Last Updated on September 22, 2026 by The Allergy Chef
Welp, I’m back with another gluten free vegan vanilla cake recipe you will not want to sleep on. Serious. So, this recipe started out with a simple idea: could I add a little protein powder, mask it, and still have something that screams cake.
The result, it SCREAMS: VANILLA BIRTHDAY CAKE. Like, the kind of vanilla cake you’d eat at a birthday party as a kid. So, grab your mixing bowl, all sorts of ingredients, and let’s get to work.
Important WARNING: It’s not often that my gluten-free cakes come with a caveat. This gluten free vegan vanilla cake recipe can be paired with any frosting flavour, except for vanilla frosting. I repeat. Do NOT pair this delicious cake with vanilla frosting. When I owned and operated an award winning free-from bakery, I had testers trying a LOT of combinations, and vanilla on vanilla was the only combination that they said shouldn’t be sold. Chocolate frosting? Great. Peppermint frosting? Awesome! Literally every other flavour? Go for it.
Allergy Status
Free From: Wheat/Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Soy, Tree Nuts, Peanut, Fish, Shellfish, Sesame, Top 9 Allergens, Alliums, Avocado, Banana, Beans & Lentils, Berries, Buckwheat, Carrot, Celery, Cinnamon, Citrus, Coconut, Corn, Cruciferous, Garlic, Legume, Lupin, Mushroom, Mustard, Onion, Pea & Pea Protein, Poultry, Red Meat, Squash & Gourd, Strawberry, Sweet Potato & Yam, Tapioca/Cassava/Yuca/Manioc, Tomato, Yeast
Friendly To: EOE, Vegan
Compatible With: Apple Free, Rice Free, Oat Free, Stone Fruit Free, Top 14 Free, Low FODMAP
- Apple Free, Low FODMAP: Use a different vinegar of your choice. I suggest rice or white. Lemon juice could work in a pinch, but it will absolutely impact the flavour.
- Rice Free: Use an additional 30g of superfine sorghum flour. It’s going to change the outcome a bit, but the cake will still be delicious.
- Oat Free & Top 14 Free: Use tiger nut flour instead (tuber, NOT a nut). This will absolutely change the flavour profile, but, the end result will still be good. I’ll also add, there will be a slight texture shift (like, 2% or less)
- Stone Fruit Free: Use an alternative oil to the olive oil that you like to bake with. My go to is organic tiger nut oil (tuber, not a tree nut) which produce amazing fluffy cake.
Tools to Make This Awesome Gluten Free Cake
- Handheld Electric MixerOR Stand Mixer (technically you could use a large mixing bowl and whisk by hand, but something with power will be much easier)
- Kitchen Scale (this is non-negotiable in free-from baking, as it allows me to give you precise numbers so you’ll have success at home)
- Measuring Cups + Measuring Spoons
- Cupcake Tins (sometimes called muffin pans)
- Spatula
- Cupcake Liners (for best results, use this brand)
- Medium Cookie Scoop OR Large Cookie Scoop OR Ice Cream Scooper (for getting the batter into the tin)
If you don’t have some of these tools, you can view what I use in my Amazon Shop.
Gluten Free Vegan Vanilla Cake Ingredients
Flax Gel/Bind
- 3 TBSP Golden Flax Meal (use this brand for the best results)
- 6 TBSP Water (room temperature is fine, if you need truly corn free water, check this out)
Note: This is sometimes called a flax egg but I don’t use the term since there’s no standard uint of measurement.
Part 1 Ingredients (Dry Ingredients)
- 200g Organic Cane Sugar
- 40g Sacha Inchi Powder (this is what I use)
- 35g Potato Starch
- 30g Brown Rice Flour, superfine
- 30g Sorghum Flour, superfine
- 25g Arrowroot (also called arrowroot flour and arrowroot starch)
- 25g Organic Gluten Free Purity Protocol Oat Flour
- 3 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Organic Ground Vanilla (this is a good brand)
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
Part 2 Ingredients
- 120mL Milk of Choice (4.3 ounces)
- 2 tsp Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
Part 3 Ingredients
- 100mL Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (3.5 ounces)
- 1 TBSP Organic Vanilla Extract
Part 4 Ingredient
- 85mL Hot Water (3 ounces)
Important Ingredient Notes
Cane Sugar (aka white sugar): This is a granulated sweetener, and if absolutely needed, you can replace it with other granulated sweeteners (coconut sugar, date sugar, maple sugar, etc.). dDo NOT substitute this for a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup or agave. You’ll break the recipe and be so sad.
