Hey everyone! We’re back on the basics today with a simple vegan recipe that you can twist and turn into anything you want!
When I started looking into vegan pound cake recipes, I didn’t find a lot of options that really fit what I wanted here. I want to give you guys basic recipes that you can easily make at high-altitude, but also simple, workable recipes on other diets.
How to Make Vegan Pound Cake
The recipe is super easy to pull together. We’re starting by beating together some vegan butter and sugar. Then add in the blended tofu and vanilla extract, and finally add in your dry ingredients alternating with the almond milk until both mixtures are added. You should have a fairly smooth batter to spread into your baking pan.
As you know, I’ve been messing around a little bit with vegan baking recently, and make a vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe that you’ll absolutely love. But cakes are a whole new beast for vegan high altitude baking you guys.
In cakes, one of the most important ingredients is the eggs. and when we’re talking about egg replacements, it’s really important to get something that makes sense for cakes. So today, we’re using silken tofu.
And listen, I’m not a tofu person. But, unlike soaked chia seeds (another egg replacement option), silken tofu keeps a smooth, creamy texture and it blends really well into cake batter. And otherwise, we’re using vegan butter baking sticks, which work REALLY well for a substitute for butter.
I think replacing milk in a recipe is probably the easiest part. I’m using vanilla almond milk, but really you can use any dairy-free milk that you prefer!
So, here’s what we’ve got: A dense crumb, lightly flavored, VERY dairy-tasting pound cake without any of those products. It’s impressive, and you can switch it up any way you’d like. You could bake the batter into cake layers and stack them with frosting. You can bake them in a tube pan like I did, or a bundt pan, or in two loaf pans.
You can also definitely add goodies in here. Remember though, it’s just like a normal cake batter, and if you add in anything, you’ll want to dust it with flour first to avoid ingredients sinking to the bottom of the cake.
I’d suggest chopped berries, crushed Oreos, chocolate chips, or even brownie chunks! You can also add different extracts for flavor, like almond or orange or lemon. And you can even fold in some crushed freeze-dried berries for a fun twist!
Tips & Tricks for Vegan Pound Cake
I’ve got some tips and tricks to help you bake this cake!
- Can I bake this in any bundt pan instead of a tube pan? Yes, you can use a bundt pan, but it’s a pretty big cake so I’d go for a large bundt that is 10-12 cups.
- Do I really need to blend the tofu? I find that if you don’t blend it, it doesn’t mix as well into the batter and you end up with a ton of lumps, so I do recommend giving it a quick blend!
- Be sure to grease your pan well, as with most tube or bundt cake recipes, you want to generously grease your pan to ensure the cake doesn’t stick!
- Can I use vegan butter from a tub instead of sticks? I definitely recommend vegan butter that comes in stick-form. Tub butter is made to be a bit softer, and it can alter the texture and result of the cake!
- Can I sub out other non-dairy milk options? Yes, absolutely. I am using unsweetened vanilla almond milk in mine, but you can use any unsweetened non-dairy milk option that you prefer. Soy, almond, and oat milks are all great choices.
- How do I adjust this recipe for sea level? I live at a high-altitude, so I cannot test recipes at sea level. However, to adjust this recipe for sea level, I would recommend trying to increase the baking powder to 1 tsp, decrease the flour by 1/2 cup, and decrease the almond milk by 2-3 tbs.
- I live at about 5,000 ft above sea level, and I find that most people who live between 3,000 ft and 7,000 ft above sea level do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.
This is a versatile recipe you guys, I hope you enjoy it!
Vegan Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 cups vegan butter
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups silken tofu, blended until completely smooth
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup vanilla almond milk
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and generously grease a 10-12 cup tube or bundt pan. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat together the vegan butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the blended tofu and vanilla extract, and beat until combined. The mixture may be lumpy.
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Add in about a third of the flour mixture, and beat to combine. Then add in about half the almond milk, and stir to combine. Repeat until you’ve used all of the flour mixture and milk. Beat for several more minutes until the batter is smooth.
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Spread into your prepared pan. Bake for 65-70 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool and enjoy plain or with coconut whipped cream or vegan frosting!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
Hello,
Can this recipe be made into cupcakes? Also can you convert the tofu into how any ounces instead of cups. I am having a little trouble.
