By / Last Modified On September 19, 2023
An easy gluten-free vanilla cake recipe that is tender and better than any bakery-style gluten-free cake. You guys have been asking for the best gluten-free vanilla cake recipe, and here it is!
You are going to love this gluten-free vanilla cake.
Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake
This gluten-free dairy-free vanilla cake is a spin off my gluten-free vanilla cupcakes.
If you are more of a gluten-free chocolate person, you are going to want to check out my easy gluten-free chocolate cake.
In case you were wondering, this gluten-free vanilla cake has the best texture. It's light, tender, and it isn't dry like many gluten-free vanilla cake recipes.
Everyone agrees that this is the best gluten-free vanilla cake. No need to ever buy a gluten-free vanilla cake mix at the store.
Several of my readers have been asking for an easy gluten-free vanilla cake recipe. I've had my gluten-free vanilla cupcakes up for a while now, and they get raving reviews.
Please read through this entire post. It's full of tips for making the best gluten-free vanilla cake.
This gluten-free dairy-free vanilla cake recipe isn't vegan. It uses eggs.
If you require a vegan cake, you may use the equivalent of a flaxegg, but your cake texture will vary.
Is Vanilla Extract Gluten-Free?
Yes, pure vanilla extract is gluten-free. You'll want to always check labels, especially on imitation vanilla extracts, as additional ingredients may be added.
How to make gluten-free vanilla cake
There are a couple of tips and tricks to getting the right texture with this gluten-free vanilla cake recipe. First, you have to follow the recipe.
So many people comment on recipe posts saying that they made a ton of substitutions, and the recipe didn’t turn out. If you make a substitution, you are doing so on your own.
Other than the dairy substitute, I haven’t tried other substitutes in this recipe.
Second, you want to mix at the right time and not over-mix. When you are beating the oil, sugar, and eggs, you’ll want to beat it for the time listed.
This adds air which in turn helps the cake rise. Beating any longer will cause the batter to stiffen.
Steps to make a Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Cake
- Make sure to preheat your oven before you begin.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine oil and sugar.
- Add eggs and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for one minute. Add flour, salt, baking powder, dairy-free milk, and vanilla; beat at medium speed for one minute.
- Spoon batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the center springs back when touched and cakes are lightly browned.
- Let cool in the pan on a rack for five minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans onto rack and cool completely before frosting.
- Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
For the detailed instructions and ingredients for this gluten-free vanilla cake recipe, please see the complete recipe below.
Can I use dairy in this cake?
Yes, you can use regular dairy butter and dairy milk in this recipe. Just note that if you use butter instead of oil in the recipe, the cake will be a little heavier.
This isn't a bad thing; it's just a smidge more dense.
What causes a gluten-free cake to crack on top?
You might see cracks if your temperature is too high, or your cake is placed in the oven too high. The heat of baking activates the baking powder and causes it to release carbon dioxide, which forms bubbles and raises the cake.
If your oven is too hot, that process is sped up. Make sure to place your cake in the center, and regularly check your oven’s temperature.
Another reason is if you are at a high altitude. If you are baking this gluten-free vanilla cake at a high altitude, consider cutting the baking powder in half.
Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake Mixes
We've tried several gluten-free vanilla cake mixes. Here are a few that we enjoyed if you want to keep one on hand.
You can also mix the dry ingredients for this gluten-free vanilla cake and store them in a jar, essentially making your own mix.
- Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake Mix
- Extra White Gold Vanilla Cake Mix
- Simple Mills Almond Flour Vanilla Cupcake & Cake Mix
- Miss Jones Baking Organic Vanilla Yellow Cake and Cupcake Mix
Some of my favorite gluten-free cake recipes
Gluten Free Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Gluten-Free Chocolate Bundt Cake
My Gluten Free Angel Food Cake is also perfect.
If you are looking for cupcake recipes, just search cupcakes in the search bar on the right.
Why did my gluten-free vanilla cake sink?
There are several reasons why gluten-free cakes sink. One is from over-beating the batter and adding too much air.
