Vegan (and accidentally vegan) cake mixes to make your life easier!

If you’ve got a child with dairy or egg allergies, then you probably find yourself having to do more baking than most. Vegan (and accidentally vegan) cake mixes could be just what you need to make that part of life a little easier! Below you’ll find a list of cake mixes, along with information on what dairy and egg switches will give the best results. 

As well as vegan options, I’ve also included some gluten free cake mixes and even a top 14 allergen free cake mix by Creative Nature. I’m also pleased to share a Creative Nature discount code for Allergy Mums Clubbers!

This post contains affiliate links, where I may earn from qualifying purchases, but you will not be charged a penny more. I only ever recommend products I would buy myself! Affiliate links are marked with *. Thanks for supporting the website x

Vegan cake mix can help make life easier!

Before having kids with allergies, I could count on one hand how many cakes I had made. I was much more inclined to grab one from the shop. But finding a suitable shop bought cake is not so easy when you have multiple dietary requirements to consider.

When your child has allergies you don’t just need to provide cake for their birthday! There’s also other children’s birthday parties, school & nursery bake sales, street parties, family get togethers… any time when you can’t rely on there being a safe option for your child, you end up having to take your own so they don’t feel left out. 

It’s easy to get caught off guard every now and then with all of this going on. I’m sure we’ve all had nursery or school bake sales sneak up on us, or a class party only remembered the day before!! This is where using a vegan cake mix can come in really handy. They are so quick to make, and use ingredients you can easily keep in the cupboard for emergencies.

Making a cake using a packet mix can also double up as a child friendly activity. Fewer ingredients than making from scratch = less mess! 

How to make cake mix vegan or dairy free

Over the last few years more vegan cake mixes have started appearing on the market. There are also many ’accidentally vegan’ cake mixes that can be made vegan or dairy free with the right switches. There are two methods for this.

The first is the fizzy drink hack! This is so easy, it just requires you to add a carbonated drink such as lemonade or fizzy water to the mix. Nothing else! For a 425g Betty Crocker mix, people tend to add around 300ml fizzy drink. I go through this method in more detail in my post about the easy hack to make Betty Crocker cake mix without eggs. 

The second option is to make direct switches for any dairy and/or egg that is needed.

Use dairy free spread instead of butter; I favour Pure Olive. If block butter is specified then Stork baking block is a good option. Milk can be switched for the same amount of plant based milk. Go for an unsweetened and calcium fortified option – every little helps! I find that mild tasting plant based milks work best; our favourites are oat or almond. 

Finally, for eggs the most reliable option for a cake mix is an egg replacer product, such as Orgran. This allows you to easily replace the amount needed like for like.

Whichever switch you go for, make sure you always carefully check ingredients, including may contain warnings, to make sure they are suitable for your family’s dietary requirements.

Can vegan cake be frozen?

Yes, it absolutely can. This can really be helpful, as you can make one cake, slice it up and then freeze. You can just take individual slices out as needed; one bit of effort will have gone a long way. Simply get a slice out in the morning and it will be defrosted by party time!

Which cake mixes can be made vegan or dairy free?

The following cake mixes are either labelled as vegan or give specific instructions about how to make their cake without dairy or egg. Many of these options are also gluten free:

Creative Nature

Use THEALLERGYMUMSCLUB10 for 10% off orders from their website*!

Mixes available: Chocolate cake*, banana bread, carrot cake loaf, chocolate chip muffins, brownies.

Allergy information: All Creative Nature products are completely free from all the top 14 allergens. That means no dairy, egg, soya, nuts or gluten.

Orgran

Mixes available: Vanilla cake, chocolate cake.

Allergy information: Free from dairy, egg, gluten, nuts & peanuts.

Supergood

Mixes available: Soft and squidgy choc cake mix, banana bread. 

Allergy information: Free from dairy, egg, soya and gluten. Manufactured in a factory that handles nuts.

Free and Easy

Mixes available:  Carrot cake, chocolate cake, sponge cake, coffee cake.

Allergy information: Dairy, gluten, wheat, nut and soya free.

YesYouCan

Mixes available: Vanilla cupcakes, chocolate mud cake mix, red velvet cupcakes, banana bread.

Allergy information: All mixes state clearly which allergens they are free from, but they vary from product to product, so best to check individually. Most are free from dairy, egg, and gluten. Some are free from nuts and soya.

Accidentally vegan cake mixes:

The following are some of the ‘accidentally vegan’ options available. To make these vegan you will need to use dairy and egg substitutes as described above. Some do have may contain warnings for milk and egg, so always double check whether they are suitable for your family:

• Betty Crocker* (a range of flavours, including devil’s food, vanilla, chocolate fudge, red velvet. Plus, gluten free options)
• Sainsbury’s chocolate sponge mix 
• Sainsbury’s sweet sponge mix 
• Tesco chocolate sponge mix 
• Tesco Victoria sponge mix 
• Morrisons chocolate mix
• Morrisons lemon drizzle

Helpful equipment

Whichever mix you use, these items of equipment will come in handy:

• A large mixing bowl
• A hand mixer; I use my trusty Kenwood*
• A good springform cake tin* 
• Most cake mixes can also be made as cupcakes. I use these reusable silicone cases* in a cupcake tray.

Vegan cake decoration ideas

For cake decoration inspiration I recommend you check out this gallery of real life cake ideas shared by other allergy parents. No professional level skills required, just fun and tasty ideas! Everything is, at minimum, free from dairy, egg and soy, But there are many gluten and nut free ideas as well. Two examples are pictured above; a top 14 allergen free snail cake made for Finley, and a dairy, egg & nut free free digger cake made for Theo!

Happy baking! 

You may also be interested in:

• Top tips for a successful vegan bake
• The best birthday cake recipes for kids with dairy and egg allergies
• How to make a dairy and egg free chocolate overload cake
• Easy & delicious allergen free cookie sandwiches