I know I should be posting fall recipes and stuff to get you into the mood for Thanksgiving. That is supposed to be part of my job as a food blogger, right? Well, I don’t want to. ha. I’m revolting like a 4 year old. The truth is that I am a woman obsessed with making as many gluten free vegan yellow cake variations as possible. On Instagram yesterday I teased you with a photo of Funfetti cupcakes (which are coming soon!) If you don’t follow me on Instagram, here is what happened. It took me six attempts to get those darn things right. SIX. And now that I have, I am unstoppable. It’s been years coming really, all thanks to my LIGHT gluten free flour blend, really...
RELATED: GF/Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes
At first I tried using aquafaba as an egg replacer (you’ve heard of aquafaba right? It’s basically the brine from a can of chickpeas. Well, that is for another day…) I even tried using cooked quinoa (I know, I was getting out of control at this point). Nothing. Everything was a bust. By the way, did you know I created this Guide to Egg Substitutions? You got it! With all that effort I decided to use the help of my trusted Chocolate Cupcakes recipe. I omitted the cocoa powder but used the ingredient structure for help. I don’t know why I deviated in the first place because this is what worked. I should have known… Stay with what you know, right? Well, I tried, and I did for you! My birthday is also next week but that is irrelevant. I did it for YOU (wink). Okay, I did it for me too.
RELATED: GF/V Chocolate Happy Birthday Cake
You are almost on your way to the most perfect gluten free vegan Yellow Cake heaven:
Print
Gluten Free Vegan Yellow Cake
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 2 1/2 c. my Light Gluten free Flour Blend (or use store bought)
- 3/4 tsp. xanthan gum (or omit if using a blend that already includes it)
- 1 c. granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1 3/4 c. nondairy milk
- 1/2 c. oil
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
For the Frosting:
- 1/2 c. non-hydrogenated shortening
- 1/2 c. nondairy butter, room temp
- 3 c. powdered sugar
- 1/2 c. cocoa powder
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1–2 Tbsp. nondairy milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 8″ round cake pans.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients just until a nice batter evolves. Depending on the flour blend, your batter may vary. Mine was a little on the thicker side. Evenly divide into both cake pans. .
- Bake 20-25 minutes or until the tops of the cakes bounce back when gently touched and the edges are lightly browned. Depending on your oven you might need to bake longer. Keep an eye after the first 20 minutes.
- Allow to completely cool on a wire rack.
- For the frosting, with an electric mixer, whip up the shortening and buttah together until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. It will be clumpy.
- Add the vanilla and milk until nice and fluffy. If too runny add a tablespoon of powdered sugar until firm and fluffy. Add a tsp of milk at a time if too stiff.
- Make sure the cake is completely cool before you frost it. Start with the bottom cake layer by spreading it with a thinner layer of frosting first. Place the other cake layer on top cake and finish frosting. FROSTING TIPS: If you have troubles with spreading the frosting without taking the top layer of the cake off, simply place the cakes into the freezer for 15 minutes. Place a big chunk of the frosting in the middle of the cake and work your way out. Also, try dipping the back of a spatula with warm water before spreading each time. This will keep it from sticking to the frosting and break up the cake.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 535
- Sugar: 47g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 25g
- Carbohydrates: 71g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 4.7g
RELATED: GF/Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Recipes notes for Gluten Free Vegan Yellow Cake:
- If you cannot have brown or white rice flour or even certain starches, use this gluten free flour guide as a means to understanding good substitutes.
- You need the xanthan gum in this recipe. It will crumble without it. If you are willing to brave without it, go with yo bad self!
- You can substitute lemon juice for the apple cider vinegar.
- For the frosting, you can use all nondairy butter or all shortening instead of half and half.
Enjoy yourself some cake!
I used this recipe as the base for a “sock it to me cake.” I subbed granulated sugar with coconut sugar because it’s what I had on hand. It was delicious!! Thank you!!
Hi Cara, Love this recipe! I made a 9×13 flag cake for July 4th using this and it was DEE-LISH ! I would like to make cupcakes for my sons birthday, how long should I bake and how many cupcakes would this recipe make?
★★★★
Hello, did you bake the cupcakes? How did it go?
I had very high hopes for this cake based on the reviews, but ended up being very disappointed. I followed the recipe exactly and the cake seemed to be ok right out of the oven. The cake was for a birthday party the very next night, and by the time of the party, the cake was so dry and hard, no one was able to eat any of it and it had to be thrown away. Cake should not go stale that fast. Since then, I tried the recipe again with the same results. I have also played around with a few different modifications and adding a cup of applesauce at least keeps the cake from getting too hard to eat, but I am still in search of a good vegan yellow cake recipe.
★
Sounds like this is more of an issue of oven temperature and length of baking then ingredients. I have made this recipe several times and after keeping in the fridge for storage, I’ve yet to have this issue. Makes me wonder if maybe you will benefit from baking in less time than instructed because it could be that your oven runs a little hotter than mine.
Hi, will it work with the sorghum flour blend? Thanks in advance 🙂
Hi! I made this as a birthday cake for my friend and it was so amazing. I made it with the regular flour blend because it has worked so well for me in the past, and no xanthan gum (I never use it as it is really humid where I live and things always turn out gummy). I posted a pic of it here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BEBhxiNhrrC/?taken-by=mariamisiura
★★★★★
It looks like perfection, Maria! xo
Hi Cara,
This recipe looks fab and easy, just wondering how best to make this into an orange sponge? Would it be as simple as swapping the vanilla with orange extract or the milk with orange juice? Or a combination of both?
Also would I still need to apple cider vinegar?
You will still need to use the vinegar, yes, but other than that, I don’t have an answer as that is an entirely different recipe. If you experiment, let me know how it works out!
I made this last night. It’s absolutely delicious. Hands down the best vegan yellow cake I’ve made. Other cake recipes I’ve tried turn out too greasy or too dry. This one is perfect. My kids loved it too,especially the frosting, they couldn’t stop licking the bowl.
★★★★★
Dear cara, I love your lust for life + effervescent spunk & allergen friendly alchemical ways (your story is slightly similar to mine) thank for you all these amazing recipes!!!!
Cristina! This was so kind of you, thank you for taking the time to tell me that. Much love to you, xo.
oooooooh. it is NOWHERE NEAR my birthday and I want this. I may make this tonight. for real. nom chompsky.
I thought you were supposed to celebrate your birthday a good 1-2 months afterwards? If that is the case, you are right on time 😉
Can I make cupcakes with this recipe!? Do I need to change baking time? Or anything else?
Thanks!
Lili