No Added Sugar · From Scratch · Layers, Sheet Cake or Cupcakes
Sugar Free Vanilla Cake Recipe (Moist, Easy and From Scratch)
A soft, bakery-style vanilla cake with no added sugar, sweetened with a 1:1 sugar substitute and finished with sugar-free vanilla buttercream. Pick your sweetener, pan and frosting below.
- 50 minutes
- Serves 12
- 6-inch to 9×13
- Printable card
Two tender vanilla layers with sugar-free buttercream and fresh strawberries.
This sugar free vanilla cake recipe makes the kind of cake you would happily buy from a bakery: soft, buttery, full of vanilla, and sweet without a single gram of added sugar. It is made from scratch with everyday ingredients and a 1:1 sugar substitute, so it bakes just like a regular vanilla cake.
If you need an easy vanilla cake recipe with no sugar but still sweetened, this is it. It is an easy sugar free cake recipe from scratch, a simple sugar free cake recipe mixed in one bowl plus a jug, and it works as a sugarless vanilla cake recipe for birthdays, a no sugar vanilla cake recipe for weeknights, or the base for cupcakes and sheet cakes.
Below you will find which sweetener to use and how much, how it compares to a regular vanilla cake, pan sizes from a 6-inch cake to a 9×13 sheet, four sugar-free frostings, and dairy-free, low sugar and magic custard cake versions.
The Best Sugar Substitute for Vanilla Cake
Flour, butter, eggs, Greek yogurt, vanilla and a granulated 1:1 sweetener.
A vanilla cake has nowhere to hide an aftertaste, so the sweetener matters more here than in chocolate. They are not all used in the same amount. The amounts below replace 1¼ cups of sugar in a full batch. Tap the one you have:
Monk fruit and erythritol blend (our pick)
Use 1¼ cups. These blends measure cup-for-cup like sugar, so they drop straight into the recipe, and they are the easiest to find.
In a vanilla cake you may notice a faint cooling note from the erythritol. The buttercream and vanilla cover most of it.
Allulose (the softest crumb)
Use 1⅔ cups. Allulose is about 70% as sweet as sugar, so you need a little more. It makes the softest, moistest vanilla cake and has no aftertaste at all.
The catch: it browns faster. Bake at 325°F and allow 5 to 10 extra minutes.
Pure erythritol
Use 1⅔ cups. It is less sweet than sugar and has a more noticeable cooling taste, which shows more in vanilla than in chocolate.
Half erythritol and half allulose gives a cleaner flavor.
Stevia baking blends
Check the bag. Some stevia baking blends measure 1:1 like sugar; others are twice as sweet, so you would use about ⅝ cup. Follow the sugar equivalent on the label.
Liquid stevia drops do not work on their own: a cake needs the bulk of a granulated sweetener.
One to keep away from the dog. Xylitol also measures 1:1 like sugar, but it is extremely toxic to dogs, even in small amounts. If you have pets, choose one of the four above.
Easy Sugar Free Vanilla Cake Recipe
Choose your pan and the amounts and bake time on the card change to match. Metric weights are included for UK bakers.
Sugar Free Vanilla Cake
A soft, moist vanilla layer cake with no added sugar, sweetened with a 1:1 sugar substitute and finished with sugar-free vanilla buttercream. Choose your pan and the amounts and bake time change to match.
Choose your pan
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups (155 g)2½ cups (315 g)2½ cups (315 g)2½ cups (315 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1¼ tsp2½ tsp2½ tsp2½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp½ tsp½ tsp½ tsp baking soda
- a heaped ¼ tsp¾ tsp¾ tsp¾ tsp fine salt
- ¼ cup (57 g)½ cup (113 g)½ cup (113 g)½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tbsp + 2 tsp⅓ cup (80 ml)⅓ cup (80 ml)⅓ cup (80 ml) neutral oil
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp1¼ cups1¼ cups1¼ cups granulated monk fruit and erythritol sweetener (1:1 sugar replacement)
- 2444 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1½ tsp1 tbsp1 tbsp1 tbsp vanilla extract, or alcohol-free vanilla
- ½ cup (120 ml)1 cup (240 ml)1 cup (240 ml)1 cup (240 ml) whole milk, at room temperature
- ¼ cup½ cup½ cup½ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- ½ cup (113 g)1 cup (226 g)½ cup (113 g)1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups3 cups1½ cups3 cups powdered sugar-free sweetener
- 1–2 tbsp3–4 tbsp1–2 tbsp3–4 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp2 tsp1 tsp2 tsp vanilla extract, or alcohol-free vanilla
- a pinch salt
Instructions
Heat the oven and line the pans
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease your pans and line the bottoms with parchment, or line a muffin tin with paper cases.
