.
Thank you!
Hi Suzanne, Thanks for giving these a try! We filled them about 2/3 full. Hope that helps! The video and photos above may help as well.
I made this cake recipe for my first vegan birthday yesterday. Everyone loved it! Made the recipe exactly how it was written out and the best thing I can compare it to is a Starbucks birthday cake pop. I bought wholesome brand icing and used the bread portion of the recipe. I am definitely gonna be making this again! I’m not even gluten free just love MB recipes!! ?
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Nereida! SO glad you enjoyed it for your birthday! xo
Hi, can I make the cakes ahead of time and freeze them? Then defrost and frost at a later time. Thank you.
Yes, that should work well!
I just made this cake (divided amongst 5-6″ pans) and the cake sunk in the middle :( I’m in Denver and at a high altitude, so maybe that’s the reason? I bake quite a lot and have definitely experienced sunken cupcakes, but haven’t been able to figure out why. For some reason it’s usually with vanilla cake :/ I’m not an experienced gluten free baker, fyi.
Hi Patricia, we aren’t familiar with baking at a high altitude, so unfortunately no recommendations there! Our only other suggestion would be if your oven temperature was off?
Hello
I replaced the sugar with monk fruit Lakanto brand but it failed miserably. The cake from outside was overcooked but from inside it was not cooked at all and completely moist. I followed the ingredient step by step, other than replacing the white sugar with monk fruit, and I also replaced the corn starch with Arrowroot. I really do not know what went wrong with my cake :(
Hi Ragy, sorry to hear it didn’t work out as intended! Our guess is that the monk fruit caused this to happen, but it could also be the arrowroot. Next time, perhaps you could try using some sugar and some monk fruit, if possible. Hope that helps!
what can I substitute for white sugar? I cannot have processed sugar
Hi Vijaya, You could try subbing a mix of maple syrup and coconut sugar, but we haven’t tested it this way and can’t guarantee results. Hope that helps!
I made this subbing coconut sugar one for one and it turned out great.
Baking soda and baking powder? Thats can’t be the same thing? Sometimes powder includes baking soda in it.
We recommend using both as they are a little different. You can sub one for the other with varying results. Hope that helps!
What is 4 sticks of butter ? How do I measure that?
Each stick is 1/2 cup. Hope that helps!
I am so happy I found this recipe! My cake turned out beautiful and delicious! I gave the frosting a lemon twist and it was delicious. Thank you so much!
Can’t wait to make this. Do I have to use cake pans?
No, you can use a different size pan! Just adjust the baking time accordingly. Hope that helps!
Could I use regular flour for this recipe? Thanks!
Hi Annie, not sure if this cake would be a good fit for all purpose flour (we haven’t tested it). But if you do give it a try, let us know how it goes!
Hi! I love the vegan funfetti cupcake recipe, but I’m hoping to make a whole cake. I’m wondering if you could sub AP flour for those who aren’t gluten free. Thanks so much!
We haven’t tried it, but think it would work! If you give it a try, we would love to hear how it goes!
Hi,
Can we sub alomond flour with coconut flour ?
Thanks :) !
Coconut flour is a lot more dense than almond flour, so we do not think that will work! In a pinch, you could sub almond meal. We haven’t tested it with any other alternative flours so we don’t have any other recommendations at this time.
I made this delicious cake today and just like all of your recipes it was a hit.. I used Tapioca instead of potato starch as that was all I had and was very happy with the result. I covered mine in a strawberry açai frosting that I made with fresh strawberries, açai powder and protein powder.. I’m having great success with your recipes. thank you. ?
Hi :) I’m just about to make the cake, and I
want to use tapioca instead potato starch, but not sure is it the same ratio. Saw your comment and would love to know what amount did you use?
Thank you in advance for the help ?
Cake came out super yummy! First time ever making a vegan cake and it was probably one of the best cakes I have made in a while. Thanks for sharing the recipe :)
Thanks so much for the kind review, Nikita. We are so glad you enjoyed it! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
WOW!!! This is hands down the best gluten free cake I’ve ever had in fact it’s the best cake I’ve ever had! It is light, moist, perfect level of sweetness and doesn’t have that sandy texture of typical GF cakes. And it’s super easy to make. I am floored! Thank you so much!!!!
Do you think it would be safe to reduce the sugar to 1 cup or would it mess with the baking “chemistry” of the cake??
Hi Hanna, great question! We don’t think it would mess up the chemistry of the cake, but if the batter seems too wet after reducing the sugar, we would recommend adding a little almond flour to thicken it. If you tend to like sweeter things, you may also want to add a little stevia to compensate for the reduced sugar. If you give it a try, we would love to hear how it goes! Hope that helps!
Can I make this cake a day or two in advance and then frost it later? I was thinking of letting it cool, then wraping the layers in plastic till I’m ready to frost. Any experience doing this, or pointers?
Thanks!
Haha never mind— literally the comment before mine answered my question. Thank you!
Can I make this two days prior to an event? Will it stay fresh?
Hi Mallory, yes, that would work! We would recommend baking the cake, wrapping it in plastic wrap, and putting in the fridge. Then, the day of the event, frost and garnish it. Hope that helps!
I was looking to make 2 8” round cakes. Do you think it would be okay to freeze one to use for a week later? Making this for my sons 1st birthday smash cake and need one the weekend after for his photo shoot with a photographer. Thank you!
Hi Nikki, yes, we think that will work!
Currently making this cake :)
How many mls/tsps of butter would the two sticks of vegan butter equal too?
1 stick = about ~113g if that helps!
This looks great! I’m looking to make a lemon drizzle cake and adapting this recipe by adding lemon juice/zest. It’s surprisingly difficult to find vegan gf lemon drizzle cakes online! Any suggestions for adaptation?
Hmm we haven’t tried adding lemon to this recipe, but I think that should work just fine! Let us know how it goes if you experiment :D
Unreal!! This is a kick … s recipe!! So good! Brilliant texture and flavours .. I just made it for Valentine’s Day using some heart shaped cake pan … looking fab! My girlfriend loved so much.
Wish I could post a pic. So proud lol
If you have Instagram, post a pic using the hashtag #MinimalistBaker and we’ll keep our eye out for it! xoxo!
