Vegan Yellow Cake Recipe
Golden Yellow Cake, otherwise just known as Yellow Cake, is a yellow version of vanilla cake. I personally find yellow cake to be even more moist and fluffy than vanilla cake is! In order to get that deeper yellow colour (and more moisture), egg yolks, buttermilk and cake flour are usually in the recipe list. Egg whites can also be added to keep the cake ever so fluffy! I used to buy a boxed yellow cake mix like this one to make my yellow cakes, because I didn’t know how to make them vegan in the past. But for this Vegan Yellow Cake Recipe, I’ve omitted the eggs and replaced them with vegan buttermilk. This was made using oat milk and something acidic, such as apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to “sour” the milk.
I also made a chocolatey, creamy vegan buttercream frosting for the cake – I used this frosting recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction and veganized it. This frosting wasn’t overly sweet due to the bitterness of the cocoa powder, and it complemented this cake perfectly. To top it off, I covered the entire cake in sprinkles. The current recipe uses one 7-inch round cake pan, but you can double the frosting and cake recipes to make a layered cake!
The Vegan Cake Struggle
Ever since the inception of PeanutPalate, I’ve been the go-to baker for all the special occasions like birthday parties or family events (vegan cakes to the rescue)! Of course I was going to make all vegan desserts if I were to bring them for a crowd! But when it’s come to making vegan cake recipes, I struggled with having them coming out rubbery, gummy, under baked and every texture in between. I’ve tried using whole wheat flour, healthier sugar, gluten free flour and many different ingredients in the past too. Cakes were not a speciality of mine (they still aren’t)!
But occasionally, I’ll be testing out a cake recipe that turns out amazing. This is one of those moments. It was too good not to share! Especially because vegan yellow cake is something I rarely see. At many of the bakeries I frequent (and you can bet I check out every vegan bakery when visiting any new place), cake wise it’s usually carrot, chocolate or vanilla. For some reason, yellow cake is often forgotten, but it’s one of the best cake flavours in my opinion!
Vegan Sprinkles & Food Colouring
Did you know that some brands of sprinkles may not be vegan? I sure didn’t up until a few years ago! The reason for this is that although sprinkles are pure sugar, some brands use confectioner’s glaze. This ingredient contains something called shellac, which comes from insects. Since vegans don’t eat animal products, including insect ingredients, some sprinkle brands are not vegan because of it. You can check out this list from PETA that talks all about where to get vegan sprinkles! Some of the brands in your local grocery store may be vegan by default, so you just have to check the ingredients.
On top of all sprinkles not being vegan, all food colouring may not be either! Certain colourings contain insect ingredients once again. For example, carmine/cochineal extract/crimson lake/natural red 4 are what you should watch out for, as they are ingredients that come from the female cochineal insect. You can read more about this at the link above, that also discusses sprinkles, and check the ingredients before buying certain colourings.
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Yellow Cake Recipe
Easter and Spring Desserts: This yellow cake is perfect to make around Easter or spring time! Easter and chocolates go hand in hand, but a yellow spring-themed cake with chocolate frosting combines all aspects of the spring season!
Fluffy Without Eggs: This cake uses buttermilk instead of eggs. A quarter cup of vegan buttermilk (which is a combination of plant milk and lemon juice or a white / apple cider vinegar) replaces one egg and keeps the cake just as fluffy!
Portioned for a Small Party: The size of the springform cake pan I used here is perfect for a small gathering, making 6 medium or 8 smaller slices. I made this cake for my birthday party (with just my immediate family) and it finished the same day!
Substitutions
Oat Milk: Substitute in another non-dairy milk for the oat milk. I would try cashew milk because of its neutral taste as a second option. I wouldn’t go for any type of coconut milk because of its strong flavour. Even soy milk and almond milk have slightly different aftertastes. I am not sure how they may taste in baking, so use at your own risk.
White Sugar: You might be able to sub in xylitol or cane sugar, which acts just like granulated sugar. I didn’t test this recipe out with either of these though.
Powdered Xylitol: You can replace this with powdered sugar, but I tried it with powdered xylitol as a healthier option. The taste and texture is very close to regular powdered sugar.