Also, cakes often will sink when there is too much moisture. This is more common in humid climates where added moisture can collect naturally in ingredients such as flour.
When this occurs, the center of the gluten-free vanilla cake rises rapidly and then falls during baking.
In higher elevations, the leavening agent works twice as hard and may cause the batter to rise rapidly and sink before it’s had a chance to set up.
All these tips are relevant to most cake recipes, not just this gluten-free vanilla cake recipe.
Serve this with gluten-free ice cream for an extra special treat.
If you made this gluten-free vanilla cake recipe, I want to hear from you! Please leave a star rating and a comment below, letting me know what you thought.
Missing something? No worries! Order missing ingredients from GoPuff and have them arrive at your doorstep in minutes.
Easy Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake
An easy gluten-free vanilla cake recipe that is tender and better than any bakery style gluten-free cake. You are going to love this gluten-free vanilla cake.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup (8 oz.) vegetable oil (or oil of choice)
- 1 ½ cups (300g.) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs (200g.), room temperature
- 3 cups (420g.) all purpose gluten-free flour blend (I used my flour blend or Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, NOT the Bob's All Purpose GF Flour)
- ½ teaspoon (3 g.) salt
- 3 teaspoons (12g.) baking powder (cut in half if at high altitude)
- 1 cup (8 oz.) dairy-free milk (or milk of choice)
- 3 teaspoons (8g.) gluten-free vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- ½ cup (115g) dairy-free butter (or regular butter)
- 1 ½ teaspoons (4g) gluten-free vanilla extract
- ½ cup (50g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 ½ cups (450g) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (40-60g) dairy-free milk (or regular milk)
Instructions
- For the cakes: Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Position rack in center of oven. Grease two 8" or 9" pans with oil; set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl combine oil and sugar.
- Add eggs and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for one minute. Add flour, salt, baking powder, dairy-free milk, and vanilla; beat at medium speed for one minute.
- Spoon batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the centers springs back when touched and cakes are lightly browned.
- Let cool in the pan on rack for five minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans onto rack and cool completely before frosting.
- For the frosting: In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Add cocoa powder and beat until combined. Gradually add powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Slowly beat in milk. Beat in additional milk if needed, to obtain desired consistency.
- Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Notes
- This recipe works with my flour blend or Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. It DOES NOT work with the Bob's Red Mill all purose gluten free flour (which is different from their gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour).
- Using another flour blend other then what I've tested this recipe with may yeild different results. Readers have gotten poor results using the Namaste 1:1 Blend in this recipe.
- Room temperature eggs work best. To bring cold eggs to room temperature, run them under warm water for a couple of minutes.
- When working with or measuring gluten-free flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level. Do not scoop your measuring cup into the gluten-free flour. The best method really is to weight it but I don't have the ingredient weights for all my recipes yet.
- Dairy - you can use regular dairy milk and dairy butter in this gluten-free vanilla cake recipe.
- Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 562Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 292mgCarbohydrates: 72gFiber: 1gSugar: 49gProtein: 6g
Dee Cortiglio
Have you, or any of your followers tried the King Arthur 1-to-1 GF flour with your recipe? Were they happy with the result?
chrystal
A lot of my readers use King Arthur 1-to-1 and love it.
Best,
Chrystal
Yamini
Hi! I am currently trying out this recipe foe the first time and my batter came out extempore gummy and sticky. I used the cup4cup flour blend and weighed out all my ingredients! Is there somewhere i may have gone wrong or does that batter generally look like that?
chrystal
Hi Yamini,
I haven't personally tried this cake recipe with Cup4Cup. Cup4Cup has cornstarch and milk powder, which is why it reacted differently in this recipe compared to the blends I have tested it with. Cornstarch and milk powder both absorb more of the liquid ingredients.
I hope that helps.
Best,
Chrystal
Anna
Can I use regular AP flour?
chrystal
Yes, you can use regular flour.