Whisk the dry ingredients
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
Cream the butter and sweetener
Beat the butter, oil and sweetener on medium-high for 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Sugar-free sweeteners do not dissolve like sugar, so this beating is what traps the air that lifts the cake.
Add the eggs and vanilla
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Whisk the milk and yogurt together in a jug.
Alternate the dry and wet
On low speed, add a third of the flour mixture, then half the milk mixture, then flour, milk and the last of the flour. Stop as soon as the flour disappears.
Bake
Divide the batter between the pans and bake for the time on the card, until the tops spring back and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. The cake stays pale, so do not wait for it to brown. With allulose, bake at 325°F (165°C) and allow 5 to 10 minutes longer.
Cool completely
Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely. A 9×13 sheet cake can stay in its pan.
Make the frosting and finish
Beat the butter for 2 minutes, then beat in the powdered sweetener, salt and vanilla. Add the cream a spoonful at a time and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until fluffy. Fill and frost the layers, spread over the sheet cake, or pipe onto the cupcakes.
Roughly, per slice
Based on 12 slices of the two-layer 8-inch vanilla sugar-free cake with buttercream and a monk fruit and erythritol blend, not counting the sweetener.
This is an estimate, not a lab analysis. Sugar-free is not carb-free: the flour and milk still count.
How to Make a Sugar Free Vanilla Cake Moist and Fluffy
Most sugarless vanilla cakes come out dry or dense for two reasons: sugar was holding the moisture, and it was also helping trap air. These five things replace it.
A 1:1 sweetener
It replaces sugar cup for cup, so the cake is sweetened but has no added sugar, and the recipe works like the vanilla cake you know.
Butter plus oil
Butter gives the bakery-style vanilla flavor. A little oil keeps the crumb soft even when the cake is cold.
Greek yogurt
Sugar normally holds moisture in a cake. Yogurt takes over that job and makes the crumb tender.
Three minutes of creaming
Sugar-free sweeteners do not dissolve like sugar, so beating the butter and sweetener well is what traps air and lifts the cake.
A toothpick, not the color
Sugar-free cakes brown less. Test the center and take the cake out as soon as the toothpick is clean, or it will dry out.
Sugar Free vs. Regular Vanilla Cake: How They Compare
A soft, fine crumb, just a touch paler than a vanilla cake made with sugar.
Want to compare zero sugar vanilla cake to regular vanilla cake? Side by side, most people cannot tell them apart, but there are a few differences worth knowing:
| Sugar free vanilla cake | Regular vanilla cake | |
|---|---|---|
| Sweetness | Sugar free vanilla cakeSweet, with a faint cooling note from erythritol | Regular vanilla cakeSweet, clean |
| Crumb | Sugar free vanilla cakeSoft and tender, slightly tighter | Regular vanilla cakeSoft, light and springy |
| Color | Sugar free vanilla cakePale golden; browns less | Regular vanilla cakeGolden brown edges |
| Moisture | Sugar free vanilla cakeKept moist with oil and Greek yogurt | Regular vanilla cakeSugar holds the moisture |
| Added sugar per slice | Sugar free vanilla cake0 g | Regular vanilla cakeAbout 25–35 g in the cake alone, plus the frosting |
| Keeps | Sugar free vanilla cakeBest within 2 days; can firm in the fridge | Regular vanilla cakeStays soft for 3 days |
Pan Sizes: 6-Inch Cake, Layer Cake, Sheet Cake or Cupcakes
The same batter makes a 9×13 sheet cake for a crowd or 24 cupcakes.
Bake at 350°F (175°C, 160°C fan, gas mark 4), or 325°F with allulose, and start checking at the low end of the time.
| Pan | Batter | Bake time | Serves |
|---|---|---|---|
| PanTwo 6-inch rounds | BatterHalf batch | Bake time25–28 min | Serves6–8 |
| PanOne 8-inch round (single layer) | BatterHalf batch | Bake time30–34 min | Serves8 |
| Pan8×8-inch square (vanilla snack cake) | BatterHalf batch | Bake time28–32 min | Serves9 |
| PanTwo 8-inch rounds | BatterFull batch | Bake time28–32 min | Serves12 |
| PanTwo 9-inch rounds | BatterFull batch | Bake time25–30 min | Serves12–14 |
| Pan9×13-inch sheet cake | BatterFull batch | Bake time30–35 min | Serves12–15 |
| PanCupcakes | BatterFull batch | Bake time18–22 min | Serves24 |
Baking for a first birthday? Our sugar free smash cake is the little version for the guest of honor.
