Easy Vanilla Cake Using Just Water, No Dairy or Egg

This dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free vanilla cake recipe is absolutely perfect and such a simple, lovely treat to bake on a slow weekend at home.

But you can also take things up a notch by turning our vanilla cake into confetti cake, rainbow cake, or even exciting themed cupcakes to share with family and friends!

See our very easy vanilla cake recipe below.

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If you’re looking for the best dairy-free and egg-free vanilla cake, you’re in the right place!

Sixteen years ago, my first baby was turning one.

And I was desperate to create for him a safe dairy and egg free cake.

That’s when a lady from church enlightened me to depression cake and said it may be a good option for his allergies. She was right!

With her inspiration, we made the most perfect chocolate cake for our boy.

And soon, we were one of the first bloggers sharing depression cake as an allergy-friendly option for milk and egg allergy families.

It’s how many of you found us years and years ago, and we are so grateful!

Not that we can ever fully tire of chocolate cake, but eventually we wondered if we could make a vanilla cake just as good…by adjusting just a few ingredients.

And that we did.

From Easter bunny to Mickey Mouse to Mermaid cupcakes…we’ve created some pretty fun vanilla cake over the years. Dairy and egg free, of course.

We’ve also used this recipe as the base for confetti cake. Plus, friends have used it for rainbow cake, as well.

Obviously, vanilla cake is the perfect canvas for lots of baking creations.

We’ll get you the recipe below and hope you’re as inspired as I was sixteen years ago.

See our post on how to make cute bunny cupcakes!

VANILLA CAKE REVIEW

“I made cupcakes with this recipe for my son’s birthday party since one of his friends has a dairy intolerance. It was so yummy and easy I’ve made it two more times for my family even though the only allergy in my household is peanut.”

CAN I USE VANILLA CAKE TO MAKE CONFETTI CAKE

You bet!

We definitely use this vanilla cake recipe to make dairy and egg free sprinkle confetti cake.

It’s a huge hit and takes just a couple extra steps.

Simply put sprinkles in the batter and on top of the iced cake.

Easy peasy!

See our full instructions for sprinkle confetti cake.

CAN I USE VANILLA CAKE TO MAKE RAINBOW CAKE

You sure can!

Check out this beautiful rainbow cake using our easy vanilla cake recipe.

Thanks for sharing, Delia Creates!

Both vanilla confetti cake and vanilla rainbow cake are perfect with homemade vanilla icing.

You can even color homemade vanilla icing and swirl colors that will POP on vanilla cupcakes.

To swirl two icing colors, I simply put the two (or three) colors side-by-side as best I can in an icing bag.

Then I pipe it on the cupcakes as it naturally swirls together.

So cute, especially for my niece’s mermaid birthday party.

Here’s our frosting recipe for your convenience.

HOMEMADE VANILLA FROSTING

VANILLA FROSTING INGREDIENTS

This frosting can also be soy-free if you choose soy-free ingredients.

1/4 cup dairy-free butter
1/4 cup solid coconut oil or shortening
1 and 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (affiliate)
1-3 teaspoons dairy-free milk (if needed)
dash of salt (if using unsalted butter)

HOW TO MAKE VANILLA FROSTING

Mix butter and coconut oil or shortening with a mixer.

Add vanilla.

Slowly add powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time.

Beat on high speed until icing consistency is reached. If it’s too thick, add dairy-free milk 1 teaspoon at a time.

If using unsalted butter, add a dash of salt.

Frosting can be a little temperamental depending on the season and room temperatures.

If it’s summer, you will do best to use chilled butter and coconut oil.

If it’s winter, room temp ingredients work and dairy-free milk may need added.

Store cupcakes with this homemade frosting in the refrigerator if you used coconut oil because it can melt. Famous bakeries do this.

If chocolate icing is more your vibe, see our homemade chocolate frosting.

DAIRY-FREE FROSTING YOU CAN BUY

If you don’t want to make homemade frosting, check out this store-bought frosting.

Be sure to check labels always because ingredients can change.

And here’s organic store-bought frosting if that’s more your preference.

VANILLA MINI CUPCAKES VEGAN

I’ve always liked making this recipe into cupcakes.

But recently, I was invited to a vegan baby shower.

And I decided to make our vanilla cake into mini cupcakes.

They were a huge hit! Instead of 12 cupcakes, our recipe made 45 mini cupcakes.

Perfect for a big crowd with lots of desserts and treats.

People enjoyed the small sample of our dairy-free and egg-free vanilla cake, topped with vanilla icing.

They baked for about 12 minutes in our USA mini muffin tin (affiliate).

