This vegan vanilla cake with whipped cream frosting is a soft, sweet cake with perfectly light whipped cream. Made with just 7 healthy ingredients, gluten free, and naturally sweet.
Happy Friday, let’s bake more cake!!!
Last week I shared this dreamy chocolate cake, and how I finally reached my goal of achieving a classic, go to, simple, and healthy vegan chocolate cake recipe.
Naturally, I immediately thought of all the people who “aren’t chocolate people”. Which, side note, who are you and why are you here? Kidding, kind of, still love you though. Anyway, here we are today with a vanilla version! Still super simple methods and ingredients, and just as soft, sweet, and full of vanilla flavor. Instead of chocolate frosting, we’re going with a light and airy whipped cream on top.
Let’s do this!
Ingredients for vegan vanilla cake with whipped cream frosting
- Rolled oats: you’ll blend the oats into flour, which gives the cake its dense, satisfying texture.
- Almond flour: a bit of almond flour helps keep the cake from being too dense.
- Medjool dates: you’ll blend the dates with hot water to make a paste, which naturally sweetens the cake.
- Applesauce: unsweetened applesauce adds moisture and softness.
- Vanilla extract: of course, we need vanilla extract to flavor the vanilla cake.
- Nondairy milk: a bit of milk brings the batter together. I use unsweetened almond milk for neutral flavor, but any nondairy milk should work.
- Coconut cream: make sure to choose unsweetened coconut cream, which you’ll whip into a fluffy frosting.
Tips for making vegan vanilla cake with whipped cream frosting
- Measure the rolled oats before blending into flour. I always list the amount of oats used BEFORE they’re blended for flour. So in this case, you’ll measure out 1 1/2 cups of whole, rolled oats, then put those 1 1/2 cups into your blender to make flour.
- Don’t forget to spray or line the cake pan. You want to avoid any sticking, so make sure you use a silicone pan or line with parchment paper for easy removal.
- Let the cake cool completely. Make sure to let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes before carefully turning it out to cool completely before adding the frosting.
- Use only the top, solidified part of the coconut cream. Refrigerate the coconut cream the night before, and when you’re ready to make the frosting, scrape off the solidified portion on top, then whip with a hand mixer until it’s nice and thick and fluffy. Depending on the brand you use, you’ll probably need 1 can of coconut cream to frost the cake. Swirl, spread, or pipe on the frosting however you like.
This cake is light, sweet, full of vanilla flavor, and topped with that dreamy, light as a cloud whipped cream. Savor it in all its simplicity, or top with some fresh fruit! Either way, it’s so simple but oh so perfect. Coming from a chocoholic like me, that high praise says a LOT.
Xo,
Sara
Vegan Vanilla Cake with Whipped Cream
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake
- 1 1/2 cups whole grain oats, blended to flour consistency
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1 cup date paste – blend 15 pitted medjool dates with 1 cup hot water, then measure out 1 cup paste
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup nondairy milk – I use unsweetened almond milk
Whipped Cream Frosting
- 1 can coconut cream (make sure it's not sweetened, and not coconut milk!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix the oat flour and almond flour, being sure to break up any clumps with a fork or whisk.
- To the dry ingredients, add the date paste, applesauce, vanilla extract, and nondairy milk, and stir into a thick batter.
- Pour the batter into a nonstick or lightly sprayed cake pan – mine was 9 inches, so if you want a slightly taller cake use 8 inches or smaller, but be aware the baking time may be different if you use a different size pan
- Bake the cake for 30 minutes, then let it cool in the pan for 30 minutes before turning it out to cool completely. Sometimes when I use a silicone pan it takes a bit longer to cook, closer to 35-40 minutes – just lightly touch the center and if it still feels way too soft/gooey, give it a little more time in the oven.
- To make the whipped cream, open the can of coconut cream and carefully scoop the solidified portion out into a bowl. You can discard the leftover liquid or save it to use in whatever way you'd like!
- Whip the coconut cream with a hand mixer until light and fluffy (mine took about 4 minutes). I like mine unsweetened because the cake is sweet enough for me, but feel free to add a bit of liquid stevia to keep the smooth texture and add a bit of sweetness.
- Spread or pipe the whipped cream onto the completely cool cake and enjoy!
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
This looks so so good, Sara! I still need to bake the chocolate one. The time got away from me last weekend, but tomorrow is a good baking day. Definitely adding this to my “to make” list for the future too!
Thanks Kristi!! Yay for fun baking weekends! Can’t wait to hear what you think 🙂 have an awesome weekend!!