Olive Oil: I only ever bake with organic extra virgin olive oil or organic tiger nut oil (tuber, not a tree nut). I’ve found these to be superior to other options including vegetable oil, sunflower oil, or canola oil. Absolutely do not bake with avocado oil since the flavour will be very present against the backdrop of vanilla. Having said that, if needed, you can replace the olive oil with another oil that bakes well, so long as the oil is liquid at room temperature.
You can’t swap the oil for coconut oil or dairy free butter (also called vegan butter), since these are solid at room temperature.
Milk of Choice: Pretty much all of the plant-based milk options out there will work in this delicious cake recipe. You can use any unsweetened plain dairy free milk including almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, rice milk, and so on.
If you plan to use coconut milk, it needs to be the boxed/watery style, not canned full fat coconut milk (this will break the recipe). Also know that it’s going to shift your flavour and should only be used by those who have no other choices. Plant based milk such as banana milk or flavoured milks shouldn’t be used in this vegan cake recipe.
Apple Cider Vinegar: If needed, you can replace the ACV with white vinegar (99% of the time this is corn derived). Don’t use vinegars like balsamic, or highly flavoured vinegars when making this cake recipe.
Gluten-Free Flour: The moment you’ve been waiting for… what gluten free flour mixture can you use? Welp, this recipe builds a fantastic gluten free flour blend on the fly and it WORKS. If you need to use something besides my flour mixture, it needs to be a good all purpose flour blend.
Under no circumstances can you swap my gluten-free flour for a single flour like almond flour, coconut flour, or cassava flour. These are specialty flours that are popular, but standalone absolutely will NOT work in this gluten free cake recipe.
Critical Taste Note: Ground vanilla is the secret weapon in this recipe and delivers LOADS of vanilla flavor. Without it, you have mostly regular vanilla cake. The ground vanilla powder takes this to the next level and makes your cupcakes and cake scream VANILLA BIRTHDAY CAKE. Whilst it is an expensive product, it’s totally worth the investment. Also know that just about every brand that sells ground vanilla is using a shared facility or shared equipment with major allergens. Depending on your personal dietary needs, you may need to make ground vanilla at home.
More Fantastic Gluten Free Vegan Cake Recipes
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake Recipe (great with this vegan cream cheese frosting recipe)
- Gluten Free Vegan Apple Cake Recipe (I’m told this is one of the best cake recipes I’ve ever developed)
- Award Winning Bakery Carrot Cake Recipe (GF, V, Top 9 Free)
- Moist Gluten Free Orange Cake Recipe (V, Top 9 Free)
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Instructions for This Gluten Free Vegan Vanilla Cake Recipe
- Oven Temperature: 325f/163c
- Baking Time: 19+ Minutes
For gluten free vegan cake recipes, I use a stand mixer with the wire whisk attachment. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use an electric hand mixer with a large bowl. I mean, you can also mix manually by hand with a whisk, but that takes more elbow grease than I’m willing to give.
First, start by combining the flax and water together in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside. Now, measure the milk and vinegar together in a measuring cup and set aside. Measure the oil and vanilla together in a measuring cup and set aside, and the prep for your wet ingredients is done. Now is a good time to get your hot water going, and also preheat your oven.
Place your empty mixing bowl on your digital kitchen scale and tare to zero. Add the Part 1 Ingredients one at a time and tare between weighted ingredients. Once all of the dry ingredients are in, lightly whisk to combine.
