Add to: Recipe Box | Grocery List | Meal PlannerRecipe submitted by Jeanne
White CakeIngredients (use vegan versions): 1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup dry sweetener/ sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt (try this amount, can go to 1/2)
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1 tablespoon nice, mild tasting vinegar
1 tablespoon vanila
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix or sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Measure in the wet ingredients, and stir with a fork until no lumps remain.
Pour into an 8 x 8 pan. No need to grease.
Bake for 35 minutes or until tests done.
This is usually served from the pan cut in squares. If you want to take it out of the pan, you'll have to grease and flour as it is a moist cake and wants to stick. Original recipe also called for 1/2 cup of baking cocoa powder (I used 1 cup and added a bit more moisture). It can even be mixed up and baked all in the same pan.
Serves: one 8 x 8 cake
I made this cake & put vegan vanilla frosting w/ coconut extract & lemon juice on top, along with pieces of pineapple. It turned out really well.
Archived comment by: jfilbert
I made this cake using the 1 cup cocoa powder and it was delicious. I used it for my sisters fourth birthday and she loved it and was begging me to bake another for the next week or so.
Archived comment by: inkie
This cake is excellent - moist and not too sweet, and the almond/vanilla combination is delicious!
Archived comment by: eixmi
I made this cake, but didn't have any almond extract. I also added 1tsp of cinnamon and it was absolutely delicious!
Archived comment by: vanessaaah
Can I substitute honey? This cake is G-R-R-E-A-T! I made the chocolate version and used whole wheat flour. So fast and easy to make! Next time, I'm going to try substituting honey for the dry sweetener (brown sugar, in this case), has anyone tried this with honey yet? Any suggestions?
Archived comment by: sirFartsAlot
Vegan recipes don't contain honey.
Archived comment by: cerise
Oh. I kinda figured that- wasn't sure. I'll bet there are alot of non-vegans here (like me) who do use honey though. (Its so much better for you than sugar...and cheaper than maple syrup)
Archived comment by: sirFartsAlot
Sounds like this cake is too dense/moist to make two 8 rounds and to stack? What would those whove tried it say? I want to make a vanilla cake for my fiances birthday on friday ;-)
Archived comment by: bstutzma
I'm actually going to try making a layer cake with this recipe! (Might take me a while before I get around to it though). Its not a fluffy cake- but I like it this way, and if I can just find a good frosting recipe that doesn't call for pounds of sugar, I'm gonna make one! This cake is addictive! IMHO, it cries out to be made into a layer cake! (mind you, I'm a bachelor, and have just recently started cooking and baking)
Archived comment by: sirFartsAlot
I made this cake --its too delicios..Thanks a lotttttt.
Archived comment by: vaishnavi
I made this cake and wasn’t super impressed, but everyone who ate it was. Changes I made: I oiled and floured the pan. I also added chopped pecans and frosted it with a maple cream frosting. I didn’t like the cake because I could taste the baking soda, but it has a great texture, so I will work on taste refinements. Maybe if the vinegar were increased to 2 tbsp and the water reduced by that 1 tbsp, it would taste better (those are the proportions of baking soda and vinegar in the famously wonderful 6 minute chocolate cake recipe). To make the cake fluffier, the vinegar can be added at the very end right before baking to take advantage of all the rise the interaction of baking soda and vinegar has to offer.
Archived comment by: kellyjo
Does anyone have a good recipe for vegan frosting?
Archived comment by: vegan2223
this is an incredible cake! I made it for a party (no one else there was vegan)and absolutely everyone raved about it. People thought it was some kind of velvet cake because it was so rich. I did substitute soy milk for half the water, so that might have helped the texture. A previous commenter asked about frosting-- I usually just melt some vegan chocolate chips with a splash of soy milk and a little vegan margerine. The end result is runny when its warm, but after you spread it over the cake and let it cool, it firms up and acts as a very rich frosting. I've gotten many compliments on this frosting, and its nice because its quick and doesn't require dragging out the hand mixer :-)
Archived comment by: veganosaurus
How much exactly in grams or mililitres is 1 cup ?
Archived comment by: hydrolist
250ml
Archived comment by: shinjiko
I made this cake using lime flavored Chu-Hi instead of water and it was light and fluffy, yet still moist. The texture was great. For everyone that doesn't live in Japan, Chu-Hi is a sweet carbonated alcoholic beverage. I know I've had similar products in the US.