Apple Cider Vinegar: When making vegan buttermilk, we want to “sour” the milk. This can be done with anything acidic such as lemon juice or a vinegar that doesn’t have a strong flavour. I would try either white vinegar or lemon juice as a substitute.
All Purpose Flour: I do not recommend using any gluten-free flour here. However, if you test out a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour substitute, leave a comment below!
Food Coloring: Try to substitute a pinch of turmeric for natural colour, but it may add a hint of turmeric flavour. Instead, I used a gel-based yellow food colouring and I only needed a drop.
Vegan Yellow Cake Recipe Notes
- Add a drop of lemon extract and top with fresh fruit to make this cake a lemon-flavoured fruity springtime cake!
- Use a vanilla frosting such as this vegan vanilla buttercream to make it into a vegan birthday cake!
- Avoid using a chia egg or flax egg for the egg substitute. This works well in cookies, but in cakes it will change the bright yellow colour and make the texture of the cake more dense.
- For best results, use room temperature milk, not straight out of the fridge for the buttermilk!
- Usually, the dry ingredients are added to the wet ingredients. Here though, the flour mixture is alternately added with the milk. This is because adding all the dry ingredients at once can make the batter too thick, which will not make for a fluffy cake. All the steps are in the recipe card below!
- Double this cake to add two layers of frosting and make it a layer cake!
- To make the frosting even more rich, add a tablespoon of melted vegan dark chocolate chips! Drizzle in the melted chocolate with a stand mixer/hand mixer/electric mixer so it incorporates well.
More Easy Recipes You’ll Love!
Simple Vegan Chocolate Breakfast Cookies: These vegan cookies are rich in chocolate and full of oats (and any other add-ins you choose). They are no-bake, come together on the stovetop and are a great on-the-go snack!
Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: Browning the butter in a cookie changes the taste of a chocolate chip cookie completely. It’s like adding caramelized butter!
Almond Flour Brownie Bites: These decadent brownie bites are reminiscent of Costco’s “One Bite Brownies,” but they’re gluten free and made with almond flour!
Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies: These are gluten-free chocolate chip cookies that are made with chickpea gram flour!
If you make this Vegan Yellow Cake Recipe, leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
Vegan Yellow Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 7” round springform cake pan // This type of cake pan can easily open up the sides without having to flip the cake upside down to remove it
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup vegan butter softened to room temperature
- ½ cup oat milk
- ½ tsp pink salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- pinch yellow food coloring
For the Buttermilk in the Cake
- 7½ tbsp oat milk at room temperature
- ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
For the Chocolate Frosting
- 2½ tbsp vegan butter softened to room temperature
- 7 tbsp powdered xylitol sieved
- 1½ tbsp cocoa powder sieved
- ⅜ tbsp oat milk at room temperature
- Pinch pink salt
- ⅛ tsp vanilla extract
For the Topping
- ¼ cup vegan rainbow sprinkles optional // vegan sprinkles brands listed in the post
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Make the buttermilk first. To do this, mix the buttermilk ingredients together and set aside for 15 minutes. You will only need 6 tablespoons from this.
- In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and the butter until fluffy.
- Add in the buttermilk, half of it at a time and beat between each addition.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining dry ingredients.
- Add in the flour mixture alternately with the ½ cup oat milk into the butter and sugar mixture until just combined, then stir in vanilla.
- Lightly grease the cake pan with some neutral oil or vegan butter, then pour the cake batter in.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool on a heat-proof surface.
For the Frosting
- Beat the butter for two minutes, until creamy. Add in the rest of the ingredients while beating on low speed, then continue beating for another minute on high speed. Do not over-whip it.
- If the frosting is too thin, add in half a tablespoon more of powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add in a splash of oat milk.
- Set aside when done.
To Assemble
- Once the cake has cooled down (this usually takes 2 hours), remove the cake from the springform pan.
- Frost the top of the cake with the chocolate frosting.
- Sprinkle the sprinkles all over the top of the cake.
- Serve! To store, keep it in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
