This easy vanilla cake is soft and perfectly moist, and you can make it with simple pantry staples.
Its quick and easy preparation and simple cream cheese frosting make it suitable for bakers of all levels. For more easy cake recipes, try our chocolate banana bread, vegan carrot cake, and orange cake.
The easiest vanilla cake
Cakes can be intimidating, so we developed this vanilla cake with oil recipe to be the easiest yet unbelievably tasty and most satisfying cake.
It’s a one-layer sheet cake, and you can make it with one eye closed and one hand behind your back. I promise!
The ingredients are all pantry staples, and the recipe does not include eggs.
You need only all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, water, oil, and vanilla extract.
The cake’s crumb is unbelievably moist yet has a light and delicate texture.
The recipe is easy to veganize by swapping the cream cheese in the frosting with a non-dairy alternative.
Ingredients and substitutions
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Flour
We recommend using plain all-purpose flour.
We haven’t tested it with gluten-free flour, so we’re unsure if it works.
Sugar
You can use white sugar or brown sugar.
Water
We recommend using water instead of milk for this recipe because it keeps the cake more moist, light, and fluffy.
You can substitute almond milk or any other milk for water.
Oil
You can use any vegetable oil with a neutral flavor.
We recommend olive oil (not extra virgin because it’s too strong), avocado oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, or safflower oil.
Oil is preferable to butter because oil makes a more moist and less dense cake.
Baking powder
Baking powder is our raising agent of choice. There’s no need for baking soda or vinegar.
Vanilla extract
We recommend vanilla extract to infuse this vanilla cake with the most beautiful vanilla aroma.
You can substitute the beans in a vanilla pod for vanilla extract.
Salt
Just a pinch. You won’t taste the salt, but it helps make the cake tastier.
Cream cheese frosting
You can use any frosting for this easy vanilla cake with oil. We make one with the following:
- Cream cheese: substitute non-dairy cream cheese.
- Butter: substitute vegan butter.
- Vanilla extract: substitute the seeds in a vanilla pod or grated lemon zest.
- Powdered sugar.
Equipment
We used and recommend an 8×8-inch squared pan.
You can also use a 9-inch round cake pan without changing the quantities.
To use other pans, check out the “TIPS” chapter below.
You can whip up the cake batter with a manual whisk, hand mixer, or stand mixer with a whisk attachment.
How to make this easy vanilla cake
1. Make the cake batter
Preheat the oven to 340°F or 170°C. Line the bottom of an 8-inch squared baking pan with parchment paper and butter the sides.
Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl: 1½ cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup sugar, 1½ teaspoon baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Whisk to combine.
Tip: We recommend sifting the flour to break up any lumps and make the cake lighter and airier.
In a second bowl, add the wet ingredients: 1 cup water, ¼ cups oil, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined without overmixing.
You can use a whisk or an electric hand mixer but do not overmix.
Tip: overmixing will develop the gluten in the flour, making the cake heavy and gummy.
Transfer the vanilla cake batter to the prepared baking pan.
2. Bake the vanilla cake
Bake immediately at 340°F or 170°C for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly dry.
Let the vanilla cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, remove it from the pan, and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
Tip: The cake must cool before you eat it. This will firm up the crumb and make it more flavorful.
3. Make the frosting
Take the butter out of the fridge and let it soften at room temperature for 15 minutes.
To a mixing bowl, add 4 tablespoons softened butter and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and beat with a hand mixer for 30 seconds or until creamy. Don’t overbeat it, or it’ll melt.
Tip: Optionally, add the grated zest of 1/2 organic lemon.
Add 4 ounces of cream cheese and beat for another 30 seconds or until combined. Again, don’t overbeat it.
Add 1 cup powdered sugar to the mixture. Sift it in if it’s lumpy.
Beat at low speed first, scrape down the sides, then beat at medium-high speed for 30 seconds or until smooth.
Let it firm up in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or in the freezer for 15 before applying it to the vanilla cake.
