Vegan Birthday Cake

Just because you have food allergies, doesn’t mean that you can’t have a fun birthday cake. This vegan birthday cake is dairy free and egg free and can be simply frosted, cut into elaborate shapes or made into vegan cake pops.

Find more olive oil cake recipes here.

I do not follow a vegan diet. My kids and I are lucky and we do not have any food allergies. But my sweet little nephew is super allergic to dairy and milk. He was just an infant when this was discovered and the world of food allergies was thrust upon my niece as a first-time mom.

When little Landon turned one, I made him his first vegan birthday cake. And I am happy to say that I have been baking him vegan treats regularly ever since.

As he got older, the cakes evolved from simple 2-layer cakes to a candy filled pinata cake and a monster truck cake. Each year, my nephew chooses his theme and he finds cake inspiration on the internet.

I have enjoyed the cake challenges that have come my way and have discovered the many ways you can make and decorate a vegan birthday cake.

Ingredients you need

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Vegan Vanilla Cake Ingredients

• Non-dairy milk: I used regular unsweetened almond milk for this recipe. You can also use oat milk or any other non-dairy milk.
• Egg replacement: I have tested this recipe using a combination of ground flax and water. I usually use golden flax meal, which bakes a more uniform looking vanilla cake. With these pictures, I used regular flax meal, which has darker specks. It does not change the cake’s flavor or texture, so the choice is yours. You can also use aquafaba. Learn more about using aquafaba here.
• Fat: I bake with extra virgin olive oil all the time. It is the only oil that is extracted using only physical means, meaning it doesn’t need a chemical to extract it. If you’ve read my blog before, then you learned your lesson on how to bake with olive oil. Your baked goods are only as good as the ingredients you put into it. Choose a mild tasting olive oil for this cake recipe, not a peppery one.
• Sprinkles: If you find vegan sprinkles you want to bake into the cake for a vegan funfetti cake, feel free to add it to the batter.
• Pantry Staples: all purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla extract.

Vegan Buttercream Frosting Ingredients

• Vegan butter: I used Earth Balance butter. Feel free to use your favorite vegan butter. Choose one with good flavor. You could use vegetable shortening, but it doesn’t offer much in terms of flavor. You can also use a combination of vegan butter and vegetable shortening.
• Powdered sugar: Also known as confectioners sugar.
• Vanilla extract: You can also use almond extract or any other extract flavor you want.
• Non-dairy milk: A little milk helps smooth the frosting. You can use any variety like almond, coconut, soy or oat milk.

Step-by-step directions

1. Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Make the flax egg. In a small bowl whisk together water and ground flax.
3. Whip the sugar. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer combine sugar and olive oil until combined and mixture resembles wet sand.
4. Add wet ingredients. Add vanilla and almond milk into sugar mixture, scraping down the sides of mixing bowl with a silicone scraper then mix again. Mixing on low speed, add flax water, scraping down sides in between.
5. Finish batter. In batches, add dry ingredients and mix into wet ingredients until just combined. Again, scrape down sides of the bowl to combine thoroughly. Do not over mix the batter.

6. Transfer to pans. Coat 2 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and line bottom with parchment paper. Divide batter into prepared cake pans. Use a kitchen scale to weigh each pan to help you keep the two layers equal.
7. Bake the cakes. Bake at 350ºF until edges are golden or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
8. Make the frosting. Whip the vegan butter with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 5-8 minutes. The more air you add, the fluffier the frosting. Add vanilla, milk and powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until well combined.
9. Frost the cake. Once cakes have cooled completely, frost as desired.

Recipe tips and FAQs

I still remember one mom laughingly recall me how she was raised by vegan parents and the horrible vegan cakes she ate growing up! But not MY cake.

Does it taste different than a regular vanilla cake. Well, yes. There is almond milk instead of cow milk and flax meal instead of eggs. For some, the cake has a little after taste, but for most people they don’t notice a difference.

Whether you are looking for a cake for a young one’s birthday or a simple vegan vanilla cake to enjoy just because, this is a very easy recipe to whip together. You can also add fresh berries on top of the cake and cover with vegan whipped cream, if you are not a fan of frosting.

The video on this post is for my vanilla cake recipe with olive oil, which is the base cake recipe I used to create this vegan version. The preparation process is still the same.

Vegan Birthday Cake

Laura Bashar | Family Spice

Just because you have food allergies, doesn't mean that you can't have a fun birthday cake. This vegan birthday cake is dairy free and egg free and can be simply frosted, cut into elaborate shapes or made into vegan cake pops.

4.84 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Additional Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Course Cakes

Cuisine American

Servings 16

Calories 593 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Vegan Vanilla Cake Ingredients

• 2 ½ cup granulated sugar
• 4 ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ⅓ cup almond milk
• ¼ cup ground flax
• 1 tablespoon ground flax
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoon water
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Vegan Buttercream Frosting Ingredients

• 9 oz vegan butter like Earth Balance
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 teaspoon almond milk

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Coat 2 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and line bottom with parchment paper.
• In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
• In a small bowl whisk together water and ground flax.
• In a large bowl, using a stand or hand mixer combine sugar and olive oil until combined and mixture resembles wet sand.
• Add vanilla and almond milk into sugar mixture. Scrape the sides of mixing bowl and mix again.
• Mixing on low speed, add flax water, scraping down sides in between.
• In batches, add dry ingredients and mix into wet ingredients until just combined. Again, scrape down sides of the bowl to combine thoroughly. Do not over mix the batter.
• Divide batter into prepared cake pans and bake until edges are golden, approximately 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Place on rack to cool before removing cakes from pans.
• Once cooled, frost as desired.
• To make the frosting, cream the butter In a large bowl on the medium speed of an electric mixer until smooth.
• Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until well combined.
• Add vanilla extract until well combined.
• If frosting is thick, add a little almond milk (1-2 tsp) until smooth.

Notes

This makes 2-9 inch cakes that are about 1½- 2 inches thick. The layers can be cut in half to make a 4-layer cake with thinner layers.

To make vegan chocolate frosting, reduce powdered sugar to 13 oz and add 3 oz of unsweetened cocoa powder.

TO STORE: If your cake is frosted, I suggest storing any leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. If unfrosted, you can keep it covered on the counter for up to 3 days or refrigerate for longer.

TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Wrap in foil, parchment paper or plastic wrap and freeze for up to 4 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 593kcalCarbohydrates: 88gProtein: 4gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0.1gSodium: 385mgPotassium: 69mgFiber: 2gSugar: 59gVitamin A: 609IUVitamin C: 0.02mgCalcium: 98mgIron: 2mg

Keyword vegan birthday cake, vegan buttercream, vegan buttercream frosting, vegan cake, vegan frosting, vegan vanilla cake

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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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