Best,
Chrystal
Anna
Hi there,
Is 180 degrees in a regular oven? I have a fan oven so am wondering if I need to turn oven down to 160 degrees to achieve the same result?
Thank you!
chrystal
Yes, 180C degrees on a non-fan oven. You can turn it down to 160, but watch the bake time just in case it needs to bake a little longer.
Best,
Chrystal
Anna
Ok thank you!
Oona
This vanilla cake is SOOOO good!!! I wanted a cookies and cream cake for my birthday, so I just crushed up 10 gluten-free chocolate sandwich cookies (glutino brand), and added them to the batter, and it was amazing!!! My grandfather was visiting, and he doesn't like gluten-free baked goods much, and he said this cake was betting than the gluten cake, which is saying a LOT!!! Thank you so much for this recipe!!! NOTE: I made the full amount of batter, and divided it among 3 6-inch cake pans, and they were really thick so they baked for like 42 minutes, and that was perfect.
Sav
Can i use buttermilk?
chrystal
Yes, you can use buttermilk. Just note that the results will be slightly different.
Best,
Chrystal
Anna
Hi there. Does this cake freeze well if one needs to make ahead of time?
Thanks.
chrystal
Yes, you can freeze it ahead of time.
Cat
Hi. I've never baked a gluten free cake from scratch. Can I make this in a 9×13, or will it not bake properly?
chrystal
Yes, you can use a 9x13 pan. You'll need to adjust the baking time up and watch for doneness.
Best,
Chrystal
Meredith
Hi there, can you freeze the cakes ahead of time?
chrystal
Yes, you can freeze it ahead of time.
Mandi
What type off nondairy milk do you use?
chrystal
We personally love Almond milk, but we have used others as well including flaxseed milk.
Best,
Chrystal
Ann
My cake is cooling as I type. Unfortunately,this seems like a total failure.The batter was super thick (I used Bob's 1 to 1),even though the 420 g were not a total of 3 cups,more like 2 2/3 and very sticky .I have made the cupcakes with great success.I usually make chocolate cakes for my kids birthdays, but this time my youngest changed her mind and asked for vanilla.
Now,the cakes cracked badly and don't seem too moist either (not 100% sure as is still on the cooling rack),which never happened before with my cakes.
I wonder what went wrong. I know my oven works great,my baking powder is brand new and eggs were room temperature. The only things I changed was the amount of sugar,which I do with every single recipe I've done in gf baking for the past 12 years with no problems.
chrystal
Hi Ann,
I'm sorry to hear your cake didn't turn out. Is there a chance that too much flour was added? Or perhaps an ingredient was missed. Even though I bake all the time, I sometimes accidently measure wrong.
This recipe is essentially the same recipe as my vanilla cupcakes, with slightly less baking powder, so it should have worked. The only other thing I could think of is if the flour was stored in the fridge or freezer? It would need to be brought to room temperature first, before using, otherwise it will absorb too much moisture.
Chrystal
Joanne
Can I substitute 1/4 Cup Applesauce/per egg for the 4 eggs? Has anyone tried it? I need this to be a GF/DF/eggless recipe. Can't wait to try it!
chrystal
I haven't personally tried this. I would imagine that it won't rise as much, but still be good.
Best,
Chrystal
Jordan Jillian
Did you try this? Curious how it turned out!
Shari
Do you think I could substitute shortening for the butter in the icing? Thank you!
chrystal
Yes, you can use shortening. The flavor and texture will be different. You probably know this but back in the early 1900s it was more common to use shortening in frosting 🙂
Best,
Chrystal
Mj
Can this go in a 9x13 pan for a sheet cake instead?
chrystal
Yes, you can use a 9x13 pan.
Best,
Chrystal
BCar
Tried the vanilla cake for the first time and it was excellent! Will use it again, not too dry or crumbly, like some are.
chrystal
I am so glad you liked it. Thank you for letting me know.