My parents visited this past week, and my mom made this for my birthday cake. Moist, delicious, and perfect in every way but one….you just want to keep eating it! This recipe is a keeper!
Whoop! We’re glad to hear that, Sara!
Can this same recipe be used to make a pound cake? If not, can you do a gluten free pound cake post PLEASE?
We’ll add it to the recipe request list, Charla! We haven’t tried making this into a pound cake and can’t say for sure, but if you experiment with it, report back on how it goes!
Just made this cake and it was delicious! I used a melted chocolate chip/tofu frosting and it was perfect. I made the recipe for 15 servings, and it made 4 layers of 8 inch circle pans. I used 1.5 cups white sugar and 1/2 cup coconut sugar – perfect sweetness. I only had a cup of potato starch, so I added a half cup of arrowroot. The almond flour kept it from rising too much, so each layer was flat and perfect for a layer cake. It was so easy to frost – no crumbs falling apart into the frosting! I made this for a birthday party and everyone raved about it, saying it was the best cake I’ve made yet (12 birthday parties and counting!) Thank you!
Best gluten free cake I’ve made and tasted. I made this for my sister’s wedding and she said it was the highlight of it :). I’ve been asked by a couple other people now to make it for birthday parties etc. soo good and so simple
I tried this recipe last night and used the ingredients listed in the stated quantities. The only two issues I had were 1. Even with greasing and flouring the pans beforehand, the cakes still stuck to the bottom. I am going to address this by putting parchment circles in the bottoms before I pour in the batter; and 2. The cake didn’t hold its shape very well and was extremely crumbly. Could I add some xanthum gum to the recipe to help it hold together a bit more?
Hmm using too much flour can make a cake turn out dry and that may have been what happened here. If you try adding xanthum gum, let us know how it turns out!
How would you reduce this recipe if making for just one person? Thank you in advance.
It would be tricky, seeing as though its a cake but you could change the serving size above the ingredients but the measurements are quite awkward amounts. I’d personally recommend making the full amount (a full cake) and then freezing what you don’t use..
Hi Dana! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes. Question, is there a plant-based sub for vegan butter? If so, are the ratios the same?
This was delicious! I made this into cupcakes with the buttercream icing. I’ve been searching for a good gluten free vanilla cake recipe for a while now and this far surpassed my expectations. No one could tell they were gluten free! Thanks so much for all you do Dana!
I’ve made this three times now in the 6” pans and have learned the toothpick test doesn’t really work for me, the first time the layers were still a little raw. I bake at least the full time stated and look for deep golden on top and pulling away from the sides- more so than with a traditional cake. The 6” layers are super cute and they bake up tall so I find all three too tall. Instead I split two of the layers and frost for a four-layer cake and then freeze the other layer for another time. This last time I subbed pumpkin purée for the applesauce and then added 2 tsp each of pumpkin spice and cinnamon and a shaving of fresh nutmeg. It was excellent! I use Trader Joe’s almond flour and sometimes I need to add a bit more of it to thicken my batter but it seems to work just fine. Thanks for the great recipe!
Made this for my wife’s birthday. It was really tasty, moist and simple to make.
I did “make it my own a bit.
Used Almond nogg instead, mashed banana instead of apple sauce, and tapioca starch.
The holiday nogg gave it a nice pretty taste.
could this be made into red velvet? (w. Cocoa & coloring)
I think so! Let us know if you give it a try.
This cake was great! I can’t have apples, so I pureed pears and used that instead of applesauce. I also wanted to have a lemon vanilla cake, so I added peel from 2 lemons into the batter and peel from 1 lemon into the frosting. It was the perfect balance of lemon and vanilla. I will definitely be making this cake again!
I made this and it came out really nicely. I’m not even good at baking! I did the option calling for one 9X13 pan, and just frosted the top and served it from the pan, so there was lots of frosting left over. Found all the ingredients at Whole Foods in DTLA. I will say it is a pricey cake to make but my GF friend and everyone else loved it. Everyone had 2-3 pieces!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Merris!
Hi,
I am about to embark on making this cake. The recipe looks easy to do & follow. I have a question….is it possible for me to swap out cane sugar for another type of sugar?
Thank you.
Hi Robin! You could try subbing a mix of maple syrup and coconut sugar, but I haven’t tested it this way and can’t guarantee results.
Im new to GF baking, and after several GF baking flops, I’m happy to say this one was a total success! I loved that the recipe was easy to follow, and accommodated all of my dietary restrictions (i’m on a low FODMAP diet).
The flavor (perfectly sweet) and texture (light and fluffy!) are pretty fantastic, but I’m looking forward to experimenting with some additions (Tiny vegan chocolate chips? Wondering if the cake would support them..). The cake really holds up and still tastes amazing a few days later! Already planning on making this again.
I made this cake and icing for our daughter’s birthday. It was a hit with omnivores and vegans! Everyone was stunned at how delicious and light this cake was. It even kept, without drying, in a sealed contained in the fridge for days after. Will do this one again soon.
I made this cake for my daughter’s first birthday and it was a crowd pleaser! I followed the recipe as is and the cake came out dense but moist and delicious. Definitely one of the best vegan gluten-free baked goods I’ve had!
I made this recipe as cupcakes tonight and it was incredible. It made 24 perfect sized cupcakes. I baked them about 15 min. I have never had a gluten free recipe be so amazing. I am not gluten intolerant but made them for family members who are and these are honestly better than my go to vanilla cupcake recipe. Just delightful. I used almond flour from Kirkland bran and it worked great. I followed the recipe using the metric measurements which I highly recommend. Added a tiny scoop more of almond flour at the end because it seemed a tad runny. Dana your recipes never disappoint. Big fan here.
I was wondering about subbing the coconut milk for coconut water…I am using this as a base for my grandma’s coconut cake (basically white cake with 7 minute frosting -vegan with aquafaba- and with fresh coconut). She would use the coconut water in the cake and then grate the fresh coconut on top…Can I use the coconut water for this or it is not dense/fatty enough?
Hi Sarah! Unfortunately you won’t get the same results using coconut water in place of coconut milk. I’d probably recommend another non-dairy in place of coconut milk. Hope this helps!
