The Best Vegan Gluten-Free Vanilla Birthday Cake. This cake is easy to make, only 8 ingredients, soft, fluffy, really moist, healthy and oil-free. It is also grain-free!
VEGAN GLUTEN FREE VANILLA CAKE
This vegan gluten-free vanilla cake with chocolate ganache is adorned with curled white chocolate on top. Yes, please. This cake is just 8 ingredients, easy to make, oil-free and grain-free!
It’s hard to believe it is completely vegan, without eggs and dairy-free. I love all things vanilla. Whether it’s this 7 Ingredient Easy Vegan Vanilla Sheet Cake or these Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes are incredibly light and fluffy, as well as being gluten-free. I love vanilla cakes, like this Vegan Gluten-free Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cake and this Funfetti Birthday Cake.
But, hey, if you are a chocolate fan, definitely make the most amazing Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes ever and if you are gluten-free, make my Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Cupcakes. They are honestly the BEST chocolate cupcakes I’ve ever had in my life and readers agree!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
To make this vegan gluten-free vanilla cake, you need to gather these 8 ingredients (+salt):
- Blanched almond flour: Make sure you are using a superfine blanched almond flour, as otherwise, your cake will turn out very dense and gritty. Honeyville, Bob’s Superfine Almond Flour, Wellbee’s are all good superfine blends.
- Potato starch: This is the exact starch that makes the cake so fluffy, other starches will NOT work the same and you will end up with a dense cake. I order mine online since it can be hard to find in stores. It arrives in just a couple of days.
- Baking powder
- Pure maple syrup
- Unsweetened applesauce: This replaces oil and helps to make the cake moist and also enhance the overall flavor.
- Apple cider vinegar
- Vanilla extract
- Aquafaba: This replaces eggs and helps to make this cake really fluffy, it cannot be omitted.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN GLUTEN FREE VANILLA CAKE
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a 9 inch round cake pan with a piece of round parchment paper on the bottom and along the sides. It helps to lightly spray the inside of the pan first so the paper adheres. OR you can make cupcakes and line a pan with 10 liners.
Step 2: Add the almond flour, potato starch, salt and baking powder to a large bowl and whisk everything together really well until there are no lumps remaining.
Step 3: In a separate small bowl, add the syrup, applesauce, apple cider vinegar, vanilla and aquafaba and whisk until smooth. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and beat with a handheld mixer for about a minute to incorporate some air and make it really smooth.
Step 4: Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes, until it has risen with a light golden top (as pictured here), a toothpick comes out completely clean from the center. Let cool 30 minutes before removing from the pan. Then turn it over, so the flat side is facing up on a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing,
APPLESAUCE IN PLACE OF OIL
Using almond flour and applesauce keeps this cake really moist and oil-free. The almond flour gives it a buttery taste, keeps it insanely moist and the potato starch is what gives it fluff and that all-purpose flour effect.
In place of eggs, I used aquafaba, which is just the liquid at the bottom of a chickpea can. This idea has exploded all over the internet. It works as an egg replacer, among a billion other things. It is NOT my idea, the credit goes to Goose Wholt for the amazing discovery I found on Facebook. The recommended amount for 1 egg is 3 tablespoons chickpea liquid, but I found 4 tablespoons to work best for my specific recipe. In fact, it worked better than flax.
CAN YOU MAKE THIS CAKE AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes, you can make this cake the day before you need it and it will still be moist and taste delicious. Of course, I prefer the texture and taste of cakes always made the day of, but you can cover the baked cake at room temperature and then add the icing or ganache the day of serving.
VEGAN FROSTING OPTIONS FOR CAKE
- Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Vegan Strawberry Frosting
- Vegan Chocolate Espresso Truffle Frosting
OTHER VEGAN CAKES TO TRY
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake (Oil-free!)
Ingredients
MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING POTATO STARCH, NOT POTATO FLOUR! Some have incorrectly used that and the cake doesn't work!
- 2 cups (224g) superfine blanched almond flour (Do not use regular almond meal (with the skins), it is not light enough and will not produce the same results. See NOTES below.
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (100g) potato starch (this is the exact starch that makes the cake so fluffy, other starches will NOT work the same)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (200g) pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup (120g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon (15g) real vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (60g) aquafaba (the liquid at the bottom of a chickpea can)
NOTE
- It is crucial to not sub these ingredients for best results. It's necessary to use a superfine blanched almond flour because it is what makes the cake so moist and light. Always use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl and make sure to zero out in between each ingredient.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- This cake is best made the day of but you can bake it the night before if absolutely necessary. Just cover the cake well and add the ganache or frosting the day serving it. I recommend baking it at least 2 hours before your event to make sure it has completely cooled. Baked goods with starch tend to still slightly "cook" and fluff up for a couple of hours after removing them from the oven. They are a tad too moist to eat immediately.