Sugar-Free Frosting for Vanilla Cake, Four Ways
Every one of these is made with a powdered sugar-free sweetener. Tap to choose:
Sugar-free vanilla buttercream
The one on the recipe card. Use a powdered sweetener, not granulated, or the frosting will be gritty. If yours is granulated, blitz it in a blender for 30 seconds.
Beat it for a full 2 to 3 minutes for a light, fluffy, pipeable frosting.
Sugar-free cream cheese frosting
Beat 8 oz softened cream cheese with ¼ cup softened butter until smooth, then add 1 cup powdered sugar-free sweetener and 1 tsp vanilla (or alcohol-free vanilla). Tangy, creamy and lovely with berries.
Our keto cream cheese frosting has a lower-carb version. Keep the frosted cake in the fridge.
Whipped cream frosting
Beat 4 oz softened cream cheese with ⅓ cup powdered sweetener, then slowly add 1½ cups cold heavy cream and whip to stiff peaks. Light, not too sweet and stable enough to pipe.
The classic filling for a sugar-free vanilla sponge with fresh strawberries.
Strawberry buttercream
Blitz ½ cup freeze-dried strawberries to a powder and beat it into the vanilla buttercream with an extra tablespoon of cream. Pretty pink, with real fruit flavor.
Freeze-dried fruit has a little natural sugar, under 1 g per slice here, so this version is no-added-sugar rather than strictly sugar-free.
Dairy-Free, Low Sugar, Sponge and Spice Cake Versions
Dairy-free
For a dairy and sugar free vanilla cake, use ⅔ cup neutral oil in place of the butter and oil, unsweetened almond or oat milk, and a dairy-free yogurt. Frost with buttercream made from plant-based butter.
Oil-free
For an easy, basic sugar-free, oil-free cake, leave out the oil and use ½ cup extra Greek yogurt. The cake is a little denser and firmer once chilled, but still soft and moist.
Low sugar (not sugar-free)
Prefer a super easy low sugar vanilla cake recipe from scratch with real sugar? Use ⅔ cup granulated sugar instead of the sweetener, about half the sugar of a typical vanilla cake. Bake a half batch in an 8×8 pan for a low sugar vanilla snack cake.
Less flour
Want an easy vanilla cake recipe using less sugar and flour? Make the sugar-free cake and replace ½ cup (63 g) of the flour with ½ cup (48 g) fine almond flour. The crumb is a little richer and more tender, with fewer carbs per slice.
Vanilla sponge (UK style)
How to make a sugar free vanilla sponge: bake a full batch in two 8-inch sandwich tins, then fill with whipped cream and sugar-free strawberry jam. Bake at 180°C, 160°C fan or gas mark 4.
Spice cake
To make a spice cake using zero sugar vanilla batter, add 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp nutmeg and ¼ tsp cloves to the dry ingredients, and frost with the cream cheese frosting.
Lemon vanilla
Rub the zest of 2 lemons into the sweetener before creaming, and add 2 tbsp lemon juice to the milk. Bright, fresh and perfect with berries.
Sugar Free Magic Vanilla Custard Cake
Same vanilla flavor, completely different cake. One very thin batter separates in the oven into three layers: dense custard on the bottom, a creamy custard middle and a light sponge on top. It is easy to make from scratch, and the only trick is folding in the egg whites gently.
Makes an 8×8-inch pan, 9 squares
- 4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated monk fruit and erythritol sweetener (1:1)
- 1 tbsp water
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- ¾ cup (95 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (480 ml) whole milk, lukewarm
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract, or alcohol-free vanilla
- a pinch of salt
- Heat the oven to 325°F (160°C) and line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment.
- Beat the egg whites with the salt to stiff peaks and set aside.
- Beat the yolks, sweetener and water for 2 minutes until pale. Beat in the melted butter, then the flour.
- On low speed, slowly pour in the milk and vanilla. The batter will be very thin; that is right.
- Fold in the egg whites in three additions, gently, leaving a few small lumps of white on top.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is golden and the center barely jiggles. Cool, then chill for at least 3 hours before cutting.
Use a monk fruit blend here, not allulose, which browns too fast over the long bake. Dust the squares with powdered sweetener to serve.
Storing and Freezing Sugar Free Vanilla Cake
| Where | How long | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| WhereRoom temperature | How longUp to 2 days | What to knowUnfrosted or with buttercream. Keep it covered so the edges do not dry. |
| WhereRefrigerator | How longUp to 5 days | What to knowAny cake with cream cheese or whipped cream frosting. Let slices sit out 30 minutes before eating. |
| WhereFreezer | How longUp to 3 months | What to knowWrap unfrosted layers or cupcakes tightly. Thaw in the fridge overnight. |
Why the frosting can turn crunchy in the fridge. Erythritol can recrystallize when it is cold. Let slices sit out for 30 minutes and it softens again, or make the frosting with powdered allulose, which stays smooth.