With your mixer on low speed, add the milk + vinegar combo. Continue to mix for about 10 seconds, then turn the mixer off. Wait 1 minute before continuing (you’ll see a reaction happening). Turn the mixer back on low speed, then add the oil + vanilla combo. Continue to mix and when everything is mostly incorporated, turn the mixer off.
Add your flax gel, then turn the mixer back on. Once the flax is incorporated and you have a thick smooth batter, add the hot water. When the water is incorporated, mix on high speed for 20 seconds. Once this is complete, use a spatula to give your batter one last mix by hand to ensure there aren’t any hidden clumps.
Place cupcake liners into your cupcake tin, then use a cookie scoop or ice cream scooper to transfer batter into each cavity. Once your batter is all set, bake at 325f/163c.
When your cupcakes are done, a toothpick should come out clean, with only a few small dry cake crumbles. Wet/gooey batter means you need to keep baking.
When you remove the cupcakes from the oven, allow them to sit in the hot baking tray for ten minutes (set a timer). When the time is up, promptly eject them on to your stovetop or kitchen counter.
Pictured: Cupcakes with chocolate buttercream (Page 168 in my cookbook) and sprinkles from this brand.
Cake Shapes and Bake Times
You can bake this gluten free vegan vanilla cake recipe as cupcakes, a sheet pan cake, cake rounds, mini cupcakes, and so on. The only difference will be the bake time. No matter the shape/pan, your cake needs to pass a toothpick test.
Here are general bake times to get you started:
- Mini Cupcakes: 19 Minutes
- Large/Standard Cupcakes: 25+ Minutes
- Jumbo Cupcakes: 28+ Minutes
- 6”/15cm Cake Round: 35+ Minutes
- 8”/20cm Cake Round: 38+ Minutes
- Quarter Sheet Pan: 26+ Minutes
- Half Sheet Pan: 28+ Minutes
These times are super general, and can’t take into account how full your cavity/pans are. For anything other than a mini cupcake, when in doubt, start with 24 minutes and go from there.
For quarter sheet pans, cake rounds, and large sheet pans, if you see cracking on top, there’s a good chance your cake is done (and may be over baked), so check with a toothpick ASAP and remove from the oven if you’ve passed the test.
Learn How to Decorate Cake
If you’re enjoying vegan baking and want to learn how to decorate your cakes as well, I’ve got a couple of videos you’re going to want to see. Whilst this recipe is for cupcakes and that’s what’s pictured, you can bake your vegan cake as individual cake layers (I usually do 6 inch cake pans or 8 inch cake pans).
The recipe posts below will cover how to do a crumb coat, the tools you’ll want, how to smooth out the frosting on the entire cake, and so on. I don’t want to talk your ear off on the matter, so go watch the videos.
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Gluten Free Vegan Vanilla Cake Storage
This cake is great fresh, for 4 days. You can leave it in the fridge or on the counter top, covered. It will dry out and be no fun if it’s not covered well. Alternatively, you can freeze this cake for 4 months. Past 4 months texture declines by about 8%.
To freeze, place your cupcakes into some kind of proper cupcake container (you can buy them online or at restaurant supply stores). When the cupcakes are loaded, close the lid and pop the whole thing into your freezer.
You can freeze your cupcakes with, or without frosting (I always frost and freeze so it’s less work later).
Whilst refrigeration isn’t required, it’s suggested. If you don’t like the taste of “cold” take your cake out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before eating/serving. If frosted, especially in hot areas, refrigeration is necessary to prevent frosting melt.
To thaw frozen cake or cupcakes, leave it at room temperature for 60 – 90 minutes. Do not reheat.
Answering Your Gluten Free Vegan Vanilla Cake Recipe Questions
Can I use vegan buttermilk in place of the milk?
Fun fact! This gluten-free vanilla cake recipe technically has you make vegan buttermilk (the milk + acid combination). So no, you don’t need to use vegan buttermilk in place of the milk.
Now, if you’re wanting to create a tang-forward flavour profile and mask some of the vanilla flavor, you can use some of your vegan buttermilk, but personally, I’d never make a swap like that.
Do you also have a chocolate cake recipe?