- Line a 9 inch round metal pan with a piece of round parchment paper on the bottom and along the sides. It helps to lightly spray the inside of the pan first so the paper adheres. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. OR you can make cupcakes and line a pan with 10 liners.
- Make sure to weigh all your ingredients for accurate results. Fluff your almond flour with a whisk first to break up any lumps. If unable to use a scale, then scoop your cups into the dry ingredients, lightly pat down to make sure there are no gaps and then level off. Add the almond flour, potato starch, salt and baking powder to a large bowl and whisk everything together really well until there are no lumps remaining.
- In a separate small bowl, add the syrup, applesauce, apple cider vinegar, vanilla and aquafaba and whisk until smooth. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and beat with a handheld mixer for about a minute to incorporate some air and make it really smooth. It should be a very smooth, pour-able batter. Now, try not to eat all the batter now. I know, it's so dang good.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes, until it has risen with a light golden top, a toothpick comes out completely clean from the center. If making cupcakes, using an ice cream scoop makes for nice rounded tops. Cupcakes should be done around 25 minutes, but check for a clean toothpick in the center. Your time may slightly vary depending on your oven and may take longer to bake. Let cool 30 minutes before removing from the pan. Then turn it over, so the flat side is facing up on a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing, at least an hour. Or, you can flip it back over and frost the dome top if you prefer that look.
- You can top it with my Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Ganache/Glaze! For additional decoration, I added some curled vegan white chocolate. OR if you want a traditional buttercream icing, I highly recommend my Vanilla Buttercream Frosting!
Notes
- Blanched almond flour: Make sure you are using a superfine blanched almond flour, as otherwise, your cake will turn out very dense and gritty. Honeyville, Bob’s Superfine Almond Flour, Wellbee’s are all good superfine blends.
- Potato starch: This is the exact starch that makes the cake so fluffy, other starches will NOT work the same and you will end up with a dense cake. I order mine online since it can be hard to find in stores. It arrives in just a couple of days.
- The nutrition does not include the aquafaba since there is no nutritional info that I could find online. But it's such a small amount, it wouldn't make much a difference anyways.
Nutrition
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Thank you Brandi! And all the best for 2017…
Oooops!! I mean, patience!!
Hi Brandi, I really do hate to ask… but I just have to! I want to make this cake this weekend and I have tapioca starch on hand… could I sub this for the potato starch? Thanks for your patients 🙂
Hi Dawnette! Potato starch really does perform differently in baking cakes than tapioca does, especially when combined with almond flour, so I would pick up the potato starch! It will be more gooey with tapioca and wouldn’t be as good! Sorry!
this cake looks delicious!! how do you think it might go if I were to add 2 Tbsp of coconut milk in place of water and some coconut flakes?
Hi Sarah! The milk in place of the water should be totally fine. Adding some coconut flakes I guess would work, it will make the cake much more moist and dense though I would think, just not sure since I’ve never tried coconut flakes in a cake. Let me know if you try it!
Hi Brandi, I just happened to stumble upon your website today. I am so happy to see this cake, it seems to be just
what I’ve been looking for. I have a question though….. Could I substitute lemon juice for the acv and achieve the
same results? Thanks for sharing your beautiful cake recipe!
Hi Claudette, yes, I think that should work similarly! Make sure to use the correct almond flour and measurements, as the wrong kind of almond flour will make the cake too dense. Let me know what you think of it!
Hi Brandi!
Just wanted to say THANK YOU! You are a genius!
I have just made your Dreamy Vanilla Birthday Cake and it turned out fabulous! I have been looking for a long time for a vegan/gluten free cake which would be suitable for special occasions and would resemble the cakes myself and my family used to love before all the food sensitivities and allergies started to plague us all. My personal favourite was orange cake made with almond flour (and gluten flour) but this one called for a lot of eggs which are also a big no for us… And then I found you! This cake is simply delicious and super easy to make. So my rendition of this delight includes coconut whipped cream and fresh strawberries. I love your blog! Thank you so much for sharing your talent! Ewa x
This is so awesome to hear Ewa! Such wonderful and kind feedback! Thank you so much for making it and leaving the feedback, so thrilled it was such a hit with everybody!!
Hi there…
I love your recipes and cakes as a Gluten free, Dairy free, Vegan and Nut Free… is so hard.
My sweet daughter Harmony has Nut allergies so what would you recommend to replace the Almonds flour on your cakes?
I so love making healthy, vegan, GF, DF food for my non vegan family and friends… i love seeing there reaction lol. But im yet to master a cake.