Vegan desserts are a dietary necessity in our household so I am always excited to try your recipes (and the best part is they’re 1-bowl!). This recipe turned out very moist. But I thought I’d finally ask a pro baker: why do all my baked goods always taste like baking soda?! Over the years of trying any recipe with baking soda, I encounter this problem with cakes, muffins, breads, cookies… Even if I’m using a new container of it. I’ve also tried storing the baking soda in the fridge. The container I buy is not the cardboard box kind– instead it has a plastic lid to keep it fresh. Any recommendations/tips are greatly appreciated!
We have a nut allergy. Which flour would be the best substitute for the almond flour? No bean flour please…the taste is too strong.
Hi Jo! Unfortunately, almond flour is a pretty key ingredient in this cake. But if you test other flours or meals, let us know how it goes!
Could this be turned into a lemon cake with lemon extract and/or lemon juice? How much?
I’d recommend using this recipe as inspiration, Allie!
I saw that one but I like how this one is gluten-free so was hoping to do something close to this recipe.
Can I replace Bob’s red mill Gf and vegan egg replace instead of the potato starch, corn flour/arrow root and baking soda? It’s kinda expensive to buy all those ingredients, and so I thought I could sub this instead, which has these three ingredients and a husk of some kind to act as a binder. I know I don’t know the ratio of these three ingredients in the egg replacer, and I couldn’t find it online, but I was hoping you might have some experience with it?
I made this for my friend’s birthday potluck, and everyone raved about! I doubled the recipe, baked it in a ceramic 9×13 casserole dish and baked it 1 hour and 20 minutes until the center was cooked through. Turned out perfect in my opinion! Lots of impressed people! Thank you
I ordered 6” cake pans on Amazon for this because the picture was so cute, I had to have that tiny cake! I pulled one layer early as it was brown on top and passed the toothpick test, however it ended up being underdone in the middle as others have reported. The other layers were better so I ended up only using two layers and the cake was still tall, beautiful and really tasty. Maybe it was the almond flour brand? I used Trader Joe’s but I will still probably just use that again and let bake a little longer. Thanks for the great recipe!
Yes, bake longer next time and it should be good!
How can I post a photo?
Hi Lucy! We love that you want to share a photo with us! While our site doesn’t currently allow photo sharing in the comments section, if you post the photo on Instagram and use the hashtag #MinimalistBaker, we’ll keep an eye out for it!
Awesome. Such a delicious recipe! Umm, we at the cake in one day. My son kept saying, “do you mind if I have another piece?” He ate three on his birthday . . . Thank you for sharing this special cake!
Yay! We are so glad to hear that, Lucy!
This was delicious and so easy to make. I made it early before work do that I could frost it and decorate after. So simple to do. I had more than enough frosting. I added chocolate shavings to the top and cocoa powder to the frosting, but I was afraid to add too much cocoa. I made this for my son’s birthday and will be making it for my husband’s in a few weeks. The fruit on top is delicious!!! Thank you!!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Lucy!
Hi,
What is a ‘stick’ of butter? I am baking from the UK and unsure if this is a US term.
Hello, your recipes are always perfect. I made the Carrot Cake for a birthday and it was delicious. I would like to make this recipe, but adding cocoa for a chocolate cake. How much cocoa? Thank you
We haven’t tried, but that should work! Another reader made a marble cake (vanilla and chocolate) and mentioned it in a comment above! You may also be interested in this chocolate cake recipe!
is it possible to substitute coconut oil (solid) for the butter?
If I double the recipe can I make 1/2 chocolate for layering the cake?
We haven’t tried using coconut oil in place of the vegan butter and can’t say for sure, but I don’t think it would work the same! As for a chocolate layer, that should work! You may also be interested in this chocolate cake recipe!
Hi Dana! Yet another exciting recipe I want to try!
I’d love to make this cake sugar free, suitable for diabetics…still vegan though.
Do you have any suggestions on sugar replacement in the Cake and the Frosting?
Aloha!! I have made this cake numerous times in the past and they came out perfectly but now for some reason the last 3 times I’ve made it each time they sink in the middle…Ive purchased new baking soda/powered and still same result…any ideas why this could be happening? Can I cook them at a lower oven temperature?
Hmm, did you change any of the other ingredients? Or is your oven off?
the only other thing I can think of that might be different is the type of applesauce…ran out of unsweetened applesauce and have used the to-go applesauce packets my daughter eats for snacks, they equal 1/3 cup….
I’m suspecting it’s my oven because things seem to be getting browner much quicker then before…until I can really test out my oven temp do you think if I dropped the temp to 340 it would be ok?
no matter what, this recipe is the BEST tasting vegan gluten free vanilla cake I’ve tried! I’ve made it at least 3 or 4 times prior to this and it’s always been a hit! That’s why I’m flabbergasted as to why it’s been giving me such a hard time lately hahaha….
I can’t wait to make this cake, but would about two layers in 9″ pans? Would you change the baking time?
It should be a similar baking time! I’d recommend cooking for 35 minutes and you’ll know they’re ready when an inserted toothpick in the center comes out clean and the edges and surface appear golden brown.
Hi Dana,
As always your recipes are awesome. I made this last night and panicked when I realized I didn’t have the full amount of almond flour as needed according to the recipe.
I subbed about 85 grams with (freshly ground) sunflower seeds. Amazing! Perfect consistency! Dankjewel from Holland
Oh and I used soy milk and had no applesauce so I just blended 1 apple with a spalsh of water.
Smart! Thanks for sharing!
I tried to reply to your email with an update on the frosting. But it wasn’t delivered so am copying and pasting what I wrote here:
Well my wife liked it, and it was her birthday cake, so I think that’s all that matters!
I used the frosting for a lemon thyme cake I made that wasn’t too sweet, so it all worked out in the end!
Thanks for all that you do Dana, neither my wife or I are vegan or even vegetarian but I do lots of vegan cooking because it’s healthy, and with your recipes it tastes great.
Cheers,
Matt
We are glad to hear that you and your wife enjoyed this frosting, Matt! Thanks for sharing!
Hi! Could I substitute almond flour with coconut flour?
Have you worked with coconut flour at all? I know the conversion isn’t 1:1 and the coconut flour is super absorbent, would you recommend adding more of the wet indgredients?