Best,
Chrystal
Rebecca
I am planning on making this for our daughter's birthday (she's GF). We already made your cupcakes and they were simply the best!! I noticed this recipe is the same, but everything is doubled other than the amount of flour. This cake recipe is calling for more flour and I just want to make sure that is correct before I go ahead and bake it. Thanks for such amazing recipes!!!
chrystal
Hi Rebecca,
Happy birthday to your daughter! Yes, the flour amount listed is correct. The extra flour adds some weight to give more of a cake-y texture vs cupcakes, which tend to be a little lighter.
Best,
Chrystal
Tejal
Hi! Love this recipe! I want to make an 8" 3 layer with this. How would I adjust the ingredients accordingly? Thanks!
chrystal
You'll need to make 1 and 1/2 times the recipe for a 3 layer 8" cake.
Best,
Chrystal
Josie
Could I use this for a 3 tiered cake?
chrystal
Yes, if you're using the recipe as written, you can use use 6" cake pans.
Best,
Chrystal
Meredith Wright
Hi how long do you bake for 6”?
chrystal
If you do a 6" cake you'll need to use 3 cake pans, otherwise the batter won't cook through. For 6" cakes, start with about 20-22 minutes and watch it for doneness from there.
Best,
Chrystal
Sandy
1 1/2 c sugar sounds like a lot of sugar. I would most likely cut down to 1 1/4 c. Maybe add 1/4 c unsweeteened applesauce and use 1 less egg as well. Have you or anyone tried this?
chrystal
Hi Sandy,
It's 1 1/2 for a double layer cake. Many cake recipes call for 2 cups for a double layer cake. If it's still too sweet you can certainly experiment with subbing in a little applesauce. A few readers have 🙂
Best,
Chrystal
Gail
We are sugar free. Could I use Stevia instead?
We don’t that flour in Australia. I have however made up gluten free with gluten free array of flours. Would it be able to rise?
chrystal
Hi Gail,
I haven't tried this recipe with stevia. For the flours, I'm not sure if they will work but your free to test them out. This recipe works well with blends that use rice flour, tapioca starch and potato starch.
Best,
Chrystal
Cheryl
Hi- would you recommend Avocado or Coconut oil if I don't want to use vegetable oil? Thank you!
chrystal
Both work great in this recipe.
Best,
Chrystal
cecilia pinto
Hi, perhaps I missed it but what is in "my flour blend" ?
Thanks very much,
chrystal
You can find my flour blend at https://www.glutenfreepalate.com/gluten-free-flours/
Best,
Chrystal
Robin Buettner
Hi. I want the cake to be as white as possible (no yellow from yolks). Can I make this cake with just egg whites? If so, does the quantity of eggs remain the same. I also plan to use clear vanilla.
Thank you.
chrystal
I would add 1 more egg worth of whites.
Best,
Chrystal
Paula Joukhadar
Can I use Robin Hood gluten free flour?
chrystal
Hi Paula,
Several readers have used the Robin Hood Gluten Free Flour blend with success. I haven't personally tried it myself.
Best,
Chrystal
sarah
Hi,
Is it okay to use an electric hand mixer? Also, do I just exclude the cocoa if I only want vanilla frosting? Thanks!
chrystal
Hi Sarah,
You can use an electric hand mixer and omit the cocoa in the frosting.
Best,
Chrystal
Anita
We didn’t have two round cake tins so used two 14x23cm rectangle glass pyrex dishes with the hope it’d work out. Also, my 6 year old son was keen to have a multicoloured cake so we divided the uncooked mixture into 4 bowls. We added a few drops of food colouring to each: one yellow, one green, one red and one blue. We then spooned these evenly into the dishes, trying to keep the colours separated. Guess what? It worked so well. I wish I could add a photo here of the rainbow colours! We levelled off the top, ready to tier the two takes with the frosting in-between and couldn’t help ourselves but taste the off-cuts. It certainly tastes delicious. Thanks for a wonderful gluten free cake.
chrystal
You are very welcome! I am so glad you liked it.