Archived comment by: midori
Oh, this was soooooooo yummy! I used soymilk instead of water, and I stirred in the vinegar at the very end, just before putting into the oven. It was so fluffy and moist.
Archived comment by: jaws
I just made this again, adding 1/3 cup cocoa and omitting the almond extract to make a chocolate cake. I gave it to a nonvegan friend for her birthday and she loved it! So did all the other meat eaters who had it! Everyone is asking for the recipe and is surprised that its vegan. This ones a real winner.
Archived comment by: veganosaurus
This was a huge hit at my partners birthday party! I doubled the recipe and made a round layer cake. I made a basic white icing using vegan powdered sugar, vegan margerine, and soymilk and added 1/2 teas almond flavoring and 1/2 teas vanilla and put that between the layers. Then used a chocolate almond icing made with melted choc chips, margerine, and soymilk with almond flavoring for the outside of the cake. It was a huge hit! I also used soymilk instead of water. Even the meat eaters loved this one!
Archived comment by: myveganlife
I made this cake for my best friends birthday, and it turned out awesome! She loved it. I made a few alterations though. I took about 1 cup of the batter, added about 1/4 cocoa powder. After pouring the origional batter into the pan, I dolloped the chocolate batter on top, then dragged a knife though it creating a marble pattern. For frosting, I used 1/4 c margarine, 2 c powdered sugar, dash of cinnamon, soymilk, and 1/4 c coconut. Turned out great. Will use again!
Archived comment by: annabellepunk
Yea! Thank you for this delicious cake recipe. I made a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake today using this recipe and it was yummy. The cake has a fine, tender texture... and the flavor is great. I will make this cake again as a Boston Cream Pie. Thanks again.
Archived comment by: blessed1
How did you do the pineapple upside down cake?
Archived comment by: vegan1
I transformed this into a sumptuous orange cake that my husband and our company loved. I just used one cup of orange juice instead of one cup of water. I also sprinkled vegan powdered sugar (made by Woodstock Farms)on top. Then I garnishe'd with orange slices.
Archived comment by: sbwalker53
Very farout cake! Whole family full of non-vegans LOVED it! Thought it was non-vegan
Archived comment by: kortnie
Loved it! Had non-vegans asking me for the recipe. I used soy milk instead of water and put a vegan vanilla frosting on top. Just make sure you wait until the cake cools before trying to tip it out of the pan -- on my first attempt, the entire middle fell apart!
Archived comment by: shenk
I made this cake with green vanilla frosting and popcorn on top. Sounds gross but its tradition for birthday cakes for me, it turned out great.
Archived comment by: thesam
This is delicious. I just used it as the base of a maple rum torte; instead of almond flavouring, I used rum flavouring in it, then when the cake was baked and cooled, I brushe'd it with a glaze made from two tablespoons each of maple syrup and rum. Then I iced it with maple buttercream icing (16 ounces of icing sugar, 1 cup vegetable shortening, 1 tbsp vanilla, and maple syrup and some water and beat it with the electrix mixer until it was smooth). I had leftover icing which I used in another recipe. After I iced the cake, I chilled it, and when it was thoroughly chilled, I poured a chocolate ganache over it (3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and mixed with 1/2 cup of imitation eggnog - So Nice brand Noel Nog. Although ordinary soymilk works fine!). The finishe'd cake tastes like a glorious alcoholic creampuff!
Archived comment by: katica
I just made this cake...its really, really good!!! I used white balsamic vinegar, and added a little bit more to the batter than what is called for, and it turned out really good. Very rich, almost egg-y in flavor! I turned it into a coconut cake by making a coconut frosting with Tofutti sour cream substitute, powered sugar, vegan margarine, coconut, and some almond and vanilla extracts thrown in. Very good cake!! Thanks for the recipe! I will use this one over and over again I'm sure...its like a blank canvas!
Archived comment by: dafodil
thanks for the great recipe! non-vegan family loved it and are demanding more!
Archived comment by: holycow
Sirfartsalot-Try using agave, they sell a light version and a dark, richer,version. I have not used it in this cake but it is a good sub for honey. I have in other recipes used chicory root which is very inexpensive.
