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vegan birthday cake

The Best Coconut Vegan Birthday Cake

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Description

This vegan birthday cake with cream cheese frosting will give you a reason to celebrate. It’s so yummy, even non-vegans will love it!

Ingredients

Units Scale

FOR THE CAKE:

  • 3 cups cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup vegan butter (1 1/2 sticks) I used Miyoko’s European-style butter.
  • 1 heaping cup of unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon coconut extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 13.5 fluid-ounce can full-fat canned coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut (sweetened)
  • Garnish: sprinkles, shredded coconut, or decoration of your choice

FOR THE FROSTING: 

  • 1 8–ounce container of vegan cream cheese (I used Violife vegan cream cheese)
  • 1/2 cup vegan butter (1 stick)
  • 3–5 cups of confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • A pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch baking pans (I use spray coconut baking oil), then add parchment paper circle to the bottom of the pan and grease again.
  2. SIFT TOGETHER DRY INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. BEAT TOGETHER VEGAN BUTTER AND SUGAR: In a stand mixer (or with a handheld mixer), beat together the vegan butter and sugar until fully combined and fluffy.
  4. ADD IN APPLESAUCE & EXTRACTS: Slowly mix the applesauce and extracts into the sugar mixture. The mixture will look curdled. That’s ok.
  5. COMBINE COCONUT MILK & VINEGAR: In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut milk and vinegar. Set aside.
  6. MIX DRY AND WET: With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the sugar and butter mixture in two or three additions, alternating with the coconut milk and apple cider vinegar mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined after each addition.
  7. MIX IN THE SHREDDED COCONUT: Gently stir in the shredded coconut.
  8. BAKE: Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are cooked through, pulling away from the sides of the pan, and golden brown on top, about 45-50 minutes. You don’t want to underbake this cake, or it will be dense.
  9. COOL: Let the cake cool in the pans on a wire cooling rack for about 20 minutes. Then remove the cake layers from their pans and let them continue to cool on the wire racks. Make sure to cool completely before frosting, or the frosting will slide off the cake.
  10. MAKE THE FROSTING: Beat the vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, powdered sugar, and salt together in a stand mixer (or with a handheld mixer) on medium speed until thoroughly combined. Keep adding confectioner’s sugar until you have a thick consistency. Set aside until ready to frost the cake. You might want to refrigerate if it’s a hot day. Vegan frosting melts much faster than traditional frosting.
  11. FROST & DECORATE: 
  12. PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch baking pans (I use spray coconut baking oil), then add parchment paper circle to the bottom of the pans and grease again.
  13. SIFT TOGETHER DRY INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  14. BEAT TOGETHER VEGAN BUTTER AND SUGAR: In a stand mixer (or with a handheld mixer), beat together the vegan butter and sugar until fully combined and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
  15. ADD IN APPLESAUCE & EXTRACTS: Slowly mix the applesauce and extracts into the sugar mixture. The batter might will look curdled. But that’s ok!
  16. COMBINE COCONUT MILK & VINEGAR: In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut milk and vinegar. Set aside.
  17. MIX TOGETHER DRY AND WET: With the mixer on a low speed, add the dry ingredients to the sugar and butter mixture in two or three additions, alternating with the coconut milk and apple cider vinegar mixture, and beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. You don’t want to overmix the batter.
  18. MIX IN THE SHREDDED COCONUT: Gently mix in the shredded coconut.
  19. BAKE: Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are cooked through, pulling away from the sides of the pan, and golden brown on top, about 45-50 minutes. You don’t want to underbake this cake, or it will be dense.
  20. COOL: Let the cake cool in the pans on a wire cooling rack for about 15 minutes. Then remove the cake layers from their pans and let them continue to cool on the wire racks. Make sure to cool completely before frosting, or the frosting will slide off the cake.
  21. MAKE THE FROSTING: Beat the vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt together in a stand mixer (or using a handheld mixer) on medium speed until thoroughly combined. Set aside until ready to frost the cake. You might want to refrigerate if it’s a hot day. Vegan frosting melts much faster than traditional frosting.
  22. FROST & DECORATE: When the cake is cool, frost your cake and decorate as desired. 

Notes

LET THE CAKE COOL BEFORE FROSTING: This is always important but especially when using vegan frosting. If the cakes aren’t fully cooled and/or the frosting is too warm, the frosting will melt and slide right off the cake. If you’re worried about this, you can refrigerate the cake layers until you’re ready to frost.

PAN SIZE SUBSTITUTIONS: If you want to use 6-inch pans, this recipe will make four 6-inch cake layers. Just fill the pans up 2/3 way full. You will also have to adjust the bake time to about 35 minutes.

STORAGE: This cake will last stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. 

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake

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Find it online: https://www.growingupcali.com/2021/11/vegan-birthday-cake/