The Best Egg-Free and Dairy-Free Vanilla Cake

September 3, 2024

This egg-free and dairy-free vanilla cake is paired with a light and fluffy vanilla frosting and fresh strawberries and is so incredibly delicious, you’d have no idea it doesn’t have eggs or dairy!

A vanilla cake with vanilla frosting cut into four slices with strawberries on it.

Egg Free Dairy Free Vanilla Cake

I first made this cake in 2018, after your positive reviews of my gluten-free vanilla cake. I decided it was time to tackle other common food allergies, like eggs and dairy. I just can’t stand the thought of you not eating good cake because of a few ingredients!

This cake recipe took me 8 rounds but was SO worth it! I think I’ve come up with a pretty fabulous egg-free and dairy-free vanilla cake.

This was a major labor of love, but I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am with how this cake turned out. While each failed attempt was discouraging, I actually really enjoyed teaching myself the science behind creating a recipe without the typical dairy and eggs I’m used to.

A vanilla cake with vanilla frosting cut into four slices with strawberries on it.

Different Egg Free and Dairy Free Substitutes for Baking

Before I got in the kitchen, I tried to do as much research as possible on what the best egg and dairy substitutes are. I read loads of articles, blogs, and recipes, trying to figure out what worked and didn’t work for other bakers. But there was really no way of knowing what I like best if I didn’t try it all for myself. So, I narrowed down the substitutes to just a handful – one that were rated highly by others, but also ones that I thought would be easiest for you to find in your home or at any ordinary grocery store.

Here were the key players in the game and a quick personal review of each, followed by more detail of how each substitute worked in my cake.

Egg Substitutes
  • Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacement: rated highly by others but I didn’t think it did a good job binding the ingredients together. My cake with this egg replacement crumbled easily.
  • Flaxseed Egg: (1 tablespoon golden flaxseed with 3 tablespoons water). Another egg replacement liked by many, including me. I think it did a good job binding the ingredients but I found out it’s not necessary in a cake. I think it will be useful to use in cookies and brownies though. Keep this one in mind for other egg-free baked goods for sure!
  • Chickpea Water: Yup, as gross as it sounds, some people like it for an egg replacement, but I could totally taste the flavor in my cake and in a meringue frosting I made with it. I don’t recommend it.
  • Vinegar: My winner! Forget the egg substitutes and just throw in a tablespoon of white distilled vinegar with a couple teaspoons of baking soda and you’ll get a cake that rises beautifully.
The inside of an egg free and dairy free cake.
Dairy Substitutes
  • Earth Balance Butter: too much of this butter in a frosting was overly sweet, but just a little and it provided a great texture and flavor. This butter replacement works well in cookies too.
  • Hi-Ratio Shortening: for frostings, I prefer hi-ratio shortening because it contains emulsifiers which make the shortening smoother and creamier. This shortening is also more stable than regular shortening. In the frosting, I noticed shortening by itself was a little bland, but when combined with a little Earth Balance Butter, the flavors balanced each other well.
  • Almond Milk: I always have almond milk on-hand, so this is one of the easiest substitutions for me to make.
  • Canned Coconut Milk: I was worried about having a coconut flavor in my frosting or batter, but with the cocoa powder (for my chocolate cake), you don’t even notice it. The canned coconut milk (mixed well) is a great replacement for buttermilk, and also makes for a silky and rich chocolate buttercream (which I decided not to post, because it wasn’t stable enough for a layered cake, but man did it taste good!).
Two slices of cake on pink plates.

Egg-Free and Dairy Free Vanilla Cake Layers

For the base of my vanilla cake, I decided to use my classic yellow cake as a starting point. It’s not only one of my favorite cakes, but I think you’ll also be able to alter it a few ways to get some different flavors (i.e. sub ¼ cup sugar for ¼ cup strawberry Jell-O or add some cinnamon and a layer of brown sugar and cinnamon mixed together to recreate my Churro Cake).

