Basic Eggless Vanilla Cake Recipe | Egg-free Baking | Vanilla Cake without eggs

A basic vanilla cake is a canvas, to paint your imagination.  A basic vanilla cake is a like your marble stone, to carve and sculpt with your vision.  You can add different flavors to your vanilla cake batter, or divide batter to add different colors to each portion to bake into a colorful cake.  You can fill your basic vanilla cake layers with numerous kinds of fillings, and decorate it with various kinds of frostings.  There's so much you can do.

In this post, I will share with you one of the recipes to bake your own egg-free homemade vanilla cake from scratch along with an FAQ on possible mistakes, substitutions, and suggestions.

Baking is a science, you have always heard.  For me, baking is a lot about logic and concepts too.  If it weren't for that, so many variations and new recipes couldn't have been created if someone hadn't tried a different ingredient or a different proportion.  Such as, replacing eggs in a vanilla cake.  Some use the gooey flax meal as an egg substitute, some people use the milk and acidic agent combination, some use yogurt, some use condensed milk, and so on.  The ultimate aim is to create a spongy vanilla cake.  An eggless version may not totally replicate the texture of a cake with eggs, but it can create something close.  In this recipe, you will use yogurt.

Eggless Vanilla Cake Recipe
Makes one 8-9 inch layer

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ tsp salt

½ cup plain yogurt

1 cup powdered sugar

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ cup oil or unsalted butter, melted

2 tsp vanilla extract

Milk as required (to adjust consistency)

Prep: Grease your 8 or 9” pan with oil or butter & dust with flour.  I like to place a parchment paper in the bottom, avoid risking cake sticking to the pan.  Preheat oven when you are ready.
Here's a post on basic bakewares and tools for beginners.

In a small bowl sift the flour + salt together.

In a medium bowl, mix yogurt + powdered sugar with a whisk.  Add baking powder + baking soda in it and mix.  If you see bubbles forming and mixture rising, that’s exactly what’s supposed to happen.

Add oil/melted butter + vanilla extract, mix.

Gradually add flour to this curd mixture and mix gently.  Add milk as required to make the cake batter of dropping consistency.

Pour vanilla cake batter in prepared pan.  Bake in preheated oven on the middle rack at 180C/350F for 35-40 minutes.  Everyone’s ovens are different, so do your toothpick test in the center of the cake at 30 minutes.  If the toothpick comes out clean, transfer your pan onto a cooling rack for few minutes then invert pan and let cake cool on the rack.

Your vanilla cake should be a beautiful golden-brown color on all sides.  Let the cake cool for couple of hours before you cover it with frosting and adorn it with beautiful patterns.

Enjoy your perfectly baked, spongy, and egg-free vanilla cake.

                                      FAQ                                      

answering your questions, one at a time.

[Q1] What do you mean 8 or 9 inch pan?  Why not just one pan size?

One, because some 8 or 9 inch pans have a 1.5 inch depth, some may have 2 inch depth.  Two, the quantity in this recipe makes enough batter to fill an 9 inch pan halfway and 8 inch pan a little more.  That’s exactly how much batter you should put in your pan if you want your cake to rise – halfway or just a little more.  I have seen people putting too little or too much batter in comparison to their pan size, and their cake layers baking too thin and dense, or rising too high and batter pouring out.

[Q2] I don’t have powdered sugar at home.  Can I replace it with regular white granulated sugar?

Yes and no.  Yes: you can replace it for the sweetness.  But no: it will not give you the same results!

[Q3] Can I halve this recipe to make a smaller cake?

Yes.  You can halve this recipe to make a single 6 inch cake layer.  Or you can use this recipe to make two 6 inch cake layers by baking in two 6 inch pans simultaneously.

[Q4] I don’t have baking powder.  Or I don’t have baking soda.  Can I substitute one with another?  Or can I skip one or the other?

NO!

[Q5] Will this cake have an aftertaste of yogurt?  Can I replace yogurt with something else?

Aftertaste - not at all.  Yes, you can replace a plain homemade yogurt with Greek yogurt or sour cream.  But remember, each one has a different consistency, so if you are expert enough to understand how to adjust your batter, then you can go ahead and replace it.

[Q6] Why is the salt added?  Does it matter?  Can I skip it?

Salt is added so that it can cut out a little of the sweetness.  It does not matter if you skip it or forget it, but will be better if you add it.

[Q7] I have salted butter at home, can I use it instead?

Well, if you don’t have an option, go ahead and use it, skip the extra salt from recipe.

[Q8] I just made the batter but need to rush off for some work, can I refrigerate it or bake after I return in an hour?

Yes and no.  Yes, you can still bake the vanilla cake batter after refrigeration or after 2 hours, but it will NOT be spongy.  While a batter with primarily double acting baking powder can be left out for some time before baking, a batter with baking soda needs to be put into oven soon after mixing.

[Q9]  What does double acting baking powder mean?

Double acting = the baking powder first reacts in contact with a liquid to rise, then reacts with heat in the oven to rise.

[Q10] Will the cake have an aftertaste or a smell of oil?

No, unless you use an oil that has strong flavor or smell.  I use canola oil in baking.

[Q11] Can I use vanilla essence instead of vanilla extract?

Yes, you can interchange.  Vanilla extract is pure and expensive, but also has a small percentage of alcohol (in case you were not aware of that).  Vanilla essence is imitation and cheap and does not have alcohol.  I only use vanilla extract and would recommend only that.  A friend of mine who does not eat or drink anything that has any amount of alcohol uses vanilla essence.

[Q12]  Can I substitute or replace all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour / ragi flour / semolina flour / x flour / y flour / z flour?

Yes you can, but do not expect same results for a perfect vanilla cake (or even remotely good results unless you understand how different flours need different changes in different recipes).

[Q13] I don’t have plain yogurt, can I use regular curd?
           I don’t have all-purpose flour at home, can I use ‘maida’?
           I don’t have baking soda, can I use sodium bicarbonate?

Yogurt = curd.  All-purpose flour ≈ maida.  Baking soda = sodium bicarbonate.

[Q14] I don’t have measuring cups, can you tell me the quantity in grams?

That’s what Google is here for darlin'.

[Q15] My cake became dense or hard.  I saw my cake rise but then it sank.  My cake is not moist and spongy.  Where did I go wrong?

There are several reasons why a recipe that works for one may not work for you.  It’s hard to pinpoint one factor that might affect your cake, but these are some: (a) over-mixing the batter, (b) baking after the suggested amount of time, (c) leaving hot cake in the hot pan for too long, (d) incorrect measurement of baking powder or baking soda, (e) too much or insufficient liquid in the batter, (f) baking soda or baking powder not fresh, (g) opening the oven door too early or too often, and more!

[Q16] I am not sure if my baking powder and baking soda are fresh.  How can I tell?

Baking Powder Freshness Test: Add some baking powder (let’s say ½ tsp) into some hot water (say ¼ cup).  If it bubbles right away, it is good enough.

Baking Soda Freshness Test: Add some baking soda (let’s say ¼ tsp) into some vinegar or lemon juice (say 1 tsp).  If it fizzes and hisses right away, it is good enough.  If not, use this baking soda to clean your sink and bathtub and buy a new one for baking.

[Q17] I did everything correctly but still my vanilla cake did not turn out good!
Remember, as much as it is about the ingredients, it is about the procedure.  Understand the concepts and try until you make yours perfect.  

Looking for an egg-free chocolate cake recipe?  This is a vegan chocolate cake.  This is an eggless chocolate cake using yogurt.  This is a chocolate pudding cake.  These are some egg-free chocolate cupcakes.

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