If you love cinnamon swirls inside your cake and all things cinnamon in general, look no further than this vegan snickerdoodle cake recipe which includes the two loaves being covered with creamy vanilla buttercream.
I love this treat so much as is it takes less than 30 minutes to make. This is always so convenient for the days when you want a sweet snack instantaneously and you don't have the patience to wait too long!
Snickerdoodle is a flavor that is really easy to enjoy with its autumnal undertones. This combined with the gorgeous light texture and fluffy vegan buttercream frosting makes this cake a real winner in my book.
I also think you'll love my vegan mocha cake, eggless oreo cake loaf and vegan blackberry lemon cake recipes too. They're all filled with completely different flavors, but they're just as delicious and this one.
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Why You Will Love This Cake
- Delectable Texture - The consistency of these loaf cakes is amazing and it is sure to make you drool. It's unbelievably soft and airy which makes eating this dessert a joy for everyone.
- Cinnamon Heaven - If cinnamon is often one of your favorite ingredients for baking a cake, you're in luck! There is a large cinnamon swirl which goes through the entire center of the cake and it makes such a big difference to the final taste. Be sure to see some of my other cinnamon baked goods, such as, the vegan cinnamon loaf cake and vegan cinnamon sugar banana muffins.
- Great Topping - This cake is great on its own, but what makes it even better is the dairy-free vanilla buttercream frosting which sits elegantly on top of the cake. It's super complimentary to the other flavors, as well as being absolutely delicious. Check out my eggless chocolate cake loaf with peanut butter buttercream for more frosting just like this one.
- Allergy Friendly & Plant Based - This vegan snickerdoodle cake recipe is wholly vegan and dairy free.
Ingredient Notes
- Apple cider vinegar - This is the most the most vital ingredient when making a dairy-free cake. It needs to be mixed into soy milk in order to create the vegan 'buttermilk'. This will then react with the leavening agents to create a beautifully, airy texture.
- Canola oil - This is the same thing as rapeseed oil. The naming of the oil just depends on whereabouts you live on the planet. It's well-known for giving cakes a moist texture.
- Light brown sugar - This will be used for the cinnamon swirl. The cake itself contains granulated sugar but I felt like the 'swirl' filling needed the deep taste of molasses from a brown sugar. Light brown sugar also worked perfectly in my vegan carrot sheet cake, vegan pecan coconut cake and vegan ginger cake recipes.
- Ground cinnamon - Make sure that you aren't using an artificial 'imitation' cinnamon powder for this recipe. The flavor profile of the fake versions are always much weaker and very different, overall.
- Vegan butter block - A solid dairy-free butter block has a far better texture for buttercream than vegan margarine, which is often too thin to work with. Using margarine won't give you the thick, luscious texture which matches the non-vegan counterparts.
See recipe card for full information on individual ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- If cinnamon isn't enough for your swirl, you can add additional spices to it. I also like to sprinkle in other autumnal flavors such as, ground nutmeg and ground ginger from time to time. All three are so different in their own unique ways and when they're all combined to make the swirl, this cake has completely different vibes. It just comes down to your own personal preferences and if there are any spices that I didn't mention that you like, don't hesitate to add them.
- For those of you who don't like buttercream, you can either have no topping at all, or you could create a glaze instead by mixing powdered sugar with water until you achieve your desired consistency. Another option would be to simply sprinkle dry powdered sugar over the top of cake like I did in my vegan chocolate mud cake recipe.
How To Make Vegan Snickerdoodle Cake
For the full method, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1: Grease two loaf cake tins with vegan butter.
2: Mix together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar to make the vegan buttermilk.
3: Also combine the dry ingredients.
4: Pour in the wet ingredients.
5: Fold the mixture together to form a batter.
6: Pour the batter into the cake tins.
7: Combine the dry cinnamon swirl ingredients.
8: Mix the melted vegan butter into the cinnamon swirl mixture.
9: Add the cinnamon swirl mixture to the top of the cake batter.
10: Swirl the cinnamon into the cake batter, then bake.
11: Let the cakes cool in the tins. Make the vegan buttercream in the meantime.
12: Cream the vegan butter in a stand mixer.
13: Add the powdered sugar and cream again.
Expert Tips
Let the cakes cool before adding the buttercream frosting - Failing to wait for cake to cool fully will cause the buttercream frosting to melt quite quickly. However, once the cake cools, the frosting will spread nicely.
Add the swirl to the center of the cake - When the cinnamon mixture is made, don't just add it to the top of the cake batter. Swirl it into the center of the cake too. This way, you'll be able to see it once the baked cake has been sliced.
Recipe FAQs
A snickerdoodle is traditionally a sugar cookie that has been rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Snickerdoodles are soft, chewy and so moreish. They are bursting with tasty cinnamon flavors and a perfect when warm and crispy.
Store these snickerdoodle cakes in the fridge inside an airtight container for up to four days.
More Vegan Cinnamon Recipes
If you tried this Vegan Snickerdoodle 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 Vegan Snickerdoodle Cake with Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
Snickerdoodle 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 rapeseed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon Swirl:
- 50 g light brown sugar
- 20 g all-purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 30 g vegan butter melted
Vanilla Buttercream:
- 225 g vegan butter block* see notes
- 240 g powdered sugar sifted
- 0.25 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Preparation:
- Preheat your oven to 177 Celsius (350F).
- Secondly, grease two 20cm x 10cm loaf cake tins with vegan butter. Set aside.
- Make your vegan buttermilk. Mix the apple cider vinegar into the soy milk. Let it curdle for 8 minutes. Also, measure out the other cake ingredients.
Make the cinnamon mixture:
- In a small bowl, add the light brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Mix.
- Add the melted vegan butter and mix again until combined. It should create a thick cinnamon swirl mixture. Set aside.
Make the cake:
- To a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients and combine well.
- Next, pour in your vegan buttermilk as well as, the canola oil and the vanilla extract. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Don’t over mix.
- Equally, pour your snickerdoodle cake batter into the two loaf tins. Spoon half of the cinnamon swirl mixture onto the batter of one of the loaf cakes. Swirl it in with a skewer or the bottom end of a knife. Repeat this step with the other cake.
- Bake the cakes in the center of the oven for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Let the baked cakes cool in the loaf tins for 15 minutes. Transfer the cakes to a cooling rack.
Make the buttercream:
- Add the vegan butter block to a stand mixer and cream for two minutes with the whisk attachment.
- Pour in half of your powdered sugar to the stand mixer and cream again. The mixture should thicken. Once the powdered sugar is fully combined, add the rest of it along with the vanilla extract and beat again for two minutes to thicken it even more.
- Spread the vanilla buttercream onto the top of each loaf cake evenly.
Video
Notes
- Use a block of vegan butter instead of vegan butter spread. I like using the Flora plant butter block as it creates much thicker vegan buttercream.
- Failing to wait for cake to cool fully will cause the buttercream frosting to melt quite quickly. However, once the cake cools, the frosting will spread nicely.
- When the cinnamon mixture is made, don't just add it to the top of the cake batter. Swirl it into the center of the cake too. This way, you'll be able to see it once the baked cake has been sliced.
Claire says
I’ve always loved snickerdoodle cookies so I think I’ll love this cake too.