My original recipe calls for butter, eggs and sour cream. When converting a cake to egg and/or dairy free, and losing those ingredients, some of the biggest hurdles to cross are making sure your cake rises and that it gets enough moisture – which will give it right flavor and texture – the most important elements of any cake, in my opinion. If I couldn’t achieve a flavor and texture that met my expectations for cake, it wouldn’t be worth sharing with you.

Rounds 1 – 5

Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacement: Let’s start with the egg substitutes, since figuring this out was my biggest challenge. I had read great things about the Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacement and decided to give that a try first. For round one of the vanilla cake, I used Earth Balance Vegan Butter to replace my regular butter, as well as the Bob’s Red Mill Egg Substitute and some dairy-free yogurt to replace the sour cream. The result of this attempt was a cake that didn’t rise and was too dense. It was also very fragile. I’m not sure the Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacement did a good job at binding the ingredients.

Flaxseed Egg: I then went on to try the flaxseed egg (1 tablespoon flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water) instead of the Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacement. I also switched the non-dairy yogurt for almond milk. This second round produced a cake with flex of flaxseed, which I didn’t love to see in the cake, but also didn’t mind since the cake stuck together better. However, this cake sunk a little in the middle so it wasn’t a winner either.

Chickpea Water: For my third and fourth rounds, I stuck with the flaxseed egg and almond milk, but changed up my ratio of baking soda and baking powder. Neither round met my expectations. For my fifth round, I tried chickpea water as a substitute for the egg, but could totally taste the flavor of the chickpeas and threw it away without a second thought.

A slice of cake with a bite taken out of it.

Rounds 6 – 8

Vinegar: Heading into my sixth round, I decided to add some vinegar mixed with baking soda to the recipe – similar to what you do with a red velvet cake. I mixed all the ingredients and then added the vinegar and baking soda mixture at the end. The batter tasted great, but the cake sank again! Ugh! I was so confused. I went back to my research and reread everything about vinegar. Several sources claimed it was a great way to get your cake to rise… and then it hit me… I needed to do it without the egg replacement.

So, for round seven, I still had the vegan butter, almond milk and then a full tablespoon of vinegar with a couple teaspoons of baking soda. I was eager to see how this one would turn out. I was certain it would be perfect. Nope. Sank again. I nearly gave up, especially when my little Avery told me I should. (Haha!) But there was no way I was going to quit at that point. I gave myself a break and tried to think through it all. What was I missing in this equation? And then it finally dawned on me. I had yet to try a version without the butter. What if the butter was weighing the cake down? It had plenty of moisture from the almond milk and oil, so what purpose was the butter serving?

In round eight, I made the recipe without the butter, increased the almond milk and oil a little, removed the baking powder and only used baking soda and threw in the vinegar again. The result? A tender and perfectly risen vanilla cake. Victory!

An overhead picture of a cake with slices cut into it.

Dairy Free Vanilla Buttercream

As for the frosting, I ended up with a blend of vegan butter and hi-ratio shortening. The texture glides onto the cake beautifully and the taste is sweet, but light and fluffy, so it doesn’t overpower the cake.

I’ll be posting my egg-free and dairy-free chocolate cake with chocolate frosting later this week. Both cakes and frostings work great together, so feel free to mix it up when you start baking.

How to Make an Egg-Free Dairy-Free Vanilla Cake: Video Tutorial

A slice of cake on a plate with a fork.

Egg Free and Dairy Free Vanilla Cake

4.98 from 34 votes
A tender egg-free and dairy-free vanilla cake with a light and fluffy vanilla frosting and fresh strawberries.