I do, in fact there are several amazing gluten free vegan chocolate cake recipe options. You’ll find all of them in my Free-From Cake, Pastry, and Frosting Cookbook. There’s the chocolate cake recipe from my award winning bakery, special versions of chocolate cake for people with less common allergies, and even an ultra low sugar mega delicious chocolate cake recipe.
Is it easy to make this into a layered cake?
Personally, I’d say yes, it’s easy to make a layer cake when using this simple cake recipe as the base. However, if you’ve never made a layer cake before, you may find the process intimidating, and maybe you shouldn’t serve up your first attempt at a special occasion. Here are the basic steps to decorate your layered cake.
In a nut free nutshell, you’ll transfer your vegan cake batter to cake pans that are lined with parchment paper (you don’t need to flour/butter pans). Bake, pass the toothpick test, cool for a bit, then pop the cake tins into your freezer. I find it’s much easier this way.
Once the cakes are frozen, flip over the cake pans to eject. Now, you’ll decorate frozen cake. Add a filling on top of the bottom cake layer. Add the second layer, add another layer of filling, then add the third layer of cake.
Now that you have the cake layers stacked, you’ll add frosting to the sides of the cake and spread all over. This is your crumb coat. I usually put cakes back into the freezer after the crumb coat has been applied to make the next day’s work easier.
Apply frosting to the sides of the very cold/frozen cake. Use a cake smoothing tool to make things look good. Finally, add frosting to the top of the cake, smooth it out, then apply any kind of decor to the top of the cake.
If you want to SEE all of this in action, watch the recipe video on this page, and then the video on this page. You’ll get a much better idea of what free-from is capable of.
Can I use this cake recipe to make 12 inch cakes?
Maybe. Personally, I’ve only tested a few of my gluten free cake recipes in larger pans. If you want to attempt this, go for it, but shoot for a thin layer of batter. If you create a cake that’s closer to the height of a sheet pan cake, you’ll have a higher chance of success when you remove the cake from the cake tins and try to stack them.
On the flip side, if you aim for a cake that’s a standard height, the chances of having some cake sink in the middle, and an overcooked cake sides are HIGH.
Can I freeze leftover cake batter?
Yes!! You can freeze the batter for this gluten free vegan vanilla cake. One time, I did a test in this type of deli container. 3 years later, I thawed the cake batter, baked it up, and everyone said it tasted amazing. So, have fun with that.
Just be sure to store the cake batter in an airtight container that’s been labeled. Also make a double or triple batch of this delicious cake recipe so you can have quite a few containers of batter in the freezer.
How is the cake able to rise without eggs?
Egg free cake rise is all about kitchen science, but not weird ingredients you can’t pronounce. With simple ingredients, we can produce a lovely cake rise that rivals conventional baking with eggs, gluten, and all the things.
It starts with the leavening agents (the key ingredients to our egg free lift). Notice that there’s two (baking soda and baking powder). That’s giving us a generous boost. However, did you see the apple cider vinegar? When you combine leavening agents with an acid, you get a rocket ship full of boost.
Generally, this is how I create rise in my free-from baked goods. In addition to that, sometimes we get a little lift by whipping air into the batter, but this is going to vary wildly by recipe.
Can I make frosting without powdered sugar?
So, this question could mean a few things, so I’ll tackle each of the angles. Powdered sugar (aka confectioners’ sugar) is a key ingredient in frosting recipes. However, you can make frosting without it, so long as you have patience and elbow grease.
If you need to remove powdered sugar because you’ve run out, you can make powdered sugar at home in your blender. Combine 1 US dry cup of powdered sugar with 1 TBSP starch of choice (tapioca starch is what I use). Blend on high and you’ll have powdered sugar very soon.
Now, if you’re cane sugar free because of a dietary restriction or allergy, you can make “powdered sugar” from organic maple sugar, organic date sugar, or organic coconut sugar.
Blend 1 US dry cup with 1 TBSP tapioca starch on high sped and you’ll get something that resembles powdered sugar. Notice the word resemble. Whilst it’s not a perfect recreation, you can use it as a substitute when decorating your cake. Just know that it’s kind of finicky.