Came out moist and delicious, perfect for celebrating a new baby coming soon!

Kids, dads, and moms alike all enjoyed this tasty treat.

Try vanilla mini cupcakes soon!

Recipe below.

VANILLA CAKE RECIPE VEGAN

Heat oven to 350.

The recipe is for 12 cupcakes, a 9×9″ cake, or an 8×8″ cake. Double the ingredients for 24 cupcakes, a double layer round cake, or a 9×13″ cake.

Grease pan(s) with an allergy safe oil if you are making this for someone with food allergies. Or use our favorite non-stick cake pans (affiliate), no grease needed. Or use cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.

VANILLA CAKE INGREDIENTS

1-3/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla (affiliate)
1/3 cup oil
1 cup cold water

VANILLA CAKE DIRECTIONS

Combine ingredients well, by hand or with a mixer.

We use our stand mixer (affiliate) because it gets all the flour lumps out well. Setting 2 for 2 minutes.

Pour batter into cake pan.

For cupcakes, bake approximately 20-23 minutes until the cake springs back to the touch or a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

For round, square, or rectangle cakes it may take a little longer to bake through.

Set baked cake on a wire rack to cool.

Frost and decorate once the cake is fully cooled.

Hope you love this milk-free and egg-free vanilla cake as much as our family does!

MORE MILK & EGG FREE CAKE RECIPES

Here are four excellent cake recipes that are eggless and dairy-free.

MORE DAIRY-FREE FROSTING

Here are several frosting options for your dairy-free cake.

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Robin Klusmann

Saturday 2nd of July 2022

Hi! I use the vanilla and chocolate cake recipes for birthdays and special occasions since both of my sons are allergic to eggs. I also used the spice cake recipe often. I had it bookmarked but it is no longer there. And I didn’t save the recipe and I should have! I need to go through all my bookmarked recipes and save them in a document so I don’t lose anymore favorites. Do you still have that spice cake recipe somewhere? Would you be able to send it to me please? Thank you!

@Jamie Kaufmann, That's good to hear! Thank you! Yes, my oldest son is 13 and we discovered his egg allergy when he was 2. So it's been awhile. I am very thankful for all the people out there, like you, that come up with these recipes so that I don't have to! :) I love to bake but I am not up for experimenting. Thank you for sharing your recipes!

Jamie Kaufmann

Hello Robin, you must be a long time reader! We've been wanting to update the spice cake recipe with better pictures so it's been hidden from the blog for awhile. But it's not gone! Promise. I'll put it on my priority list for putting back up this very month. Thank you for the feedback! xoxo

Christina

Sunday 15th of December 2019

Tomorrow is my grandsons 3rd birthday. He has so many allergies. I asked him what he wanted for his birthday he said A Cake!! So I’ve been diligently searching trying to find a recipe. Thank you for posting. My question is can I substitute using coconut flour?

Tuesday 17th of December 2019

Hi Christina! I know coconut flour is tricky. It may not work. I'd be curious to know. And happy birthday!

Anna

Wednesday 13th of February 2019

I made cupcakes with this recipe for my son's birthday party since one of his friends has a diary intolerance. It was so yummy and easy I've made it two more times for my family even though the only allergy in my household is peanut. I also experimented with making a chocolate version by subbing 1/4 c of cocoa powder for some of the flour. It came out moist and delicious!

Thank you so much for the review, Anna. We are so glad they worked well for you! xoxo

Bunny

Thursday 3rd of January 2019

This is my "Mix-in the-Pan" Cake recipe I've used for 50 years. In an ungreased 8" or 9" round cake pan, stir together the flour, sugar, soda, and salt with a fork. Make three wells, and into each one place either the vinegar, vanilla, and oil. Pour water over all and stir with a fork. Bake in pan.

I make this for my diabetic clients with Swerve Granulated Sugar, and for my other clients who have allergies. You can add cocoa, and pour 1 cup cold coffee over all.

You can also use lemon extract, lemon zest, and yellow food color to make it lemon, etc. Any flavor is possible. Very little clean up.

Naomi Parker

Thursday 24th of May 2018

Hi! My son turns one in two weeks, very excited to try this cake! He is allergic to dairy, egg, PN/TN.

For the cake, do I need to be careful about reg items like sugar, flour, etc? Also, I've never used coconut oil, it comes solid? Would you mind sharing what brand you use? Also, is it just white vinegar?

I am new to all of these substitutes, it feels like a huge foreign food world, so thanks again for being a great resource! -Naomi

Naomi, you can use vegetable oil or whatever you normally use in baking. :) Yes to white vinegar!

Easy Vanilla Cake Dairy & Egg Free