5. Apply the frosting
Cover the cake with the frosting and keep it in the fridge if you don’t eat it immediately.
Shortly before serving, you can add sprinkles on top, then cut it into squares and enjoy.
Tips
Make sure your baking powder is still active
Baking powder can become stale and inactive if kept in the pantry for too long. To check if it’s still active, add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to a small bowl and pour half a cup of hot, almost boiling water over it.
If the baking powder foams, it’s still active, and you can use it. If not, it lost its raising magic.
How to scale this recipe?
This recipe is easy to scale. We calculated the scaling number for you. First, pick the pan size you want to use for your cake, then multiply all the ingredients in our recipe box by the scaling number in this table.
| Pan size in inches | Scaling Number |
|---|---|
| 6.5 x 9 | 0.91 |
| 8 x 8 | 1 |
| 9 x 9 | 1.27 |
| 9 x 13 | 1.83 |
| 18 x 13 | 3.66 |
| 16 x 22 | 5.50 |
| 26 x 18 | 7.31 |
How to scale cooking time?
Smaller pan: keep the same temperature but bake for a shorter time. It takes about 5 minutes less per inch. Always check with a toothpick if the cake is fully baked inside.
Bigger pan: keep the same temperature and increase baking time in increments of 5 minutes, checking with a toothpick to ensure the cake is fully baked. If you exceed 50 minutes of baking time, lower the temperature to 320°F or 160°C.
Storage
Make Ahead: This vanilla cake is an excellent recipe to make one day ahead. It gets more flavorful as it sits in the fridge, and the frosting sets perfectly on top.
Refrigerator: The cake keeps well and moist for four days. You can keep it in the fridge with the frosting on top. It is best stored in a cake dome or an airtight container so that it doesn’t absorb flavors from other foods in the refrigerator. When storing cakes, we advise removing onions, garlic, and other pungent foods from the fridge.
Freezer: you can freeze this vanilla cake with oil for up to 6 months without frosting. To do so, let it cool down completely and wrap it in 3 layers of plastic wrap.
You can also freeze it with frosting for three months. In this case, keeping it in a freezer-friendly container is best.
Thaw: defrost the cake in the refrigerator over several hours or overnight. Do not thaw at room temperature.
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Easy Vanilla Cake
Video
Equipment
- 8×8-Inch baking pan or 9-inch round cake pan
Ingredients
Cake's Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup oil we recommend olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or beans from a vanilla pod
Cake's Dry Ingredients
- 1½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 tablespoons butter or dairy-free butter (4 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 ounces cream cheese or dairy-free cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar up to 2 cups if you like it sweeter
- ½ lemon the grated zest (optiona)
Instructions
CAKE
- Preheat oven to 340°F or 170°C. Line the bottom of your pan with parchment paper and brush sides with butter. To a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: 1½ cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup sugar, 1½ teaspoon baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Whisk to combine.
- To a second bowl, add wet ingredients: 1 cup water, ¼ cup oil, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until just combined, without overmixing.
- Transfer cake batter to prepared baking pan.Bake at 340°F or 170°C for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly dry.Let cake cool down 15 minutes in the pan, then take it out and let cool down completely on a wire rack.
- Spread frosting on top, keep in the fridge if not eating it immediately. Cut into squares, then you can add sprinkles on top before eating.
FROSTING
- Soften 4 tablespoons butter at room temp for 15 minutes, then add it to a mixing bowl with 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and the grated zest of ½ lemon.Beat with a hand mixer for 30 seconds.Add 4 ounces cream cheese and beat for 30 more seconds.
- Add 1 cup powdered sugar, beat on low speed first, scrape down sides, and finish beating on medium-high speed until perfectly smooth. Don't overbeat it.Let it firm up in the fridge for 30 minutes, or in the freezer for 15 minutes, before topping the cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Don’t Lose This Recipe
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Cakes are my weak spot in baking, but this recipe is so straightforward and simple, always yielding a moist and perfect cake with few ingredients and no complicated method. I’m not vegan, and just didn’t have milk or eggs. Seriously, this is better than any regular cake recipe. I’ve made it like four times now lol.
