Vegan Yellow Layer Cake
By America's Test KitchenPublished on February 29, 2020
Time
1¼ hours, plus 2 hours cooling
Yield
Serves 10 to 12
Ingredients
Before You Begin
We frost the cake with a classic: chocolate frosting.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, and grease parchment.
- Whisk oat milk, melted oil, and vanilla together in bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip aquafaba and cream of tartar on high speed until stiff foam that clings to whisk forms, 3 to 9 minutes; transfer to clean bowl.
- Return now-empty bowl to mixer and mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Gradually add milk mixture and continue to mix until just incorporated, about 15 seconds. Scrape down bowl and whisk attachment, then continue to whip on medium-low speed until smooth and fully incorporated, 10 to 15 seconds.
- Using rubber spatula, stir one-third of whipped aquafaba into batter to lighten, then gently fold in remaining aquafaba until no white streaks remain. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Bake until cakes are set and spring back when pressed lightly, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cakes cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, discard parchment, and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours.
- Line edges of cake platter with 4 strips of parchment to keep platter clean and place dab of frosting in center to anchor cake. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread 1½ cups frosting evenly over top, right to edge of cake. Top with second cake layer, press lightly to adhere, then spread remaining 2½ cups frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. To smooth frosting, run edge of offset spatula around cake sides and over top. Carefully remove parchment strips before serving.
Time
1¼ hours, plus 2 hours coolingYield
Serves 10 to 12Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
None of the ingredients that give yellow cake structure or lightness are vegan. And unlike with our Dark Chocolate Cupcakes, yellow layer cake features only mild vanilla notes; there's nowhere for off-flavors to hide. The vegan cake recipes we tried were far from cake-like: Tasters described one as a grease bomb, while another was foamy and anemic-gray. One had a candied exterior and a gelatinous interior. For a light, downy crumb, we turned to cake flour. Then, once again, we folded whipped aquafaba into our batter to create a fluffy treat with no off-flavors. To enhance fluffiness more, we baked the cake in a hot oven—400 degrees—to boost oven spring (the rise that baked goods experience when they hit the oven). And a lengthy baking time of 25 to 30 minutes helped dry out the layers just enough so there was no pastiness. Using oat milk in our batter further promoted browning thanks to its sugar content. Our cake was much improved, but without the supporting structure of eggs, it was delicate. To prevent slices from crumbling, we omitted baking soda, which makes batter alkaline, weakening the gluten structure and producing a porous crumb. To achieve adequate rise without it, we increased the baking powder to a whopping tablespoon.
Before You Begin
We frost the cake with a classic: chocolate frosting.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, and grease parchment.
- Whisk oat milk, melted oil, and vanilla together in bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip aquafaba and cream of tartar on high speed until stiff foam that clings to whisk forms, 3 to 9 minutes; transfer to clean bowl.
- Return now-empty bowl to mixer and mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Gradually add milk mixture and continue to mix until just incorporated, about 15 seconds. Scrape down bowl and whisk attachment, then continue to whip on medium-low speed until smooth and fully incorporated, 10 to 15 seconds.
- Using rubber spatula, stir one-third of whipped aquafaba into batter to lighten, then gently fold in remaining aquafaba until no white streaks remain. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Bake until cakes are set and spring back when pressed lightly, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cakes cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, discard parchment, and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours.
- Line edges of cake platter with 4 strips of parchment to keep platter clean and place dab of frosting in center to anchor cake. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread 1½ cups frosting evenly over top, right to edge of cake. Top with second cake layer, press lightly to adhere, then spread remaining 2½ cups frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. To smooth frosting, run edge of offset spatula around cake sides and over top. Carefully remove parchment strips before serving.
Gift This Recipe
Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.
Appears In
Key Equipment
Keep Exploring
0 Comments