Hi Florence! Coconut flour is particularly absorbent and sucks up a lot of moisture. When replacing coconut flour for almond flour, it requires that you adjust the amount of liquid and eggs added. Because of this, we wouldn’t recommend it, but if you experiment with this recipe, report back on how it goes!
Hi Dana, this cake is AMAZING! Thank you for the recipe. It was moist and delicious…perfection! I made a chocolate icing instead of vanilla, but other than that, I followed the recipe exactly! Will definitely make it again! have 2 cribs for sale and a 6 drawer dresser. All in nearly new condition. Clean, smoke free, pet free home.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Dana! I’m baking my cakes at the moment! Can’t wait to see how it turns out. Can you tell me the name of the cute little flower twigs you used to decorate the cake in the video? Thanks!
sorry – we’re not sure! Just some wild flowers!
I made this cake exactly as the recipe stated and it turned out fabulous! It is incredibly moist despite having no oil–the applesauce works wonders as an oil replacer. I served it with a medley of raspberries, strawberries and blueberries and folks were saying that this was the perfect complement to the cake. Thank you for another great recipe, Dana!
Whoop! We are so glad to hear that, Steph!
Hello! I gave this recipe a try today. I followed the instructions to a tee, except that I went with only 1 cup of the cane sugar.
I cooked it for 35 minutes because when I put the toothpick in it came out clean, however, mine does not look fully cooked like yours does in the photos. Did I go wrong somewhere or should I leave it in for 40 minutes next time? Thanks!
by “not fully cooked” I mean that it has a denser layer at the bottom of the cake…can someone explain how to fix this so that it doesn’t happen again when I make it for guests. This one was a test run.
Hi Ev! This should help for next time!
Just couldn’t believe this was GF! I halved the recipe and made 12 cupcakes, baked 23 mins, used oil instead of applesauce and arrowroot starch (instead of corn). They were so moist and fluffy, this is for keeps! Thanks so much!
This cake is truly fantastic: moist but not overly dense and it holds its shape well all while tasting A-MA-ZING! I served it at my kids’ birthday party and adults and kids alike gobbled it up like nothing else. It will be gracing our table again for birthdays to come!
We are a vegan and gf family due to some food sensitivities and while it is a challenge to find vegan, gf, coconut flour-free baking recipes that work, your recipes have NEVER failed me. Never. You are my go-to gal for all baking things gf and vegan. This cake, your cashew “cream cheese” frosting (the BEST!), carrot cake, strawberry shortcake, vegan biscuits (which work great gf, too!), vegan gf cinnamon rolls…the list goes on. You’re a rock star in my book – thank you, thank you!
We are glad you enjoyed this cake, Jessica!
Hi Dana! Could I substitute the Almond flour for coconut flour? Thanks!
Hi Debbie! Coconut flour is particularly absorbent and sucks up a lot of moisture. When replacing coconut flour for almond flour, it requires that you adjust the amount of liquid and eggs added. Because of this, we wouldn’t recommend it, but if you experiment with this recipe, report back on how it goes!
Wow!!! I made this cake and infused it and the buttercream with lavender. Best cake I have ever had. Not a crumb was left from guests ?
Woot woot!
Hello,
I was wondering if I could make this recipe in one large bundt pan?
Thanks in advance!
Hmm, we aren’t sure but think that would work! Let us know if you give it a try!
hELLO! I am making this cake but I am able to use actual milk. Will that make a difference?
That shouldn’t make a difference, nope! Hope you enjoy the recipe, Angela :D
Can you sub in ethyritol or xylitol in place of the sugar?
We haven’t tried and can’t say for sure, but if you experiment with it, report back. Good luck!
I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out delicious!!
Is the frosting easy to spread? I am wanting to try making a vegan ombre cake and came across this recipe. It looks delicious!
Yes, it is quite spreadable! Let us know how it turns out!
Thank you! I made this as a birthday cake for my baby’s 1st Birthday. It was a hit with all including the non vegan, non gluten free people.
I had a bit of trouble getting the cakes out of the pans: 2 of 3 stuck and lost bits of their bottom edge. I was able to ‘glue’ them back together with the frosting so no harm, but wondered if anyone had any advice? I tried to follow the recipe faithfully but I used the almond milk option, and ended adding an extra 3/4 cup almond flour as my batter was originally very liquid. I think the problem might have been that I greased and floured the pan using corn starch? The recipe says gluten free flour but didn’t specify what kind.
Also, when the slices were cut you could see a denser layer towards the lower edge, not a uniform texture through each cake.
I’m pretty sure these are newbie errors, not problems with the recipe! Any suggestions welcome as i’d like to make this again – more Birthdays coming up! Thanks again for the yummy recipe!
I had this denser layer at the bottom as well…and I don’t know why! Any ideas would be appreciated!
I made this cake for my daughter’s birthday yesterday it turned out great the flavor was delicious it was a little sweet so we’ll cut back a little bit on the sugar next time but overall it was the perfect birthday cake for her. Thank you so much for this recipe
Hi! I’m going to make this tomorrow for my sons first birthday. Do you have any tips for cooking it in a gas oven? Do you think the sand timing would apply? I’m also going go try it with 3/4 cup coconut sugar instead of the caster sugar. Keeping my fingers & toes crossed that it works out!! Btw we love love love your site, my hubby is vegan & GF and I’m vego so your site is our go-to place for everything food related :) x
Hi Emily! Here are some tips you might find useful. Coconut sugar should be fine, but may also turn the cake darker and give it more of a “muffin” flavor and texture. Good luck!
Do you actually have any measurements in grams or oz for this cake. cup sizes vary all over rhe world and I dont want to guess. thanks
Yep! Select “metric” above the ingredients to toggle back and forth.
I made this for my birthday yesterday. I was a little hesitant because it was my first ever vegan cake, but it was awesome. I wound up using a nut flour blend (almond, walnut, pecan, and coconut) and it was so good. A little crumbly, but still very tasty. I also used tapioca starch for the second batch (my kids used the last of the potato without telling me) and couldn’t tell the difference.
What really did it though was the vegan buttercream. I hate homemade buttercream because it is so toothachingly sweet. I don’t know why this one wasn’t, even though it was essentially the same as my old go-to, but, with a little almond extract, it was some of the best frosting I have ever had. It was VERY stiff though and pulled at the cake, but a little almond milk did the trick.
