Vegan Cakes: Dairy-free Baking Tips + 5 Must-Try Recipes

To some, dairy-free baking  may seem like an enigma – especially when it comes to cake. How can you possibly bake a soft, moist, perfectly textured cake with no eggs? How can you make a rich, creamy buttercream frosting with no butter…and no cream? Well, it’s actually simpler than you might think!

If you’re interested in learning all about vegan or dairy-free baking, including the role of eggs, oils, milk, and other common ingredients – and some great substitutions – check out A Beginner’s Guide to Vegan Baking.

But if you’re just interested in trying your hand at making a delicious vegan cake…we’ve got you covered right here! Our contributors have done the hard work of testing, tweaking, and perfecting the art of vegan baking.

There are oodles of cupcakes, cheesecakes, single serving cakes, and breakfast cakes, to name a few. There’s plenty of time to pay homage to all of the above, but this feature is dedicated to your traditional soft, fluffy, frosted cake.

And there’s a surprising amount of variety even within this category of cakes! Fruity or chocolatey, light or decadent, gluten-free or traditional…there is truly a cake for every taste in this collection of recipes! And we’d love to hear what you think. If you give any of these recipes a try, tell us how it turned out in the comments section below!

See the recipes!

1.  Chocolate Stout Cake

Even if you’re not a fan of beer or stout, you will love this cake. The richness of the stout brings out the deep chocolate flavor. Don’t tell anyone this cake is vegan and we promise you they’ll never guess it is.  Recipe here.

2. Chocolate Potato Cake

Recipe adapted from Flavors of Prince Edward Island Cookbook and uses Russet Potatoes from a local produce stand. Recipe here.

3. Spicy Gingerbread Cake

Below is a variation of a gingerbread cake that is packed with the flavor of molasses, maple, ginger and other wholesome ingredients that make it a winner among all crowds. As William Shakespeare once said, “Had I but one penny in the world/ Thou shouldst have it to buy gingerbread.” Recipe here.

4. Vanellie Birthday Cake

This cake is so summery, flowery, pretty and feminine! We hope you enjoy it, too! Recipe here.

5. DQ-Style Ice Cream Cake

Ice cream cake is favorite  — ice cream and cake all in one? What’s not to love? Our favorite part of the traditional DQ cakes was always the fudgy, crunchy center. Not only does it taste amazing, it looks amazing too. People will wonder where you got the time to make such a beautiful cake, but we promise you it doesn’t take longer than an hour, Note: If you are intolerant to sweet things (ie. candida), you could probably easily substitute xylitol or stevia for the agave nectar. Recipe here.

ENJOY MANY MORE DAIRY-FREE/VEGAN CAKE RECIPES HERE.

Got a mouthwatering vegan cake recipe you’d love to share? Send it in!