How to Make Healthy Vanilla Cake

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This Healthy Vanilla cake is delicately sweet, moist, with crunchy edges. Such a comforting something-something for after dinner, elevenses or even as a dainty afternoon tea.

Why You’ll Love Healthy Vanilla Cake:

• It’s healthy – refined sugar free, dairy free and egg free, this healthy vanilla cake is suitable for all kinds of intolerances! It’s also make with sourdough discard, which brings the added benefit of fermentation.
• It’s delicious – light, fluffy, moist, and vanilla-y, this cake is a yummy snack that tastes like a treat! Have your cake and eat it too, with a clear conscience!
• It’s easy to make – using only one bowl, all you have to do is bung all the ingredients in and bake. The only thing you have to decide is whether to ferment the batter.
• It’s cheap to make – this cake uses nothing irregular or out-of-the-ordinary. You’ll probably have all the ingredients in your pantry already!

Healthy Vanilla Cake Ingredients

The first thing you will want to know is: Is this vanilla cake actually healthy? How is it healthy? Well, I’ll tell you!

• Flour – you can use normal white flour or oat flour in this recipe. If I use white flour, I will normally ferment the batter for 7 hours, just to break down the anti nutrients. If using oat flour, simply sub in ground oats on a 1:1 ratio for white flour. So for this recipe, I will use 3 cups of ground oats to replace the 3 cups of white flour. If I’m using oat flour, I skip the fermenting of the cake batter, since oat flour is not as processed as refined white flour.
• Sourdough starter – yes, this is another Sourdough Cake! The sourdough starter in this recipe tenderises the cake crumb and helps to break down the anti nutrients in the flour through fermentation (if you do that step).
• Water
• Oil – used instead of butter, the oil gives a moister, more succulent cake which is safe for those with dairy intolerances! Oil also makes this cake last longer.
• Sugar (or Truvia) – I normally use Truvia in my cake recipes, to keep them low in calories and refined sweetness. The Truvia works just as well! If using sugar, you will need about 2 cups for this large cake.
• Vinegar – just a couple of tablespoons to activate the baking agents!
• Both Baking powder and Baking soda are needed in this large cake. They make it light, fluffy and tall.
• Salt – just a teaspoon is needed. Do not skip this – it rounds out the sweetness and makes the flavours sing.
• Vanilla essence: You really want the vanilla flavour to shine, so do not skimp on the essence. I use a couple of tablespoons, and it definitely isn’t too much!

Making Healthy Vanilla Cake

The Night Before

If you are wanting to ferment the cake batter, or wanting to save time later on, you can start this batter the night before. Since it contains no dairy or eggs, it is safe to leave on the countertop to rest.

To make the pre-fermented cake batter, combine the flour, discard, oil and water. Mix until a dough forms. Knead it until there are no dry bits of flour left.

Cover and leave at room temperature for overnight (I always try to ferment for a minimum of 7 hours to fully break down the flour).

The Next Morning

When you want to bake the cake, you need to allow time for the oven to heat up. Allow about 45 minutes or so. Preheat the oven to 170 Celsius and line a 22cm cake tin with baking paper.

While the oven is heating up, add the rest of the ingredients to the fermented flour mixture, and fold through till thoroughly incorporated. If you are having trouble, use a stick blender to make it smooth.

Pour into the lined cake tin, and bake at 170 Celsius for about one hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Leave to cool completely before Icing.

Healthy Vanilla Cake Frosting Ideas

For a vanilla cake, the star of the show is always going to be the frosting you decide to pile on top.

Vanilla is such a subtle flavour, so a vanilla cake is always going to take a back seat to whatever icing you choose.

The great thing is, because vanilla is so versatile, it can go perfectly with so many flavours. It will lend itself perfectly to zingy, fruity flavours; such as lemon, raspberry or passionfruit. Or, if you wanted to be a bit more decadent, vanilla cake will also be the perfect vehicle for coffee, caramel, or chocolate buttercream.

Just get your creative juices flowing!

I used my favourite Vegan Chocolate Mousse Frosting

I opted for a chocolate mousse frosting for this Vanilla cake. I love the richness of the chocolate, which takes this light vanilla cake to a whole new level.

Plus, don’t the dark layers of frosting look so striking against the pale vanilla cake?

This cake was a delight to look at as well as to eat.

For the chocolate ganache frosting, I used my favourite 2 ingredient mousse recipe, which I have used to top my favourite Black Doris Plum Cheesecake. This frosting is super easy to make and doesn’t require you to buy or whip up cream and eggs, as like classic mousse recipes.

Slice the Cake in half and pipe the frosting onto the bottom layer. Put the top half of the cake, and pipe the rest of the mousse on.

The mousse will set more firmly in the fridge. Try to allow about 3 hours before slicing into the cake, so that you get those clean layers.

Things you should know about this Healthy Vanilla Cake

Is this cake Vegan?

If you haven’t noticed already, this cake is dairy-free and egg-free! So it is really cheap to make and is safe for those with sensitivities to eat.

Can this cake be Sugar Free?

If you sub Truvia in for sugar, this cake will be super healthy, since Truvia is a healthy sweetener. Truvia is about 3 times as sweet as regular white sugar, so you only need to use about 2/3 cup in this recipe. I actually use Truvia more often than not, and it makes equally delicious cakes!

How long does this cake take to cook?

Make sure you keep an eye on the cake in the oven, as not all ovens are created equal! Yours could run hotter or colder than mine. Check it after the 40 minute mark and make a judgment call about how much longer it needs.

How large is this cake?

This cake makes a decent 22cm sized cake. It is fairly large, and can be carefully sliced into three to create an impressive layer cake.

How long does this cake last?

Because of the oil, this cake stores really well in the fridge without drying out. It will last about four days in there. It is a lovely, moist cake, spongy and deliciously sweet.