And finally, if you can’t have any form of added sugar, I’ve got you. So, toasted cassava flour is a great base for a faux homemade frosting. You can combine that with a little organic tiger nut oil (tuber, not a tree nut), water, and organic maple syrup.
Alternatively, you can combine the flour with super ripe organic bananas to create a paste that can operate as a frosting substitute.
Can I use cornstarch instead of arrowroot starch?
In theory, yes, but I’ve never tested this since I have a severe, life threatening corn allergy. I’ve quite literally never baked with cornstarch. Personally, if I had a to pick a substitute for the arrowroot starch, I’d probably pick tapioca starch first, and potato starch second.
Is it possible to make this cake oil-free?
No, but, if this is your first time baking free-from (or maybe you only follow recipes and don’t know the WHY), let’s have a little chat. When you’re gluten free only, eggs are there to help. If you’re egg free only, gluten can literally form a network that saves you.
When you’re gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and allllllll the frees, you have to think about everything that’s missing from the baked goods and replace them with some kind of safe alternative.
In the case of gluten free egg free baking, we’re going to be missing moisture BIG time if we don’t do something about it, and that’s where the oil comes in. Honestly, the best vegan cake recipes tend to call for an oil of some kind because they bring in the missing fat from egg yolk (something unsweetened applesauce alone can’t do).
Honestly, this is why I cringe so hard when people are like, oh yeah, I took the eggs out and added a little applesauce. Like, cool Sally, but you’re missing a lot of features from those eggs….
As another example, applesauce alone can’t really provide a fluffy texture in vegan cakes. You NEED a combined approach if you’re going to have massive success, or in my case, an award winning free-from bakery. Here’s the thing, there are lots of free-from bakeries these days, but so many have complaints, and that’s because they don’t take the multi-pronged approach.
Now, I could keep going, but instead I’m going to point you towards these articles where I give amazing baking tips ind information for free-from bakers.
- Free-From Baking Tips from an Expert
- Why Egg Free Recipes Fall Flat
- Egg Substitutes, a True Masterclass
Do I need to cool my cupcakes on a wire rack?
No, do not cool the cupcakes on a cooling rack. It’s important that your vegan vanilla cupcakes stay in the baking tin for about ten minutes to take advantage of carryover cooking. If you were to eject them too early, you lose the heat.
Now, if you’d like to transfer your cupcakes to a vertical wire rack after baking so you have more counter space, have at it. Just know that using said wire rack for cooling is 100% unnecessary.
Will this allergy free cake recipe turn out well even though there’s no xanthan gum?
Yes!! Great news, well, not great, but you get the idea. I personally have a severe, life threatening corn allergy. That means a LOT of ingredients are off the table, including most xanthan gum.
I’ve been able to own and operate an award winning GF + free-from bakery, all without xanthan gum. Now, I did tinker with guar gum at one point, but when I did side by side comparisons (even with a freeze and thaw test), the guar gum didn’t have a meaningful impact.
Here’s why: I don’t call for all purpose flour. Instead, I make a custom gluten free flour blend for all of my recipes. This means there’s balance from the start, and you don’t need dough conditioners and enhancers and additives to boost the results.
So, as long as you follow the recipe as-is, yes, it will turn out beautifully, even without xanthan gum, guar gum, and all their friends.
Is non-dairy milk the same thing as dairy free milk?
Non-dairy (also written as nondairy) used to imply that there could be a very small amount of cow’s milk dairy in a product. Dairy free on the other hand means zero dairy. Period.
Whilst the regulation has changed over the years, the US FDA generally has the viewpoint that “non dairy” could contain up to 0.5% of dairy milk derivatives such as caseinate. Dairy free always meant zero milk or milk derivatives.
At the time of publishing in 2026, what I can tell you is this: many brands are using the terms as if they’re interchangeable. This can be confusing to a lot of people because you’re not sure what they’re referring to.
When in doubt, anyone with a milk allergy should always contact a company to better understand their ingredients and manufacturing process.
