Take Any Cake Mix and Make it Vegan

Baking a vegan cake doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t even need to make it from scratch. Many boxed cake mixes are already plant-based so all you have to do is swap out the eggs and dairy for a few vegan substitutes. So, you've already got your vegan cake mix! What's next?  There are a number of ways to sub out eggs in a recipe including tofu, applesauce or bananas. Not to mention, plant-based milks are readily available.

 The first thing you need to do is remove the dairy.

When you’re baking a cake there are two dairy products you need to look out for: milk and butter. Luckily, there are a number of milk substitutes including coconut, almond and oat. 

 If you’re worried about the added flavour that almond or coconut milks brings to baking, you should try soy or oat-based milks. Their flavour is more subtle and they mimic the creaminess you get with cow’s milk. Meanwhile, if you want to add a bit of flavour or sweetness to your cake, you should try coconut. 

Not all boxed cakes call for butter. When you’re picking up a box of vanilla cake mix from the supermarket you can search for ones that don’t call for butter. On the other hand, if you just have to have a certain brand of devils food cake, you can swap out the butter for oil or shortening. 

Next you need to replace the eggs.

 Eggs are a bit trickier to replace as commercial vegan eggs are less popular in grocery stores and you have to consider what the egg is doing for the recipe. However, that doesn't mean there aren't a number of ways you can replace eggs in a recipe.

 For example, if you want to replace one egg, you can try: 

1/4 cup of applesauce

1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 tablespoon white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)

Half a banana 

1/4 Cup of silken tofu

1/4 Cup of soy (or other vegan) yogurt

A Short List of  Vegan Cake Mix Options

Since most boxed cakes require that you add eggs, milk and butter after, most major brands such as Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker are already vegan! 

• Duncan Hines Decadent Carrot
• Duncan Hines Red Velvet
• Betty Crocker Super Moist French Vanilla
• Betty Crocker German Chocolate

Many Frostings are also accidentally vegan!

• Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate
• Betty Crocker Whipped Fluffy White
• Duncan Hines Whipped Frosting
• Betty Crocker Whipped Whipped Cream

Visit Leaves in store or online to and pick up a carton plant-based milk (including coconut, macadamia, almond and oat!) Leaves also carries matcha or maca powder!