Any guidance? ?
Blessings
Aveni-Cherie.😊
Hi Aveni-Cherie! I wouldn’t recommend any sub or it will severely affect the quality of the cakes. However, you are in luck because I have a vegan, gluten-free and nut-free birthday vanilla cake coming up in 1 1/2 weeks to be posted on the blog! So stay tuned! It is a vanilla chocolate chip cake and it’s out of this world. I’m planning on posting it June 22nd (Wednesday) so be on the lookout and subscribe to my blog (if you aren’t already) to make sure you don’t miss the post!
I can see where the lady had trouble with this being too thick. Because it was stressed to go by weight as opposed to volume, I did so…although it meant I had to use 3 cups of flour instead of 2. I thought, well, that’s why she said that. I ended up with a dough, but I added some coconut milk and water to moisten it up a bit. I probably only added 1/3 cup extra liquid. It is definitely not smooth and is only pourable in the sense that it falls out of the bowl lol. It does taste good and is in the oven now. I guess we’ll see if I get a brick in a pan in half an hour 🙂 I’m usually very good at getting 1st time recipes to turn out well. Oh well. It does have a good flavor, so I’ll try again, but next time I guess I’ll stick with the volume measurements 🙂
Hi Ollie, as long as the right weigh measurements are used, then it should work out just fine because it is the right weight amount. Are you sure you are zero-ing out the scale in between each dry measurement? I always go by my weight measurements when remaking my recipes and they always turn out. The above reader is the only reader who had any issues and she actually emailed me privately and let me know that it was her flour she was using afterall, not the weight measurements. So, I would stick to the exact ingredients and weight and it should be fine 🙂 Nonetheless, I hope the change you made still resulted in a yummy cake…a 1/3 cup isn’t too much, although it might make it a bit too wet..can’t wait to hear!
I just pulled this from the oven…the smell was killing me (softly), so I gave it ten minutes on the cooling rack, then cut a small corner piece…THIS CAKE IS NOT GOING TO MAKE IT TO THE FROSTING STAGE!! It is seriously delicious without frosting! Oh. My. Gosh.
Hahaha, I love it Carol! Thank you so much for the feedback, I’m so happy you love this cake! I love it too!
I’m so glad to have found this recipe, it looks perfect, but I have one problem. The maple syrup. My BF (making this for his bday) has a ton of food allergies and he doesn’t tolerate maple syrup well. He’s ok with eggs, and vegetable oil; no soy, gluten, or dairy though.
I know you said substituting is tricky, but do you have any ideas on how to get around the syrup? What’s it’s purpose? Taste, or substance?
Hi Meg! Just simply substitute the syrup for agave and it will work the same basically. The syrup is for the sweetener, so you have to replace it with another liquid sweetener and agave is the only one I’d suggest because it is the most similar in taste and texture. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Just whipped this up with the agave instead of maple and Bob’s ‘finely ground’ blanched almond flour as it comes. I weighed everything exactly. It got very golden by 30 minutes and I didn’t get the bounce back, but I’ve just let it cool and it is really quite lovely! Cross between a vanilla and an angel food. It’s so hard to find a solid gf vegan cake that’s not chocolate and comes out first time. Well done! Love it!
Yay! SO very happy to hear you loved it Gwen, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! Yes, sometimes with gluten-free cakes, they will not spring back quite the same as traditional white flour cakes, but a toothpick tester is the best bet. Thank you so much!
I know you say not to sub out ingredients, but can I go with agave instead of maple syrup and expect the same results? Have you tried another sweetener?
Hi Gwen, yes agave would be fine in this recipe! It’s moreso the flours that are important not to sub, but agave is close enough to maple syrup 🙂
Hi! I can’t to try this! I’ve been using chia and I’m wondering if I can sub that for the aquafaba. I’m not sure that I’d be able to get it…unless it’s literally a matter of saving the liquid (especially the pasty stuff at the bottom) from cans of chick peas?
Hi Iris! I wouldn’t use chia, that will change the texture and taste. The aquafaba is literally just the liquid after you drain the can of chickpeas. Just drain them over a strainer with a bowl underneath and the liquid that drips in the bowl, use 1/4 cup of that. Don’t worry about scraping any paste out of the can, just use the liquid. This is so different than other egg substitutes, as it gives a much lighter texture to the cake and better structure. Let me know what you think of the cake after you make it!
Made this cake exactly the way you said to and it came out looking exactly like yours and the taste was incredible so delicious so moist so perfect thank you such a great recipe and I topped it with the chocolate ganache and that was amazing too so thankful and grateful for you and your recipes
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Judy and for sharing your lovely birthday photo on Facebook! It was so great to see!