Archived comment by: lolamako
Just an FYI for all of you, you could substitute lemon, lime, or any citrus juice for vinegar. (though lemon and lime are the most potent and effective) The vinegar is just acting as an acid to react with the baking soda.
Archived comment by: huzzah2067
In my experience, some recipes can handle such changes as replacing a bit of the oil with applesauce, or substituting soymilk for water. Apparently this is not one of those recipes, at least not in my kitchen. This came came out nondescript and sticky, even though it was springy and passed the toothpick-test when I took it out of the oven after its prescribed bake time. Perhaps the brown (and somewhat moister) sugar I used was a factor in this. The Easy Vegan Choc. Cake recipe on this site, which has almost identical ingredients and ingredient proportions, PLUS 3 or 4 tbsp of cocoa tossed in, calls for the same amount of liquid and since that recipe always turns out perfectly (again, at least in my kitchen), the little bit of extra dry ingredients seems to make all the difference. I actually do like plain cake, so if I attempt this again, I'd toss in a bit more flour or reduce the liquid. I'd also probably cut the sugar by 1/8 to 1/4 cup. This needs some jam in the middle or a decent frosting to make it anything more than a basic sugar rush, which was pretty disappointing. A decent cake should be complimented by the fancy glazes and such, but should still be able to hold its own when flying solo.
Archived comment by: jaali
oh this is yummy! super duper easy to make, moist, tastes great. i made a lemon icing with powdered sugar, water, and lemon juice to go on top. i also substituted lemon extract because i didn't have almond. but over all very good!
Archived comment by: peaceandlove
New here and very impressed with all the recipes! I just wonder if any of you experienced bakers can tell me why vinegar? What does it do for the cake and can it be left out? I'm making a cake for a 2 year old that is allergic to both milk and eggs, so turning to vegan recipes. The use of vinegar in a cake is throwing me for a loop! Cooking/baking is like a big chemistry experiment... just wondering what role the vinegar plays??? Thanks in advance to anyone with the answer! The one thing I do know is I'm sold on this recipe, based on everyones reviews.
Archived comment by: wsue1023
Wsue1023, the vinegar reacts with the baking soda to produce the leavening effect without eggs. Do not leave the vinegar out--you won't taste it in the final product. Use plain white distilled vinegar.
Archived comment by: willwolf
how much salt did people use??? how many cupcakes can this cake make???
Archived comment by: veganinjapan
Thanks willwolf for the info on the vinegar. I still had a hard time with the idea of vinegar in my cake, but thanks to a Betty Crocker book knew that lemon juice could replace vinegar in a recipe, so I went that route. I used this Vegan White Cake recipe, subbed the vinegar with lemon juice and my customers loved the cake! If anyone is interested in doing this, you'll need to add double what the vinegar would have been. So, if your recipe says 1 Tbs Vinegar, you'd sub with 2 Tbs lemon juice. Works great! I needed to fill an 11 x 15 sheetcake, so that took 3 batches of this cake mix. That seemed to be the perfect amount. I did grease and flour my pan so I could pop the cake out and frost it, but that worked great. Thanks VegWeb!! What a lifesafer this was.
I've added a link to my cake blog telling everyone to check you all out!
http://cakespace.blogspot.com/ I used my own frosting recipe and just left the milk out... its a basic buttercream recipe with extra almond and vanilla extract for a superior flavor. Anyhoo... thanks so much. I'm sure I'll be back!
Archived comment by: wsue1023
I tried to make vanilla cupcakes out of this. I ended up with brownish muffins. Why does this always happen?
Archived comment by: vintageDiva
Does anyone know how to make a vegan version of the kind of frosting/icing that I can dye with food colouring and write things? (Ya know, the whole Happy Birthday or whatever -- that's what I meant by write just can't think of term for it. Sorry.)
Archived comment by: nima_toad
This was really good. I doubled the batch and used vanilla soymilk instead of water. It was really good, but it did taste eggy. After adding the frosting, it tasted like really good cake. I made a vanilla/cinnamon frosting that was actually liquid because I'm low on groceries, but it was still really yummy. Thanks for the recipe. Even my carnivorous family loved it.
Archived comment by: windAura
