Deliciously sweet, terrifically tender, and made with mostly pantry staples, this basic Vegan Vanilla Cake recipe topped with vegan buttercreamis the easy, versatile dessert recipe you need in your arsenal.
Prepare: Preheat your oven to 175°C (347°F). Lighty grease the base and sides of three 6" cake tins with oil. Line each base with a circle of parchment and the sides with a strip of parchment.To make the vegan buttermilk add 200ml soy milk and 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar to a small bowl, stir and allow to sit for 10 minutes.In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.
Flavor the sugar: Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod and add them to a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer jug) along with the sugar and the leftover vanilla pod. Use your fingertips to rub the vanilla into the sugar, then remove the pod and any stringy residue from it (if there is any).
Cream the sugar and butter: Add the butter to the vanilla sugar and whisk for 3 minutes. Don't worry if the mixture isn't completely fluffy at this stage.
Combine the wet ingredients: Add in the olive oil, yogurt, vanilla extract, and almond extract and whisk for a minute until everything is combined and fluffy. Then add the vegan buttermilk mixture, and whisk again.
Make the batter: Add the sifted dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients in 2 increments, folding them in with a spatula each time. Stop folding once there are no visible pockets of flour - don't be tempted to overmix!
Bake: Transfer the cake batter to the lined cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes. To check they are done, insert a skewer or toothpick into the center, it should come out almost clean with a few crumbs.
Cool the cakes: Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 15-20 minutes and then carefully turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool further. Carefully peel away the parchment that will stick to the base of the cakes. Refrigerate the cakes in an airtight container until ready to use. Chilling the cakes for a few hours (or overnight) makes them easier to work with and decorate.
Make the frosting: Prepare a batch of vegan frosting according to the recipe. One batch will lightly frost the cake, or 1.5 batches will generously frost it and leave enough to pipe additional frosting to decorate the top of the cake.Add half of the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle. Reserve some frosting if you want to pipe a design on top of the cake.
Assembly: Place a tiny amount of frosting on a cake turntable and secure the first sponge layer on top of it. Pipe a layer of frosting on top of the first cake layer, and use an offset spatula/pallet knife to spread it in an even layer.Add the next layer of cake and repeat with another layer of frosting. Top with the final layer of cake. Use the remaining frosting to coat around the sides on top of the cake and smooth everything out with a cake scraper. Add any leftover frosting to a piping bag fitted with an open or closed star nozzle and frost the top of the cake.
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Remove from the fridge about an hour before serving to allow the cake and frosting to soften a little.
Notes
To freeze the cake layers let them cool, then wrap them well in several layers of plastic wrap before storing them in a freezer-safe bag or container.
Save your used vanilla pod to add to your next batch of homemade vanilla extract, add flavor to sugar or salt.