Soft, moist and lightly sweet yeast cake is easy and light dessert that you can quickly whip up using your favorite spring or summer fruit.
There is something magical about baking with yeast! I love to watch how the dough grows before baking – it is so satisfying.
This vegan yeast cake is so easy that even if you have zero experience in baking it will turn out just great.
Why Easy Vegan Yeast Cake is so great?
- very easy to bake even if you have zero experience with baking
- no fancy ingredients – you probably have everything needed in your pantry
- budget friendly
- easily adjusted to what you have at hand
- dairy-free, egg-free and fat-free
- easily adapted to other flavor versions

Ingredients in Easy Vegan Yeast Cake
To prepare this Vegan Yeast Cake very basic ingredients are needed. Most likely you have everything at hand already. The recipe is also quite flexible.
FLOUR
I mixed all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, as I like to keep things on a little healthier side.
You can easily make this cake with only white all-purpose flour for more fluffy effect, or go for all whole wheat flour for healthier, but more heavy option. If you choose to use only whole flour you need to add few table spoons water more, as it absorbs moisture more than all-purpose flour.
ROLLED OATS
Any type of oats will work well in this recipe. If you do not have oats just use 4 table spoons of flour more.
Have you tried Chocolate Chip Banana Bars and Easy Vegan Cookies already?
BROWN SUGAR (OR LIGHT BROWN SUGAR)
I like to use brown sugar in my baking. Any of the versions of brown sugar: Demerara, brown or light brown sugar will be fine. Here’s a useful vegan guide about which sugar or sweetener to use.

PLANT BASED MILK
You can use any milk you like in this yeast cake recipe. I like to use vanilla flavored soy milk, for this additional vanilla punch that works perfectly with strawberries.
Other plant based milk types I used in this recipe include almond, regular soy milk, even coconut milk. I told you the recipe is very flexible 🙂
YEAST
I always use active dry yeast or instant yeast in baking as they are so much easier than fresh yeast. You just mix instant yeast into your flour add rest of ingredients and wait for the dough to raise. Even baking ‘virgins’ will find it super easy.
FRUIT or NUTS
You can use any fresh fruits that you like. My recommendation of a yeast cake of this type is: strawberries (yum!), raspberries, cherries, apples or pears.
Traditionally the fruits are only placed on the top in this type of cake. I like to mix some fruit inside the dough and put some more on top as a decoration. You can try both ways and choose what you like.
If it’s winter and you don’t have any beautiful fresh fruit at hand feel free to use chopped dry fruit and nuts. You will find all my favorite flavor combinations in additional tips under the recipe.
Simple Vegan Yeast Cake is moist, fluffy and lightly sweet.
Easy Vegan Yeast Cake
Course: DessertCuisine: EuropeanDifficulty: Easy10
servings1
hour45
minutes1
hour45
minutesSoft, moist and lightly sweet yeast cake is an easy and light dessert that you can quickly whip up using your favorite spring or summer fruit.
Ingredients
- DRY
450g flour (2 and 3/4 cups) – I used 1 and 3/4 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp rolled oats
1 packet (10g) instant yeast
1 tsp salt
packet of vanilla sugar (optional)
- WET
450ml soy milk (I used vanilla flavored)
- ADDITIONS
1 cup chopped strawberries + 2-3 for decoration
1/3 cup pecan nuts for decoration
Directions
- Measure flour and put it in the bowl. Add instant yeast and whisk well.
- Add the rest of dry ingredients: oats, salt, sugar and vanilla sugar if you use it. Mix well.
- If you plan to add fruit inside the cake mix them in now.
- Heat plant based milk in a microwave or on a stove just a little bit. It should be lightly warm, never hot, as this may kill the yeast.
- Line baking loaf tray with baking paper.
- Add warm milk to dry ingredients and mix well with spatula just until the dough forms and you no longer see dry flour.
- Place your dough in a baking tray. It should take maximum half or the tray height. Wait at least 1 hour for the dough to raise – it should double the size.
- Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F.
- Bake vegan yeast cake in 180°C / 350°F for 45 minutes. Check with the toothpick if the dough isn’t wet.
Notes
- Usually I start by mixing flour with instant yeast only and whisk them well. This way I make sure yeast are evenly distributed, before I add the rest of dry ingredients.
- Few factors can affect how the dough raises. The colder it is in your kitchen the longer it will take for the cake to raise. We can help it by warming milk up. You can use room temperature milk too it’s very warm at your home.
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OTHER VARIATIONS OF EASY VEGAN YEAST CAKE
My favorite version includes strawberries and (optional) pecan nuts. What else can we add to our yeast cake?
- 1 cup pitted cherries plus some almonds
- apples or pears sprinkled with cinnamon
- 1 cup redcurrants
- winter version: raisins & cranberries, chopped dates and figs plus chopped walnuts
Baking with instant yeast is easy! Try also:

How to make Vegan Yeast Cake
MIX FLOUR AND YEAST
I like to start with only 2 of my dry ingredients, the most important ones: flour and yeast. Using instant yeast is super easy, but you want to make sure they are well mixed with the flour.
Measure your flour and place it in a large bowl, add yeast and whisk well until combined.
ADD OTHER DRY INGREDIENTS
Add oats, salt, sugar and vanilla sugar (if using) and whisk them well.
ADD FRUIT
If you want to add fruit into the dough chop them and mix thoroughly with dry ingredients.
If you add them only on top of your cake omit this step.

ADD WET INGREDIENTS
I recommend warming the milk up in a microwave or on a stove, but be careful not to make it hot. Warm milk makes the yeast do their raising job faster, but hot milk may kill them.
Mix the milk into the dry ingredients until you no longer see the dry flour. The dough will be more wet than regular yeast dough, it won’t be possible to knead it. And there is no need.
PLACE DOUGH IN BAKING TRAY
Line your tray with baking paper. You can use loaf tray or a round cake tray.
Place your dough in the tray, it should take not more than half the height. Smooth out the surface of your yeast dough using wet spoon (round side).

Decorate top of the cake with strawberries and anything you like. I love baked pecan nuts, so I very often add them to cakes as a decoration. They taste amazing and become soft after some time in the oven.

LEAVE FOR RAISING
I don’t cover the dough with anything. Just leave the tray on the counter top and wait until the yeast do their magic. It may take 1 hour, but if it’s cold in your apartment it may as well take longer time.
When you see the dough doubled it’s volume it is ready for baking.
Don’t forget about it as the yeast will keep working and the dough may get out of the tray and go for a walk 🙂

BAKE YOUR YEAST CAKE
Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F. When your oven is ready and your cake raised till the edge of the tray it is time for baking. Bake yeast cake for 45 minutes. Every oven is different, so you may do the toothpick test after 40 minutes.
If you’re new to vegan baking here’s a handy guide with useful tips for beginner vegan baker.
COOL THE CAKE DOWN
Good luck with that!
Yeast cake smells amazing, and it’s really difficult to wait for it to cool down before grabbing a slice. My hubby likes the warm cake best.
You can decorate your cake with icing sugar. Enjoy!

How to store easy vegan Yeast Cake?
Yeast cake is best eaten fresh. If you store it in an air tight container it will stay moist for 2 days, but after that it dries out. It is still edible, but not so soft and delicate anymore.
If it’s hot outside and you want to store it more than 2 days, it is best to keep it in the fridge.
Let me know how did you like Easy Vegan Yeast Cake! What fruit did you bake it with? Please share the recipe on Pinterest and Yummly!