Hi Leasha! I haven't tried this recipe as cupcakes but it should work well. The baking time will decrease fairly significantly- I would check them at about 25 minutes with a cake tester. For the tofu, eight ounces is one cup, so 12 ounces should be perfect.
Need to know if vegan pound cake be cooked in bundt pan
Yes, go for a 10 or 12 cup bundt pan!
This looks incredible! If I wanted to try and convert this to a sheet cake (thinking of making petit fours) what cook time am I looking at?
Thank you!
Hi there! It would be significantly less, I would suggest checking it at about half the time, and go until a cake tester comes out clean!
Did you use vegan butter sticks?
Hi there! Yes, I prefer the avocado oil based options because they are usually a little less overpowering with the butter 'flavor'
Hi – I've been looking for a vegan pound cake recipe and this one looks DELICIOUS, the texture looks spot on too. I just had a quick question, is the 1/2 tsp baking powder correct? It just seems like small amount for over 4 cups of flour. Thanks!
Hi Elizabeth! That is the correct amount, yes. Pound cake often has less baking powder than normal cakes, which helps create the dense texture, and at high altitude, I also reduce the leavening in cakes to help prevent an over-rise and then fall in the oven. Thanks!! I hope it goes well!!
Does this store at room temperature or need to be stored in the fridge?
Hi there! Room temp works well.
Can this be made into a chocolate vegan pound cake? How much dry cocoa do you suggest I add? Do I remove that amount from the total amount of flour?
Hi Maria- yes, I would replace 1/3 cup of the flour with dark cocoa powder
Hello!
How would the measurements differ if NOT baking high altitude? Thanks!
Hi Courtney! It's a bit tough for me to adjust that way as I can't test recipes at sea-level. I would suggest reducing the flour by 1/4 cup, increasing the baking powder to 1 tsp, and using about 2 tbs less almond milk. I think that will help it at sea level! Thanks!!
Thank you, i'll try that!
@Courtnney, have you tried this recipe using the sea level adjustments yet? If so, how did it work for you?
This pound cake looks really good. But I only want to make it for one (me). If I cut the recipe in half, what would be a good temperature and time in order to make it in a loaf pan?
Hi there! I would still bake at 350, and I would start checking the loaf cake at about 40 minutes and go from there!
The only way I can think to describe the texture of the cake is miraculous – it is SO soft and fluffy, but somehow still dense, too (just the way a pound cake should be!). I baked it at sea level and the only change that I made was to up the baking powder to 1tsp. Will be baking this again (and again and again!), thank you!
So glad to hear it!! I love this one too!
I made this for Mother's Day, and it came out amazing! I used 1 tsp of baking powder since I am at sea-level, and I didn't blend up the silken tofu before blending it into the butter and sugar mixture (can't be bothered lol). I used a Bundt pan, and I would recommend greasing and flouring it to prevent it from sticking to the pan. Make sure you let it cool completely before taking it out of the pan too.
Highly recommend this recipe! This will be my go-to whenever I make pound cake.
Hi! This pound cake looks amazing! I'm hoping to make it this weekend and was wondering if you used sweetened or unsweetened vanilla almond milk? Thank you!! 🙂
Hi there! I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk here! You can also use unsweetened regular almond milk, and just add a touch more vanilla extract to replace it.
Thank you so much for the fast response! Very excited to try this!
Hello, can I use the vegan butter that comes in the tub instead of sticks?
I would recommend using the sticks- typically butter in the tub is a bit softer to make it easier to spread, and so the texture can be affected.
Hello
This cake looks good. How long do you cool before removing from the pan? Thanks
Hi there! I like to let the cake cool in the pan for about 20-25 minutes before removing it- However if you're using a decorative bundt pan instead of a more straight-sided tube pan like I did, you may want to go around 15 minutes for easier removal.
Hello! I’m wanting to make this recipe in a silicon mini Bundt pan (makes six minis). Would this work out well and what do you suggest as baking time and temp if so?
Hi there- you can make this in the mini bundts, but it will likely be enough batter for 2-3 batches of the minis- they hold less batter collectively than a standard bundt pan (at least my mini pan does!). I would suggest that you start checking them around 25-30 minutes and see where you're at from there!
Hi there. This cake looks amazing and I would love to try it. However, I know nothing about high altitude/sea levels. I just Googled for my area and it said my elevation is 59 feet. Do you think I need to make any adjustments in the ingredients?