What I love about this one layer cake with chocolate buttercream
October is birthday month in our house. We celebrate three birthdays (everyone except for me), and this year we celebrated our son’s first birthday. It’s definitely been a memorable month. Even though it’s fun, it can be a bit overwhelming at times, so I’ve been trying to keep things pretty relaxed and avoid big birthday parties for as long as I can.
I know it’s just a matter of time before we will be having a ton of kids over to celebrate. But, even small birthday parties need cake, so I developed a quick and easy one layer cake recipe that makes just enough cake for a small gathering.
It’s also perfect for a bring-your-own dairy free dessert. One of my readers even brought it to a birthday party so her son didn’t have to miss out on the fun. And, that’s why I love this recipe. It’s super simple and I know it will be a dairy free favorite in no time.
I decided to go with a chocolate buttercream for this one since I already did a vanilla buttercream for my dairy free cupcakes last year. If you would prefer vanilla frosting, just make half of that recipe’s frosting.
Ingredient notes:
- All-purpose flour: If you want to make this cake gluten free, use a 1:1 gluten free all-purpose baking flour, like Bob’s Red Mill.
- Egg: If you want to make this recipe vegan or egg free, substitute a flax egg or vegan egg replacer product.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to make a one layer cake
Preheat and prepare your pan. Set your oven to 350˚F (180˚C), and spray your cake pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle a light coat of flour on the oil so that the batter won’t stick to the pan. If you have them, soak your even bake strips for later.
Mix your wet ingredients. With an electric mixer, beat the oil, cashew milk, sugar, vanilla and eggs together in a large mixing bowl until smooth. You can use a hand or stand mixer for this. You can even do it by hand if you want using a whisk, just make sure your really beat it for a while to get the eggs nice and fluffy.
Whisk in the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl, and continue beating until everything is smooth and combined. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and wrap the pan with even bake strips (if you have them).
Bake your one layer cake for 25 – 30 minutes. The cake will be done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool for at least 10 minutes before transferring it to a cooling rack. Let the cake cool completely before frosting it.
How to make the frosting
Use an electric mixer to beat the frosting ingredients together. Don’t put all of the powdered sugar in at once, though, or you’ll end up with a huge mess. I recommend adding it about 1/2 cup at a time and mixing it into the wet ingredients before moving on the next cup. Same goes for the dairy free milk, add about 2 tablespoons and go from there, adding it as you need it until the frosting is fluffy.
This recipe makes enough frosting to frost the sides of your one layer cake. I just chose not to because I like the way it looks more. I am also not a huge frosting person, so I don’t miss the extra.
Eggs are not dairy.
But, if you thought eggs were a dairy product, you are not alone. It’s common misconception that stems from the fact that eggs are sold in the dairy section at the grocery store and they usually need to be refrigerated, which is something we often associate with dairy. See more: Are eggs dairy free?
One Layer Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup dairy free milk, we used cashew
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening*
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 – 4 tablespoons dairy free milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚ and grease and flour a 8” or 9” round cake pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, milk, sugar, vanilla extract and eggs until smooth. Slowly whisk in the flour and baking powder until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Transfer to cake pan and bake for 25 – 30 minutes (an inserted toothpick should come out clean). Remove from oven and allow cake to cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or cake plate. Let cake cool completely before frosting.
- While the cake is baking, beat shortening, cocoa powder and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add salt and powdered sugar in about 1/2 cup increments until fully incorporated. Add milk until desired consistency has been reached.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
This is an uncomplicated recipe and the frosting is to die for!! We are not dairy free so used butter and milk for a delicious frosting with a great consistency. Thank you for my Birthday Cake! Wooo! Go #66.
Could you freeze the frosting? I have a lot left over
Yes, you can freeze the frosting if you have leftovers!