Ingredients
 
 

FOR THE CAKE

  • 3 1/2 cups (402.5 g) cake flour
  • 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon (5.6 g) salt
  • 2 cups (480 g) almond milk or other non-dairy milk at room temperature
  • 4 teaspoons (20.8 g) pure vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup (145.3 g) canola oil
  • 2 tablespoons (28.75 g) white distilled vinegar

FOR THE FROSTING

  • 1 cup (226 g) Earth Balance Vegan Butter slightly chilled
  • 1 cup (190 g) Hi-Ratio Shortening or Vegetable Shortening*
  • 5 1/2 cups (687.5 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
  • 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
  • Garnish
  • Sliced fresh strawberries
  • *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra ½ batch.

Instructions
 

FOR THE CAKE

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch or four 6-inch pans with non-stick spray, line the bottoms of each pan with parchment rounds, and spray again. Set aside.
  • In a large liquid measuring bowl, combine the almond milk, vanilla, oil and vinegar. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine.
  • With the mixer on low speed, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again on low for another 10 to 20 seconds. 
  • Divide the batter evenly between the three pans (about 16 ounces of batter in each pan). Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it. 
  • Let cool 10 minutes in the pans before inverting onto wire racks to cool completely. 
  • If needed, level each cake layer with a cake leveler. To store the cake layers, wrap each cake layer in plastic wrap after it’s completely cooled. The cake layers can be stored in the freezer for up to a week with two layers of plastic wrap. To store longer, wrap the layers in an additional layer of foil and place in a zip-lock bag. 

FOR THE FROSTING

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the vegan butter and shortening. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  • With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and then vanilla. Once the sugar and vanilla are incorporated, turn the mixer to medium-high and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes.
  • To get rid of any air pockets, use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir the frosting by hand for a couple minutes. 

ASSEMBLY

  • Place the first cake layer bottom-side down, in the center of the cake board. Using an offset palette knife, spread about ¾ cup frosting evenly across the cake layer. Layer with strawberries, if using.
  • Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting. Frost the top of the second cake and add strawberries, if using.
  • Place the third cake layer, top side down, on top of the frosting. 
  • Crumb coat the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting and freeze for about 10 to 15 minutes to set.
  • Once the crumb coat is set, continue to frost the cake with the remaining frosting.

Notes

*Hi-ratio shortening contains more emulsifiers than regular shortening, giving it a smoother and creamier texture than regular shortening. Hi-ratio shortening is also more stable than regular shortening.

Join the Conversation

  1. What an amazing recipe thank you!
    I am baking this for my god daughters birthday on this Saturday. How far in advance can this be made without having to freeze or refrigerate? Is two days ok? It will be stored in a sealed container.

    1. Yes that should be fine.

  2. Elizabeth says:

    Have you tied this yet with gluten free flour? Have a friend whose child is gluten, dairy and eggg free.

    1. Yes! I like Cup4Cup brand of GF flour

      1. elizabeth says:

        I have made your gluten free cakes with King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free flour and they came out beautifully. I made this one substituting that flour for regular flour. The batter tasted fine – just a bit grainy. The cakes rose beautifully and a toothpick came out clean. When I took them out of the pan they were a bit sticky around the edges and it didn’t taste as good as the batter. Any thoughts of what went wrong? Or what to try? Thank you!

        1. This one is a little trickier since it’s also vegan. I haven’t used measure for measure but love Cup 4 Cup because it doesn’t come out grainy.

          1. I have celiac as well as a dairy allergy. I d love to try this with GF flour but cup4cup contains milk. Have you tried it with any other brand?

          2. You can use your favorite GF brand!

  3. Mary Elise says:

    Thank you for trying so many ways to make this dairy and egg free! The tips really help. My son is allergic to egg, dairy, and peanuts so I’m always trying to find ways to convert recipes for him. Really appreciate you taking the time to share and try so many products! Look forward to making this cake.

  4. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I can’t wait to try this recipes. I do have to do gluten free as well, so we’ll see how it goes. 🙂

  5. Elizabeth says:

    I have made your gluten free cakes with King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free flour and they came out beautifully. I made this one substituting that flour for regular flour. The batter tasted fine – just a bit grainy. The cakes rose beautifully and a toothpick came out clean. When I took them out of the pan they were a bit sticky around the edges and it didn’t taste as good as the batter. Any thoughts of what went wrong? Or what to try? Thank you!