Hi Siri,
That’s just fantastic, I’m super happy you liked the cake (and making it too).
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a message. Kindest,
Louise
I needed a quick and easy vegan vanilla cake recipe for my mother in law’s birthday cake on the fly and this recipe delivered! I whipped it up in no time. The instructions and ingredient list was simple and straightforward. The cake came out SPONGY and perfectly moist. The tip about mixing just enough and not overmixing is such valuable information. I added a bit of almond extract because my family loves the flavor combination of vanilla and almond and this is seriously the best vegan vanilla cake. Thank you Plant-Based School! Everyone loved the cake and kept coming back for seconds (and fourths hehe)
Hi Kinny, that’s amazing, I’m so happy you liked making the cake and your family liked eating it 😉
Thanks very much for your valuable feedback and for taking the time to leave a comment here.
All the best,
Louise
Hi, Can you bake this in a round tin? If so which one is the best for that? Thank you!
Hi Claire,
Yes you can bake the vanilla cake in a 9-Inch (23cm) round cake pan.
If you want more tips for cake pans, check out the vanilla cake tips: https://theplantbasedschool.com/vegan-vanilla-cake/#tips
All the best, Louise
Exceptionally moist, excellent recipe. The only thing I did differently was to use melted butter in place of the oil. This is a keeper. Excellent recipe. Thank you so very much for sharing. Only vanilla cake I will ever make in the future.
Hi Susan,
Thank you very much for the tip and the kind words. I’m very happy you enjoyed making and eating the cake 🙂
Have a wonderful Sunday. All the best,
Louise
Fantastic recipe! I’ve made this 3 times already. The first two times I made it as a sheet cake using all-purpose flour. Then for the third time, I decided to go with cake flour instead and doubled the recipe to make a four layer 6″ cake. I made the sponges, let them cool, froze them using plastic wrap and foil, then thawed them slightly before stacking them with a strawberry filling and vanilla buttercream. It was so good and held up so nicely! I’ve made many other vegan vanilla cakes and always had issues: either the plant based milk would make it stodgy, the vegan butter would crisp the edges, or the baking soda would give it a salty aftertaste the next day (looking at you vanilla “wacky/depression” cake!), but this simple recipe truly works and it’s so versatile too. Thank you!
Fantastic, Jeanell! I’m delighted you even felt like making a double recipe, the strawberry filling sounds super tasty!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment, and happy weekend.
All the best,
Louise
Honestly really disappointed with this recipe. Attempted it twice. First batch barely rose and the edges became crispy, second batch I put a little more in batter in to account for the lack of height in the first round and the edges burnt and the middle was undercooked. I’ve never had an issue like this before. Was hoping to make a pretty layer cake and was thoroughly disappointed.
Hi Max, sorry it didn’t work out. We tested this recipe many times and it always worked wonderfully.
However, this is not a recipe for a layered cake. Also, with cakes you’ve got to follow the recipe without making any changes (including oven temperature and cake pan size).
For the raising issue, make sure your baking powder is active or use a brand new one.
Unfortunately, you can’t just add a little more batter with cakes, they won’t cook properly.
Hope this helps.
Nico
Made it tonight for my wife Carla’s Birthday. In the fridge at the moment, waiting to try it later tonight……but everything looks great so far.
If I used cake flour instead can I skip the sugar syrup?
Hi Tahira, the syrup on the cake is optional. It stems from Italian tradition so it softens the cake and makes it even more moist 🙂 however, the cake is most definitely still eatable without the syrup.
Thank you! Will be making this for my birthday in a couple of weeks 🙂
Hi, I am so excited to try this recipe! Can you please specify the depth of your cake pan?
Hi Radha, the depth is 6.5 cm or 2.5 inches. Hope this helps 🙂