Hi, I just made this and since I didn’t have potato starch I didn’t add it to the mixture which resulted in my cake breaking. Altho this happened, the taste was GREAT and I plan on finding the potato starch so I can make this for a birthday party.
find the potato starch in the ethnic section of your grocery or Whole foods. It is with Kosher or
Jewish cooking ptoducts
Do you think doubling this recipe would work? I would like to use it for my wedding cake but it would need to be larger. I think three 9″ round pans would be fine size wise.
Yes, you can absolutely double it!
what 6″ baking dishes did you use in the video? are they just ceramic?
Ceramic, yes!
This cake is truely beautiful! I was invited to a dinner party and asked to bring dessert. I knew I needed a dessert that was both dairy free and gluten free. This cake was perfect! A real crowd pleaser and show stopper. I baked the full recipe and put into 2 x 8 inch cake tins, but decided I wanted another layer so baked half the recipe to get my 3rd tier. The only sub I made was just standard caster sugar instead of organic cane sugar. I couldn’t find the unsweatened apple sauce so I just bought apple purée (with no added sugar) from the baby food section which was the perfect quantity in one jar. I decorated with the buttercream frosting, fresh berries, pistachios and mint. If I could upload a photo I would! Everyone loved the cake and I already received a request to bake it again for a birthday. Thanks for the amazing recipe! Proving vegan and GF can still be delicious and simple when done right.
We are so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Tia! If you’d like to share a photo, we’d love to see what you baked up! Use the hashtag #MinimalistBaker on Instagram and we’ll keep an eye out for it :D
I made this cake for my son’s 1st birthday. He has FPIES, a rare illness which makes him very sick when he ingests certain type of proteins. He doesn’t have a very long list of safe and I couldn’t convince myself to go for a cake made from fresh fruits.
Anyhow, it was a really simple cake to make. I used minute tapioca which I grinded for a few seconds instead of cornstarch since my son is allergic. I also only used 3/4 cup of coconut sugar instead of the 1 1/3 cup pure cane sugar. (You know, baby and sugar often make an explosive team hahah).
I got scared of making the whipped coconut cream, so I made the frosting and the whole result was a huge success!! Thank you so much for all those awesome recipes and helping make my life a little easier when there are fewer ingredients, it is easier for me to find substitutes my son can eat!
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe changes with us, Mary! We are so glad you were able to modify this recipe to meet your son’s dietary needs!
Wow this cake recipe is so good, thank you for sharing your blog
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it!
Hello,
To make the frosting i only have earth balance container no sticks. Can i have the amount what equals too please.
Yes you can! One stick is 113 grams (4 oz).
May be the best cake I’ve ever had, gluten-free or otherwise! We used regular dairy frosting since we’re only avoiding gluten and eggs. What a hit at the b’day party!
Thank you!
Yay! We’re so glad to hear that, Jina!
I need to make this in advance for this weekend and drive for 5 hours with it in the car. What would you suggest for a timeline? Make on Thursday, Frost on Friday and drive it on Saturday? Would it need to be refrigerated at any point? Or would you recommend frosting after transport (although I might not have time)? I’m thinking of making it with the cream cheese frosting recipe.
Hi Brooke! Hmm if at all possible, I recommend frosting upon arrival, otherwise try to frost it as close to your departure as possible. If you made it on Friday, drove Saturday and frosted it, that would be ideal but you know your schedule best! Good luck!
Could you use coconut sugar?
Hi Wendy! Coconut sugar should be fine, but may also turn the cake darker and give it more of a “muffin” flavor and texture. If you try it, let us know how it goes!
Can you include the weight of ingredients? I’ve made this recipe three times—now I’m making it a fourth time and I swear the first two times it had weights listed.
Weights are much easier for me, I follow them well and the recipes turn out great! It’s much more difficult for me to make gluten free, vegan food by measuring cup.
Thanks!
Hi Maya! We are currently updating all of our recipes with these features and will soon have them all complete. Stay tuned!
Hi, just wondering how many grams a stick of butter is? Our butter comes in blocks :)
Total weight for an Earth Balance box with four sticks is 454 grams (1lb). One stick is 113 grams (4 oz).
Fabulous recipe, it was loved by all, everyone had a second helping! Not easy finding a vegan gluten-free cake recipe that is this good, will save this one! Thank you so much for sharing!
I can’t find vegan butter sticks anywhere near me. Can I use the tub vegan butter and if so how much per one stick to measure.
Hi Sharon! Great question. You can use vegan butter from the tub. 1 stick = about ~113g if that helps!
This recipe was easy to follow, and the cake came out perfectly. I used lemon extract instead of vanilla, and lemon in the frosting, then topped with fresh raspberries. Even the non-gluten free adults at our party loved it. The flavor was a bit too “adult” for most of the kids, but that was probably the lemon. And we didn’t want to share anyway! Thank you for sharing this recipe, we’ve been struggling to find a decent moist, vanilla cake recipe that doesn’t have gluten, dairy or eggs, and this one is a keeper.
My 14 year old novice baker made this cake yesterday (so it’s pretty easy). I am vegan and GF and she wanted to make something I could eat, too. It is delicious! Maybe the best vanilla cake I’ve ever had (vegan or otherwise). She made it with the vegan buttercream frosting in a 9×13 pan. We will try it again with the coconut whipped cream. Thanks for the fantastic and easy recipe!
Yay! Glad you both enjoyed it, Sarah!
Thank you very much for this recipe! Since my 10 years old child has developed multiple allergies in the past 6 months your recipes are my guide in baking without egg, milk, wheat, corn, sunflower(oil) and some more. In this recipe I substituted the cornstarch for tapioca starch, and in the previous batch for arrowroot. Both worked out fine! Also I used soy milk, because that was in my fridge.
The first time I used vanilla extract, the kind that’s sold in the supermarkets in the Netherlands, but that was a bit too much artificial vanilla. So this time I used less and I put some bourbon vanilla in the mixture. It tastes delicious! Also I put some sour red berries in half of the cupcakes I baked from this recipe. That worked out very well!
