How to Make a Cake Vegan

Many people believe that a party is incomplete without a festive cake to celebrate. But traditional cakes use dairy-based ingredients, which vegan lifestyle followers abstain from eating. If vegans will be attending your next party and you want them to enjoy your party cake, or if you are preparing a cake for a vegan for another reason, there are several types of ingredient substitutes you can use in your recipe that will create an equally delicious but completely vegan cake.

Steps

1
Review the recipe to determine the non-vegan ingredients. Typical non-vegan cake baking ingredients include eggs, butter, milk and even refined white sugar, which is manufactured with animal bones.
2
Search your pantry for items that make good substitutes for the non-vegan cake ingredients.
- Most non-vegan cake ingredients such as eggs and butter can be easily replaced with typical household grocery items. For example, bananas and applesauce replace eggs and margarine replaces butter.
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3
Omit the use of eggs from the recipe and replace with a comparable ingredient.
- One egg can be replaced with 2 tbsp. ground flax seed stirred into 3 tbsp. of water.
- Replace a single egg by mashing half of a banana or using 3 tbsp. applesauce. 1 egg may also be replaced with 1/4 cup (59.14 ml) of soft tofu that's been run through a blender.
- Buy a vegan egg replacement product. This non-dairy powdered mix is usually found in health food stores.
4
Replace any milk used in the cake recipe with non-dairy alternatives. Soy and almond milk are the most recommended replacements when baking. You can also use hemp, coconut, or hazelnut milk.
- Use the same measurements when substituting dairy milk with vegan replacements.
5
Substitute butter with equal amounts of a vegan butter alternative, such as margarine. Be sure that the margarine you use is not made with animal-based ingredients. Health food stores usually carry 100 percent vegan margarine.
- Another option for replacing butter with a vegan ingredient is vegetable shortening or applesauce, which can replace up to 3/4 of the total butter used in any baking recipe.
6
Choose a vegan sugar substitute, which is generally healthier than refined brown and white sugars. These include granulated cane sugar and date sugar as well as new plant-based sweeteners. Granulated cane sugar may be used in the same proportion as refined sugar. If using date sugar or a plant-based sweetener, use less amounts in the recipe than refined sugar. These products are far sweeter than typical refined sugar.
- Liquid sweeteners such as barley malt and maple syrup can also be used but be sure to slightly reduce the use of other liquids in your cake recipe.
7
Replace refined white flour with healthier alternatives. Vegans prefer to use non-refined flours made with barley, brown rice, potato and Kamut, which are found in health food stores.
- Alternatively, you can ground 1 cup (236.5 ml) of whole rolled oats to create 3/4 cup (177.4 ml) of oat flour.
8
Make the frosting. For a vegan cake frosting, replace the use of butter with blended tofu and cooking oil or margarine.

Community Q&A
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Question

What does vegan cake mean?

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Vegan cake is cake made without eggs, dairy butter or dairy milk. Each of these standard ingredients is easily replaced by plant-based substitutes, such as banana or flaxseed for eggs, non-trans fat margarine or oils for butters and plant milks for milk. There are many recipes for making perfect vegan cakes that taste just as good as, if not better, than conventional cake recipes.
Question

Do vegans use flour?

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Yes, flour is a vegan product. If it has been protein-enhanced, check the source of the protein but usually flour is a completely vegan food. Vegan cake recipes often prefer wholewheat or non-processed flours, for healthier results than bleached white flour. It is best to sift flour before adding to the vegan cake batter, to produce a finer result.
Question

How long does vegan cake last?

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Vegan cake lasts as long as a conventional cake, and often longer because many vegan ingredients are more stable at room temperature than dairy or egg products. In cooler weather, many vegan cakes can remain at room temperature for up to a week; in warmer weather, either keep refrigerated or eat within 3 to 4 days if kept at room temperature. Also check what the recipe suggests; vegan Christmas fruit cake, for example, will last for months while a vegan sponge will last a few days. Any vegan cake recipe that suggests refrigerating will likely last 2 to 4 days.