Best,
Chrystal
Samantha
It tasted amazing! I only had one cake pan so i cut everything by half and made a single layered cake. Next time I think i'll substitute the oil for butter. The chocolate frosting was delicious and my favorite part! I've never made frosting from scratch before this, so I was a bit worried, but it turned out great! You're definitely going to need more than 1/4 cup of milk to get the right texture by the way.
Kaddy
Hi there,
Is is fine if I use millet flour ? I don't have gluten-free all purpose flour.
chrystal
I haven't tried using only millet flour, I'm not sure it would work in this recipe.
Best,
Chrystal
Cintya
Hi, can I use Monk sugar instead of regular sugar with this recipe? I only have red Bob’s gf flour 🙁
chrystal
I haven't personally tried monk fruit sugar in this recipe. Bob's All Purpose doesn't work well in this recipe (the red bag) BUT Bob's 1-to-1 works wonderfully in this recipe.
Best,
Chrystal
Beth
Had anyone ever tried banana flour? My sister is celiac and I bought banana flour. Just curious how it would turn out?
chrystal
I haven't personally tried it but I've heard that it absorbs the wet ingredients differently.
Best,
Chrystal
Elizabeth
Ok, I made this cake with banana flour and you are right, the banana flour absorbed the liquid different. I ended up only needing half the amount of flour. It turned out pretty good and I used stevia instead of sugar.
Joyce komara
Would like to use Bundt pan will
this recipe work and what about baking time. I am a newbie gluten free person so need help.
Thank you, joyce
chrystal
Hi Joyce,
I haven't tried this recipe in a bundt pan yet. I do have a chocolate bundt cake that you could try.
Best,
Chrystal
Samantha
If I use one 9 inch round cake pan, how would I adjust the temp/time??
chrystal
Hi Samantha,
You'll need to cut the recipe in half for one 9" pan, otherwise it's too much batter. The temp is the same, but start with a bake time of 20 minutes, and watch it from there.
Best,
Chrystal
Amanda Doran
This was the BEST cake recipe for birthday boy needing GF. So so yummy. Will use it again for sure and I will check out your other recipes. Thanks for doing all the hard work testing different methods and ingredients.
Jessica
Hi - thank you SO much for the recipe- it’s the first success I’ve had with a gluten free vanilla cake! Delicious and a nice and fluffy crumb. I am using it for our wedding cake (in 7 days!) And of course bobs red mill 1-1 is sold out countrywide! (Australia) I’ve made one tier but need the next so I was planning on using your flour blend. But you have 2 - which would you recommend to be the most like BRM1-1 and also will I need to add Xanthum gum as I know his flour does have that included? I have also bought both sweet white rice flour and normal white rice flour- do you have a preference? To note, I couldnt find any tapioca flour but bought arrowroot instead, hope that will be ok? Thanks so much!
chrystal
Hi Jessica,
You are very welcome. If you made this cake and loved it, I recommend that you use the same flour when you make the wedding cake if you can get in it on time.
If not, for a wedding cake, I recommend my second blend. Yes, add xanthan gum, especially if making a wedding cake. It will help with stability. Normal rice flour will work best, I don't recommend sweet rice flour in this recipe as it absorbs more of the liquid ingredients, and arrowroot is a good sub for tapioca. I hope that helps.
Congrats on your upcoming wedding.
Best,
Chrystal
Shelly
Can I sub the vanilla extract for peppermint to make a peppermint cake?
chrystal
Yes, you can sub in peppermint 🙂
Beth Anderson
What is the difference with bake time between the 8-inch and 9-inch cake pan? Is it the same time? Guessing not but I wanted to ask. Thanks!
chrystal
An 8" pan will take a couple minutes longer to bake on average, because the batter is a little deeper.
Best,
Chrystal
Claire
This cake was sooo good!!!! I was so happy with how it came out and it tasted great. The pan I used was too deep so took awhile for the cake to bake but that was my fault and it still came out amazing! I found a really good gluten free blend just to be safe, as I agree not all blends are the same and some are pretty bad in comparison to others.