We are so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for sharing the changes you made :D
May I ask why you chose this blend of flours and starches rather then just a normal flour??? And is US measurements different to Australian?? Our 1 cup = 250ml
Hi,
Can I make this cake with Pilsbury gluten free blend flour?
If so is there anything I need to add or should I just go for it?
Thanks,
Karen L.
Hmm we haven’t tried using it and can’t say for sure, Karen!
This is the best yellow cake I have ever eaten! It has wonderful flavor and texture and even my husband liked it, who doesn’t care all that much for gluten free/grain free desserts. I love that there are no eggs as my daughter-in-law isn’t doing them right now. I used the most amazing almond flour, the texture of real wheat flour, and used 3 cups but still had to add extra liquid–thanks so much for letting us know it needed to be thick but pourable, that was so helpful. Also, I used 3/4 cup erythritol/stevia mix instead of sugar and it was amazingly sweet. I could eat the batter!
We are glad you enjoyed it, Julia! Thanks for sharing your additions to the recipe!
I made the cake today. Exactly how its written here. Its amazing! Very tasty and different.
I used almond flour meal type of flour and i dont see why its not recommended here. I love the taste that turned out. I couldnt find another brand for this flour , thats the only one we have here. And it worked out amazingly. Thanj you so much.love your website and recipes!
Can this be made in a bundt pan? If so, any time adjustment necessary? Thank you.
Yes that should work, though we haven’t tried!
I made this cake for my mom who has a number of food allergies and it was a huge hit at her bday!! Not only was it delicious, moist and fluffy but it was super simple to make. Will be baking this again!
Hi there! Do you store this at room temp after frosting? As someone who wants to refrigerate everything this makes me wary! Thank you.
Hi Becky! We recommend you store in the refrigerator up to 5 days and let it come to room temperature before frosting.
This was a hit! I made them into cupcakes and used coconut cream to enhance the coconut/vanilla flavor. I baked the cupcakes for 20 min and they came out perfectly. The buttercream can be a bit sweet so just keep that in mind when frosting.
Thank you! Please keep the recipes coming. My husband loves anything that I make of yours.
Yay! We’re glad to hear it, Melissa!
Hi Dana,
I tried this recipe. I’m good at making baking but this one has failed me. The cake is moist but it is gooey feel not cakey and fluffy. What is the problem? I am so disappointed.
Hmm, not sure what happened without more details. Did you make any substitutions? Did you use Potato FLOUR instead of starch?
Made this yesterday for Father’s Day. Fantastic cake! Part of the party was vegan and part not and the non vegans had no idea. The cake was super moist and the butter cream frosting was so thick and fantastic. The only thing I changed was I used caster sugar as I wasn’t sure what kind of cane sugar the recipe called for. I also used bobs red mill almond flour as that is all we have in Bermuda, it worked perfectly as far as I could tell. Two tips I would give anyone making this would be, firstly 100% make sure you make this the night before you need it as it’s extremely fragile, and two leave it in the pans for a litttle longer after baking, just run your knife round the edges right away and then turn it out on to a plate lined with wax paper ( for ease of removal later). I put strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blue berries on top for decoration, with mint leaves and lemon zest. I may play around with the recipe and add lemon juice to both the cake and icing next time to add a little extra oomp to it. Best vegan, gluten free cake ever!!!
Yay! Thanks for sharing!
Sorry forgot to rate!
Anybody tried any other flours to substitute the almond flour? I would love to bake this for my son’s 5th birthday but we have a guest who has a severe nut allergy.
I must admit I was skeptical about making a vegan, oil free, gluten free cake but my expectations were seriously blown out the water when I made this! It was that good! I put coconut cream between the layers then used the cashew buttercream frosting (recipe also by MB) but minus the oil & then I sprinkled shredded coconut all over and it was just absolutely divine! My mum loved it too and she isn’t even vegan or gluten free. Thank you for this recipe!
I made this for my boys’ 5th birthday party! It was a hit! And oh so delicious. I’m sad that it’s gone now. I used the arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch and I made the vegan buttercream frosting to go on top. I used 2 8-inch pans for the layer cake. I’m very happy I found this recipe and it tasted delicious. Thanks for sharing it!
I have to say that this recipe is the best! I had my son’s birthday party and was going crazy looking for something this delicious! I have to say is sooo easy to follow and I can’t believe that in less than 40 mnts I already had a cake! Increible! Thank you so much for your recipes! We became vegan since feb and your website is such a blessing for our family! Looking forward to many yummy recipes from you?.
Thanks, Aisha!! So glad you liked it.
It is so hard to find vegan and grain free cake (I used arrowroot powder) recipes and this absolutely knocked it out of the park. We have several food allergies to accommodate (dairy, eggs, gluten, rice, amongst others) and everyone loved this cake. I am so impressed that you were able to leverage the oiliness of the almond flour to make this with so few ingredients. This is a genius recipe. Thank you.
Hello,
I was wondering if you can pipe with this buttercream recipe. I’m making this cake for my daughters birthday, and wanted to pipe a pretty design for her unicorn cake.
Thank you so much.
Andie
I think that should work! Let us know if you give it a try, Andie!
Can you recommend temperature/cook time adjustments for making this in a 9×13 instead of 6” rounds?
Also- my weirdo BF loves jello cake (bake a boxed cake mix, then poke holes and pour liquid jello on top and chill). Is this cake light enough that it might be a good base for that, or is it dense/moist enough on its own that adding more moisture from the jello would be too much? I’ll certainly let you know how it goes if I try it, just curious about your opinion before I do.
Same temperature and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the edges and surface appear golden brown. I am not sure if the jello idea would work but if you give it a try, let us know!
Hi,
I would like to make your 1-BOWL VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE VANILLA CAKE and can’t eat almonds. Is there a substitute flour that would work.
Many thanks,
Suzen
Hi Suzen! I’m not sure about almond flour subs as it is a pretty key ingredient in this cake. But if you test other flours or meals, let us know how it goes! As for making it in one longer pan, that will work!
I substituted tapioca flour for the potato and it worked wonderfully! I had to add more cornstarch and tapioca flour mixed with a little All-Purpose GF flour to thicken it up a little more (I accidently added too much almond milk so I don’t think anyone else would have to adjust the dry ingredients; I’m blind without my glasses). This is an absolutely wonderful cake recipe and will definitely be making it again and again. My mom loved it for Mother’s Day, thank you so much Dana!!