  6. Ive recently got into the cake decorating game and have my nieces birthday coming up and need an egg free recipe which I was nervous about. Im excited to try this recipe though! Do you think it would also work for cup cakes?

    1. Yes! Just fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full.

  7. Bobbie Lord says:

    Would it be okay to freeze the cake? I want to make ahead of time and frost the day of an event. I usually do this when I’m baking but never with egg and dairy free.

    Thanks so much, I can’t wait to try this out 😊

    1. Yes absolutely. I even have a post called “how to freeze thaw and transport cakes” that will help.

  8. MckeNzie says:

    This cake recipe is so absolutely amazing. My daughter is allergic to both dairy and eggs and I have tried subbing ingredients in other recipes and they are always a major flop. I used coconut milk (she is also allergic to tree nuts so no almond milk) and added some coconut emulsion too. It is seriously so delicious and a perfect texture. Thank you for putting so much of your energy into creating this recipe. It is much appreciated. Can’t wait to try the chocolate!

    1. Oh I’m so glad it was a hit!

  9. Hey! This looks lovely! Curious though, did you ever try it gluten free also by chance? My little one has allergies and I don’t do great with gluten so we’ve been searching high and low for a dairy, egg, gluten free cake for his first birthday. 🥴

    1. I haven’t but I’ve had many people tell me they used my favorite GF flour Cup4Cup brand in this recipe and it works great.

  10. Marni Greenspoon says:

    can you make this into cupcakes? How many will you get from one recipe?

    1. Fill your cupcake liner about 2/3 of the way full. You should get 18-24 cupcakes.

  11. The dairy, egg, nut-free cake recipes I’ve tried always come out gummy or disastrous in some other way. Thank you for sharing your experiments — am excited to try this recipe. 🙂

  12. Shweta gulta says:

    Hi Courtney,

    Thanks for this Ah-Mazing recipe. I had an order for eggfree cake vanilla cake n I could only think of this. The only change I made was swapped almond milk for regular milk and the cake turned out beautiful n yummy. It rose well n had a good taste n texture. Thank you once again.

  13. This cake turned out incredibly!! My daughter is allergic to dairy and eggs and her first birthday is coming up. I rarely bake but I wanted to endeavour to make something safe and yummy for her to be able to eat! Just did a trial run it was perfect! Definitely does not look as neat and pretty as yours, but will try smoothing it out like your buttercream smoothing tutorial suggests! Please keep more recipes like this coming!!
    Thank you!

  14. This tastes very heavily of baking soda. I wouldn’t make this recipe again.

    1. That’s strange. That shouldn’t be the case at all. How old is your baking soda?

  15. Where do you buy hi ratio shortening?

    1. Amazon or most baking stores!

  16. Thank you for this recipe! The texture and structure of the cake is perfect. My son is allergic to dairy and eggs and I have tried so many different vegan vanilla cakes before this one and didn’t like any of them. How could I get a stronger vanilla flavour? Or could I use different flavourings, Like almond or caramel?

    1. You could try vanilla bean paste.

  17. Sonia Price says:

    Hi, can I freeze the cake to allow the frosting to be applied without crumb mixing?

    1. You want to do the crumb coat so you don’t pull crumbs into your frosting as you frost the cake.

  18. I tried this recipe a while ago and it was fantastic. Thank you so much. Can I use this for cupcakes as well?

    1. Yes! The cupcakes will just need less time than cake layers.

  19. Thank you so much for this recipe. My son has milk and egg allergies and we have struggled to find something that works. This is now a staple in our home. Can it be turned I to a chocolate cake by adding cocoa? Just wondering…

  20. Hey Courtney! So if I want to only make egg-free cake (and not dairy free), do you think regular whole milk would work for this recipe? Thanks much!

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