I adore an ordinary vanilla cake from time to time, but this vegan vanilla chocolate cake is a level up for sure, taking less than 30 minutes to make.
The soft and tender vanilla loaf is covered generously with a silky smooth dairy-free buttercream frosting which makes the cake so heavenly and moreish.
Many people love to use fancy vanilla pods in their vanilla cakes but I often find that standard vanilla extract will usually give the cakes bursting the flavors that we all love without being too overwhelming.
If you love neutral-tasting cakes with complimentary ingredients like this one, you'll also enjoy my eggless red velvet cake loaf with oreos and vegan Sicilian orange cake which are super tasty.
Jump to:
Why You Will Love This Cake
- Great Flavors - The two main flavors in this recipe are chocolate and vanilla which are two of my personal favorites. They compliment each other so well generally, as well as inside this cake. Some other recipes which combine chocolate and vanilla include my vegan brownie cake and vegan nanaimo bar custard slices.
- So Moreish - Whenever I have a slice of this treat, I always find myself going back for more. It really does taste so good and I can't wait for you to give it a try. This cake is perfect for sharing too which is great.
- Easy to Make - Making this loaf cake is so simple. All you need to do is make the cake batter, pour it into the prepared loaf tins, bake inside the oven and make the frosting while the cake cools, before applying it.
- Allergy Friendly & Plant Based - This vanilla chocolate cake recipe is wholly vegan and dairy free.
Ingredient Notes
- Soy milk - In my opinion, this is the plant milk you want to use when baking vegan loaf cakes. It always gives me the best results. Almond milk and oat milk are also good options.
- Apple cider vinegar - You need to mix this vinegar into the soy milk to create the dairy-free ‘buttermilk’. This will react with the leavening agents to create an amazing cake texture like the ones you'll find in my vegan red velvet white chocolate sheet cake bars and vegan raspberry cake.
- Baking powder & Baking soda - These are leavening agents that you can't make your cake without. Both are needed. Without them the cake will be dense and stodgy.
- Canola oil - This gives the cake the majority of its moisture. I've tested many other kinds of oil such as, vegetable oil and olive oil in this recipe and canola (also known as rapeseed oil) is my favorite option.
- Dairy-free butter block & Powdered sugar - These are two of the three ingredients that you will need for the frosting. Make sure that you use a block of dairy-free butter, instead of a spread as this mistake can affect the consistency of the frosting negatively.
- Cocoa Powder - This is the third and final frosting ingredient. Add this to your buttercream frosting last. Also use high-quality cocoa powder to give it a richer taste.
See recipe card for full information on individual ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- You can easily make this cake gluten free by making a small change to the recipe ingredients. The all-purpose flour needs to be replaced with a gluten-free, baking-specific all-purpose flour blend. These can be found in most large grocery stores these days.
- If you love vanilla flavors, you can add more vanilla extract to the cake. The recipe recommends that a teaspoon as added. However, you can use half a Tablespoon of vanilla extract if you wish like in my vegan banana brownies recipe or even a whole Tablespoon if you are the biggest vanilla fan in the world.
How To Make A Vanilla Chocolate Cake
For the full method, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1: Stir your apple cider vinegar into your soy milk and wait until it curdles into a buttermilk.
2: Add all of the dry cake ingredients to a bowl and combine.
3: Pour the curdled buttermilk into the dry mixture.
4: Add the remaining wet ingredients to the bowl.
5: Next, fold the dry ingredients into the wet until a smooth batter forms.
6: Pour the cake batter into your two loaf tins evenly and bake the cakes in the oven.
7: Remove your golden cakes from the oven and allow them to cool fully.
8: Decorate the loaf cake with chocolate frosting. Slice and serve.
Expert Tips
Preheat your oven fully - Before you bake the vanilla chocolate cake, you also need to ensure that the oven has reached the correct temperature. Wait until it has fully preheated as the cakes won't cook all the way through when the temperature is too low.
Use dairy-free block butter - When making the dairy-free buttercream frosting it is important that you use a firm block vegan butter, instead of a spread which is oven much thinner. Therefore, it will affect the consistency of the frosting. The frosting should be nice and thick.
Recipe FAQs
A dense cake is usually because the cake batter has been over mixed. I recommend folding the batter instead. This could also be because you didn't add the correct amount of the leavening agents.
If you have added the correct ingredient amounts, then this could be due to leaving the cake in the oven for too long, or perhaps, you cake was too high up inside the oven.
It is recommended that you store this vanilla cake inside an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. This preserves the cake nicely. If you wish, you can refrigerate your cake for up to 4 days (also in an airtight container). Please don't freeze the cake.
More Vegan Cake Recipes
If you tried this Vegan Vanilla Chocolate Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
Easy Vanilla Chocolate Cake Loaf
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 200 ml soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 200 g all-purpose flour sifted
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 50 ml canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the chocolate frosting:
- 225 g vegan butter block
- 240 g powdered sugar
- 35 g cocoa powder
Instructions
Making the vanilla cake:
- Preheat the oven to 177 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) and grease two 20cm x 10cm cake loaf tins with vegan butter. Set aside.
- Next you will need to make the dairy-free buttermilk. Measure out the soy milk then stir the apple cider vinegar into it. Set aside for 7-8 minutes until it curdles. You can measure out your other ingredients while you wait.
- Now, to a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Mix until fully combined.
- Pour the curdled soy milk, oil and vanilla into the dry ingredients and fold the ingredients together with a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth and there are no more pockets of flour.
- Evenly divide the cake batter between the two greased loaf tins and bake in the center of the preheated oven for 20 minutes. A skewer will come out clean at this point.
- Remove your cakes from the oven and let them cool in the tins for 15 minutes. After they have cooled, remove the cakes from the tins and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool fully. Don't apply any chocolate frosting to the cakes until they have completely cooled down.
Making the chocolate frosting:
- Add the dairy-free butter block to a stand mixer or a large bowl. Cream with the paddle attachment for 2 minutes on a medium speed.
- Now, add half of the powdered sugar and continue to beat the frosting on a medium-low speed until it is fully combined and has began to thicken. Continue on a medium-low speed and add the rest of the powdered sugar. Beat again until the frosting is thick.
- Next, add your cocoa powder. Mix until it is fully combined within the frosting.
- Spread half of the chocolate frosting in between the cake halves and spread the other half on top. Slice and serve.
Video
Notes
- Before you bake the vanilla chocolate cake, you also need to ensure that the oven has reached the correct temperature. Wait until it has fully preheated as the cakes won't cook all the way through when the temperature is too low.
- When making the dairy-free buttercream frosting it is important that you use a firm block vegan butter, instead of a spread which is oven much thinner. Therefore, it will affect the consistency of the frosting. The frosting should be nice and thick.
Anonymous says
I make eggless cakes a lot and this one tasted so good. Thanks.