I made this cake over the weekend, and topped it with chocolate frosting and berries. My daughter who needs to eat GF (Celiac) liked it, as did my son and I. The other grown-ups complained that it was too dense (I think from the almond flour) and not sweet enough. I actually liked it more because it wasn’t overly sweet. Not sure if I will make again because it didn’t have a huge fan base, but the leftovers will get eaten!
HI! I just made this exactly as directed but my cake fell in the center. Any ideas? I have a lot of GF/vegan baking experience, it’s not that! It’s still cooling so I haven’t tasted it yet. Thanks!
You are my go to every time I need to bake.
I’m a terrific cook but a horrendous baker. Like reeeally bad, seriously. cuz I tried to sub everything and for baking you need more science than heart lol.
Anyways you make it work EVERY. SINGLE.TIME
thank you for being the party saver one more time.
Yay! So glad to hear it, Nicole!
Can I substitute the cornstarch with arrowroot starch and the potato starch with tapioca starch?
Yes, we would suggest arrowroot in place of cornstarch. Tapioca may also work. As for subbing the potato starch, it’s a pretty key ingredient. But if you try something else let us know how it goes!
I made this for a vegan family, and they loved it, including the teenage boy. This was my first experience baking with almond flour. The batter was a little thin after mixing, so as you suggested, I added about an 1/8 cup more almond flour. Much more flavor than regular flour. The first time I may have over baked it slightly, so it was a bit hard and dry, but I corrected that the second time, and it was great.
hey there!
i couldn’t find potato starch anywhere here in egypt! what’s a good substitute??
Hi Dana,
Can you sub oat flour instead of almond flour? If not, what other flour would you recommend?
Also, can you make in one longer cake pan instead of layers?
Thank you,
vanessa
Hi Vanessa! I’m not sure about almond flour subs as it is a pretty key ingredient in this cake. But if you test other flours or meals, let us know how it goes! As for making it in one longer pan, that will work!
Absolutely wonderful cake!!!! I made this for my friends birthday (she is gluten free, I’m vegan) and it was incredible. Also incredibly simple and easy to make! Followed the recipe to a tea and everyone was wowed! Said it was the best cake I’ve ever made. Thank you Dana for all your wonderful recipes. I always enjoy. ?
I followed this recipe exactly. Sorry to say it was very dense and very dry. The almond meal makes it quite dark in color, doesn’t look vanilla and there was very little vanilla taste.
Janine, it seems like you used almond MEAL instead of almond FLOUR, which provide two completely different flavors, textures, and colors. Next time give almond flour a try and we think you’ll have better results!
This cake is delicious! Wonderful flavor and just the right amount of sweetness! My one question is in regards to the texture of the cake itself…mine turned out almost gooey on the inside and I am curious if this is just a really moist cake or if perhaps I did something incorrectly?! My toothpick came out clean and the tops were a nice golden brown so I was a bit surprised by the inside texture.
Hmm, sounds like maybe it wasn’t baked long enough. What size cake pans did you use? Did you alter any ingredients? Let us know!
Aha… just reading through all the comments and came across this one!
I used 2 x 8” pans for this recipe, and whilst it tasted soooo good it was moist and I too was afraid to cook this much longer as it was getting very brown. Day 2 and it got even wetter…. any tips greatly recieved as I am cooking this for a baby shower cake tomorrow… many thanks!!!
Hmm, sorry to hear that it is a little too moist. Our best guess is that the batter needed a little more almond flour or potato starch. Hope that helps!
I made this for my co-workers birthday. It was great! Thanks for the simple and beautiful recipe!
I’m excited to try this because I actually have a large container of potato starch that I got during Passover when the stores stocked it. My question is, will this recipe taste good if I added some spices to “spice up” the vanilla flavor like say cardamom and lemon juice?
Yes, I think that would work!
I am so excited to try this!! I am vegan (by choice) and GF (not by choice ): ) and I seriously dislike chocolate. Vanilla cake is SO hard to come by. SO THANK YOU! Now I’m even more excited for my birthday
I followed the recipe without substitutions. It makes 24 cupcakes, baked 16 minutes with a turn in the oven half way. They’re cooked perfectly and still moist!
I made this recipe as cupcakes for my girls’ soccer party and they came out wonderful! The coach asked for seconds they were so good! They tasted like real gluten filled vanilla cupcakes from my childhood! I substituted arrowroot for cornstarch to make them grain/corn free. I used coconut sugar instead of cane sugar. The recipe made 20 cupcakes. They baked for about 20-22 minutes and then I let them cool on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes. Then popped them in the freezer for 30 minutes to cool quickly so I could frost them because we were running late! They hold together perfectly with no egg, they are moist and delicious with the perfect cake crumb! I’ve made the Vegan8 version before and it is wonderful too, so I already had high hopes for this recipe since it was so similar. I like not needing aquafaba because I don’t always have it in stock. Thank you for the wonderful recipe, it is going in my “go-to recipes” binder and the search for vanilla cake is over! ^_^
I have been asked to make a lavender inspired cake for a friends bridal shower. I was thinking I could take a spin off of this one. I’m not sure if I should do lavender cake and vanilla frosting or vise versa.. What would be your suggestions on how to do that?
It all depends on how much you want the lavender flavor to come through! I think a vanilla cake with lavender frosting would be subtle but offer a really great balance of flavors. Share a photo of what you bake up on Instagram using the hashtag #MinimalistBaker and we’d love to see the final product!
Made this for my birthday and OMG, AMAZING CAKE!! Dense but moist and full of flavor. This one is definitely a keeper.
Yay! Happy Birthday, Lis :D
This cake is AMAZING!!! I made it and didn’t tell anyone (except) my wife that it was vegan/gluten free…my inlaws ate the whole cake! THEN I told them…they wouldn’t believe me until I showed them the recipe and they realized my wife was eating a slice (she’s vegan)…they already asked me to make it again and I’m making another one so my wife can take it to a Lularoe party tomorrow! Thank you so much for sharing such a great recipe…is definitely gonna try one of your chocolate ones next!!!
Yay! We’re so glad to hear this, Philip!