Save the pin so the sweetener amounts and pan chart are there for the next birthday.
Sugar Free Vanilla Cake FAQs
Can you make a vanilla cake without sugar?
Yes. A granulated sugar substitute, such as a monk fruit and erythritol blend, replaces the sugar cup for cup, so the cake is still sweet with no added sugar. Oil and Greek yogurt keep it moist, since sugar normally holds the moisture in a cake.
How do you make a sugar free vanilla cake moist?
Use butter plus a little oil, add Greek yogurt or sour cream, cream the butter and sweetener for a full 3 minutes, and do not overbake. Take the cake out as soon as a toothpick in the center comes out clean, because sugar-free cakes do not brown enough to judge by color.
What is the best sugar substitute for vanilla cake?
A 1:1 monk fruit and erythritol blend is the easiest. Allulose gives the softest crumb and no aftertaste, but browns faster, so bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Stevia baking blends work if you follow the sugar equivalent on the bag.
How does sugar free vanilla cake compare to regular vanilla cake?
It is just as sweet and soft, with a slightly tighter crumb and a paler color, because sugar-free sweeteners do not brown like sugar. It has no added sugar, compared with about 25 to 35 grams in a slice of a typical vanilla cake before frosting, and it is best eaten within 2 days.
Is sugar free vanilla cake okay for diabetics?
This cake has no added sugar, but sugar-free does not mean carb-free. The flour and milk still add carbohydrates, roughly 21 grams per slice by our estimate. For an easy vanilla cake recipe using less sugar and flour for diabetics, try the less-flour variation above. Portion size matters, and anyone managing diabetes should check with their doctor or dietitian about how a slice fits their plan.
Can I make a dairy and sugar free vanilla cake?
Yes. Replace the butter and oil with two-thirds of a cup of neutral oil, use unsweetened almond or oat milk and a dairy-free yogurt, and make the frosting with plant-based butter and a splash of coconut cream.
Can I make a 6-inch sugar free vanilla cake?
Yes. A half batch fills two 6-inch round pans. Bake them at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 28 minutes and use half the buttercream to fill and frost. It serves 6 to 8.
Can I make sugar free vanilla cupcakes with this recipe?
Yes. A full batch makes 24 cupcakes. Fill the liners about three-quarters full and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean, then pipe the buttercream on top.
Why is my sugar free cake dry?
It was most likely overbaked, because sugar-free cakes stay pale and look underdone when they are ready. Measuring too much flour is the other usual cause. Spoon the flour into the cup and level it, or weigh it, and start checking 5 minutes early.
Why does my sugar-free frosting taste gritty?
It was made with granulated sweetener. Use a powdered sweetener, or blend the granulated kind for 30 seconds until it is fine as dust. Erythritol can also recrystallize in the fridge, so serve the cake at room temperature.
Can I use almond flour in this vanilla cake?
Only partly. Replacing half a cup of the all-purpose flour with half a cup of fine almond flour works well and lowers the carbs a little. Swapping all of it does not, because almond flour has no gluten and needs a recipe built for it. For a gluten-free version, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum, in the same amount.
Can you freeze sugar free vanilla cake?
Yes. Wrap unfrosted layers or cupcakes tightly and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge overnight, then frost and serve at room temperature.
Related Reads
More sugar free vanilla desserts, cakes and frostings from our kitchen.
Sugar Free Chocolate Cake
The rich, moist chocolate version, with three sugar-free frostings. Get the recipe → CelebrationsSugar Free Birthday Cake
A party-ready layer cake in vanilla or chocolate. Plan the party → Classic BakesSugar Free Yellow Cake
Buttery, golden and perfect with chocolate frosting. Bake it next → Loaf CakeSugar Free Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Dense, buttery slices for coffee time. See the recipe → FrostingKeto Cream Cheese Frosting
Silky, tangy and only 1 g net carbs. Whip it up → First BirthdaySugar Free Smash Cake
A little cake for the littlest guest of honor. Read the recipe →A 1:1 sweetener, butter plus a little oil, Greek yogurt, three minutes of creaming and a toothpick test instead of the color. That is how to make a sugar free vanilla cake that tastes like the real thing.
Pin this sugar free vanilla cake recipe so it is ready for the next birthday or Sunday treat.