I was looking to make healthy #guiltfree #cake for my husband’s bday. So I followed recipe of #dreamyvanillacake by @thevegan8. I was sure it will be great like all other recipes by Brandy. But this one is definitely the best version of cake I have ever had. So so #yum. Thanks #thevegan8 for working so hard in making wonderfully healthy recipes. This one was super hit last night ?✨
I recommend this recipe. This is a cake with great texture, taste and health 🙂
Sorry for typo Brandi!
Such wonderful feedback Jaspreet, I’m so happy to hear this was such a hit and the BEST cake you’ve ever had, WOW! I absolutely loved your gorgeous picture you shared on Instagram, simply amazing! Thank you again.
Made these into cupcakes and they were fabulous! I also blitzed bob’s almond flour bc that’s what I could find–worked great for us. These were super moist (yes the yucky “moist” word, but true) and paired excellent with chocolate frosting –yummy! Big thanks for all your gluten free vegan recipes!
Thank you so much for such wonderful feedback Julie (loved your pic on Instagram)!! I loved that you made them into cupcakes and your chocolate frosting looked to die for! Thank you again for making them!
Dreamy. Yes!!! I was so excited that you posted this recipe at the exact same time I was searching for a light colored cake to decorate for Halloween! I knew it would be good, but I wasn’t prepared for how incredibly delicious it is! So delicious I baked one for a party and then again the next day- all for myself! Ha ha! Thanks for another perfect recipe!
Yay! So, so happy you loved this cake so much and I’m super impressed that you’ve made it 3 times already, haha! I loved seeing your pics of the cakes on IG, you are amazing! Thank you so much for making it!
I’ve been baking with almond flour for years! Love it. Your daughter’s birthday cake is so beautiful!!! I used to make all kinds of special-request things for my son… now 20. Enjoy these years, they fly by! Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes!!! :))
Aww thanks so much Helyn! You are so sweet, thank you so much for the compliments and thank you for making the recipes!
Hi Brandi,
I want to thank you for making it possible for GF Vegans like myself to be able to enjoy an authentic tasting cake. This cake was a hit on my birthday this past Tuesday with EVERYONE. The ingredients were easy to acqiure (aquafaba=genius) and after a trial run last Friday, I just knew this gem will be our official go to vanilla cake recipe.
On a side note: all I could find was Bobs Red Mill blanched almond flour so I emptied the package into my blender and blitzed it as much as I could to get the consistency that you raved about with the other brands. Still a hit! Again, thank you for all of your hard work. People like me really and truly appreciate you.
Yay, yay, yay! I’m so happy to hear this Ida!! Your comment truly made my day and I love that it was such a hit with everybody! This cake is probably the easiest gluten-free vegan cake out there, but still tastes like you said “authentic”, which was crucial to me, so I’m so happy to read your feedback. Oh, I’m so happy to hear you made the Bob’s Red Mill work, that is wonderful!!
Ohk so i tried this the first day it was out and i want to say, it was AMAZIIIIING!!!!! It was soft, fluffy and so moist!! Hubby almost ate half of it and wasn’t the wiser about it being vegan AND gluten free *screams in happiness *
It reminded me of a cake i had a kid.. I was so so happy i made it again the next day for a whole group of friends and everyone asked for the recipe and i told them about ur site and all ur amaziiing recipes. Thank u thank u thank u Brandi!!! <3
Oh wow, thank you so much Elly, I missed this comment before! So so happy to hear it was such a hit! And even better it reminded you of a cake you had as a kid, so wonderful to hear! I’m so glad it was loved by all!
Brandi!!!!! OH. MY. GOODNESS!!! Dreamy is the perfect description of this cake. Just, wow. I loooooooove vanilla, so I absolutely know I will love this cake. I continue to be amazed by your creativity in the kitchen – gluten free baking is SO hard and throw in oil-free, too…quite the challenge. I adore that sweet photo of Olivia – she is such a precious, beautiful little girl. Can’t wait to try this recipe, friend! xo
I love the picture of Olivia and her beautiful pink birthday cake! You did such an amazing job, Brandi!! 🙂 Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I had a dream and the dream came through. I swear the cake materialized out of nowhere, from another dimension and POOF it is gone — DEVOURED!
Hahaha, that was funny!
12.5 ml is two and a half teaspoons. The recipe calls for one and a half tsp or 12.5 ml of apple cider vinegar. I’m wondering if you meant 2 and a half tsp or 7.5 ml. I’m going to try two tsp
Yes, sorry about that. It should be 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) which is exactly what my bottle of apple cider vinegar says. I had done more in a previous trial and didn’t like that I could slightly taste the vinegar, and I forgot to change the ml. Please let me know how it turns out! Thank you! 🙂