Omg Dana…this cake was SO GOOD! My friend and I made it and shared it with some friends who are very much not gluten-free/vegan and they thought it was delicious too! The icing was incredible (we ended up having to make more to cover it), the cake has such great vanilla flavor and the texture was perfect. We covered it in raspberries. Love.
Yum! Raspberries are a great addition, Sophie! We’re glad you enjoyed it :D
Just made it and it is absolutely delicious! My only change was almond flavoring in the frosting instead of vanilla flavoring. This is a keeper!
Any tips if making into cupcakes ? Thanks again!
Just reduce the cook time by about 1/3, and use a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Let us know how it goes!
Hi! I love all of your recipes. I have friend whose son also struggles with sugar, agave, maple syrup, and honey as sweeteners. His birthday is coming up and I’m hoping to find him a cake recipe (like this one) but one that I can substitute Stevia which he can eat without problems. Can I substitute stevia for sugar in a cake recipe? Thank you for any tips (or other recipes that might work!)
Hi Evan! To reduce sugar, each 1/4 cup of sugar be swapped with 1 packet (1/2 tsp) of powdered stevia. Or you could try subbing a mix of maple syrup and coconut sugar, but we haven’t tested it this way and can’t guarantee results. Good luck!
Thank you Dana so much for linking to my recipe, that is so kind of you! So honored to hear my Vanilla Cake inspired you. Isn’t the almond flour and potato starch combo the best?! I love your cake, it is just beautiful.
I have struggled to find the perfect vanilla cake, and this is it!! However,
I made lemon cupcakes with just a few subs & additions and they were phenomenal! First off 17mins was perfect for my oven! Made approx 20 cupcakes.
I used pacific brand original hemp milk and coconut vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar. I was slightly short on cane sugar and used ~1/8th cup coconut sugar. I also used Young Loving Lemon Vitality essential oil – 8 drops for cake – 10 drops in frosting.
Mind blowing! Thank you so much! You are a genius! ❤️❤️❤️
Thanks for sharing your recipe changes, Jaimie! :D If you wouldn’t mind leaving a rating, that would help us a ton!
I used the regular almond flour instead of the blanched one, so it looked more like carrot cake. The flavor was good though the frosting was a little dense. Overall good recipe and I will certainly try it again!
Thanks, Charleen!
Delicious cake! I made it last night and frosted it today. Absolutely spectacular! I put a little less sugar because my applesauce was the sweetened kind and I used lemon instead of vanilla because I can’t afford pure vanilla extract right now and the artificial kind isn’t my thing. I put the zest of one lemon (it could’ve used two) and squeezed a whole lemon into it which topped off the liquid from one can of coconut milk. It turned out perfectly moist. I topped it with lemon buttercream and thawed from frozen blackberries. Scrumptious! Thanks Dana!!!
Yay! Thanks for sharing your recipe changes, Zoë! We’re glad you enjoyed it :D
Made this EASY cake for Easter! Everyone loved it- even non Gluten Free’ers and non Vegans! I did have to cut the baking time a bit (I was baking one pan at a time). Loved that the ingredients were easy to find, NO FLAX EGG (yay!), and it was one bowl! And don’t get me started on that dreamy ‘butter’cream!! Will definitely be making this again ASAP!
This cake is the bomb!! It’s day 2 and still moist. I like it better than white flour. The almond flour gives it depth and richness. Soooo good!!
This cake was fantastic!! Makes having a bazillion food allergies not so bad ;) I used plain unsweetened almond milk in the cake, and arrowroot instead of corn starch and Wegmans brand almond meal/flour (so not the super fine stuff). I added more flour than called for because she said the cake was supposed to be thick and mine was pretty loose, and baked in 3 6-inch pans. The cake came out super moist — the top was dark golden and I didn’t want to bake it too long and dry it out, but it still felt pretty soft to the touch in the middle (but not jiggly). Leaving it out on the counter to cool overnight helped firm it up a bit I think, because it wasn’t as “squishy?” in the morning yet still very moist and soft. I froze the layers to decorate a few days later. I used 3 sticks of the vegan butter and only 3 cups of powdered sugar + vanilla — I usually find frostings way too sweet. It was the perfect amount for us. And the berries on top just made it perfect!! Will definitely make this again (and again and again!) Soo Soo good!
Whoa, awesome! Thanks for sharing, Meg! Sounds like it turned out amazing.
I made this yesterday and frosted it today. It is delicious! I used Bob’ Red Mill Almond Flour, and almond milk. Next time, I’ll use the recommended almond flour. However, this time I used what I had in hand. I sifted the dry ingredients together after I whisked them, just to make sure it was as fluffy as possible.
When I frosted the cake, Little cake crumbs and frosting mixed together in an unattractive way, but it still tasted delicious. It was as if the cake was piling, like a sweater. Not sure how to fix that, I’m new to cake making. The cake was definitely cooled, as I’d made it the night before.
Everyone loved the cake. It makes a perfect Easter dessert.
Thank you!!!
You need to do a ‘crumb coat’ first. Put on a thin layer of frosting to trap the crumbs, then chill the cake for about 15 minutes, then try putting on your second layer. If it still picks up crumbs you may have to freeze the cake before doing the final coat of frosting.
Thank you!!!
Can I simply add cocoa powder to make this a gluten free chocolate cake?
We haven’t tried, but that should work! Another reader made a marble cake (vanilla and chocolate) and mentioned it in a comment above!
Just made this and the cake is super delish and surprisingly easy to make! I made a half batch and i would strongly recommend to follow the directions as the cooling period is very important for the setting of the cake. Thank you for this awesome recepie!
Thanks, Sandra!
Do you think it would be possible to split this cake into two 9 inch pans instead of three 6 inch?
Yes!
I have the same question because I only have 9 inch pans! How long should it bake in a 9 inch pan?
Hi Sarah, we would say still check at 35 minutes, and continue cooking in 2-3 minute increments until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
I baked this cake last night and it was excellent. I baked half the recipe after weighing out the full amount of dry ingredients and baked in a 6X9 glass pan. Today it is very moist (almost too much) but I think I could have baked for a bit longer and removed from the pan sooner. I’ve tried so many almond flour cake recipes which were inedible but this one isn’t greasy or heavy. Great job on this cake recipe :)