Vegan Mango Cake
Fluffy and soft vegan mango cake packed with fresh mango and lots of flavor! This easy cake uses less than 10 ingredients and comes together in one bowl.
Even though this mango cake is eggless, you don’t need any store-bought egg replacers, just like my strawberry cake and lemon blueberry cake.
Why you’ll love this cake
DIFFICULTY RATING: This mango cake is easy to make. All you need to do is puree the mango, mix the dry and wet ingredients in one bowl, then bake.
FLAVOR: This cake is bursting with mango flavor as we’re using 3-4 fresh mangoes or 2 cups of mango puree!
TEXTURE: Fluffy, soft and not dense at all. This cake is moister than a sponge cake but fluffier than a bundt cake, banana bread or mango bread.
Ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Ingredient notes
All-purpose / plain flour or even cake flour will create the fluffiest vegan mango cake.
Sugar preferably regular granulated sugar because we want the beautiful yellow/orange mango to shine through. Coconut sugar will work but will make the cake darker in color and denser.
Mangoes, either fresh, frozen or canned. Interestingly, pureed mango is a great egg replacer for this eggless cake.
Baking powder and soda. As this cake is PACKED with mangoes, I added more leavening agents to ensure the cake is fluffy. You won’t taste them at all.
Preparing vegan mango cake
First, add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk until there are no lumps. Then add all your wet ingredients (including your mango puree) and mix until combined.
The mango cake batter should have a consistency similar to a thick pourable pancake batter. The mixture can have some lumps, as long as they aren’t lumps of dry flour.
Baking the cake layers
The cake batter is thin enough that it’ll naturally flatten out after you pour it into your cake tins. If you have cake strips, I recommend using them for this cake.
The cake layers are ready when you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out mostly clean. This is a very moist cake so a few crumbs on your toothpick are fine – just make sure there’s no wet batter on it.
Decorating the cake
Dairy-free cream cheese frosting goes wonderfully with this vegan mango cake! Its tart flavor compliments the fruity notes and delicate flavors of the cake.
Cream cheese frosting tends to be a little soft so here are a few tips to overcome that:
- Add a little cornstarch. This absorbs the liquid in the cream cheese and makes a firmer frosting.
- Adding more powdered sugar. The more sugar we add, the more stable the frosting!
- Avoid overwhipping the frosting. Interestingly, when cream cheese is overwhipped, it can become too soft.
Alternatively, you can top your eggless mango cake with:
- American-style buttercream. Check out the notes in the recipe card for more detail
- Stabilized whipped cream, only if you make a one-layer cake. Whipped cream is VERY soft and will not always withhold a two-layer cake.
Customizing this recipe
I’ve tried reducing the sugar for this cake and the less sugar I used, the denser the cake. Sugar doesn’t only sweeten a cake but adds moisture and improves its texture.
My team and I have tested this cake with King Arthur’s measure for measure flour and it works beautifully! Other gluten-free flours will produce different results.
As this vegan mango cake contains a lot of fruit, it’s best to bake it in thin layers, such as in 8-inch cake pans or larger.
This recipe works in a bundt tin but the final cake is denser and you’ll have to back the cake for longer.
This cake works well as mango cupcakes or muffins! You can see how tall they rose on my Instagram. I’d recommend using the recipe below and baking it in a muffin pan. For a mango loaf, see my vegan mango bread recipe.
More Summery vegan desserts
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Vegan Mango Cake
Ingredients
Dry cake ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose plain flour, spoon and leveled (note 1)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt, (note 2)
Wet cake ingredients
- ~2 cups (480g) mango puree, approx 3-4 medium-size ripe mangoes (note 3)
- ⅔ cup (165g) dairy-free milk
- ½ cup (125g) neutral flavored oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, or white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream cheese frosting + decorations (note 4 for alternatives)
- 3 cups (300g) powdered sugar / icing sugar
- ½ cup (120g) vegan cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup (115g) vegan block butter, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons (20g) cornstarch / corn flour
- 3 tablespoons (45g) melted vegetable shortening or coconut oil, optional for a firmer frosting (use refined coconut oil for no coconut flavour)
- 1-2 mangoes, sliced or diced
Instructions
- Note: For the best results, I recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients. I tested the recipe using grams and it's the most consistent way to measure the flour and mango puree.
To make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease or line 2 x 8-inch (20 cm) round cake pans with parchment paper.
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix until there are no lumps. Add all the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix until there are no more pockets of flour.
- Divide the cake batter into the 2 cake tins. Bake the cakes in your oven for 25-30 minutes.
- The mango cakes are ready when you can insert a toothpick in their center and it comes out with no wet batter on it. As this is a very moist cake, a few crumbs on your toothpick are fine!
- Allow the cakes to cool in their cake pans tin for 10 minutes. Then remove the cakes to cool on a wire rack.
To make the cream cheese frosting:
- Add the powdered sugar, vegan cream cheese, butter and corn starch to a mixing bowl. Cream until combined and smooth.
- If using vegetable shortening or coconut oil, slowly pour the liquid into the bowl while mixing the frosting.
- Add more powdered sugar and/or coconut oil for a firmer frosting. Cream cheese frosting is normally quite soft but it can be thickened and stabilized with additional sugar.
- Chill the frosting until needed.
To assemble the cake:
- When the cakes have completely cooled, slice the dome of one of the cakes. Place that cake on a serving plate.
- If you chilled your buttercream, stir it a few times to make sure it’s smooth and soft. Spread or pipe around 1 cup of buttercream on the cake and place the remaining cake on top.
- Spread or pipe the remaining frosting on top and decorate with the remaining mangoes.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge until serving. If you used coconut oil in your cream cheese frosting, the cake will keep at room temperature for at least 1 hour on a 20°C (80°F) day. If you used vegetable shortening, it will keep for a little longer. However, if the temperature is any warmer, I'd recommend chilling the cake and letting it come to room temperature just 30 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- My team and I have tested this cake with King Arthur’s measure for measure flour and it works beautifully! Other gluten-free flours will produce different results.
- For extra flavor, you can add 1 teaspoon of cardamom powder to the dry ingredients.
- I got around 160g of mango flesh from 1 medium Kensington Pride mango. However, depending on the size of your mangoes, you may need less or more. This recipe also works well with frozen or canned mango.
- For a conventional buttercream, substitute the cream cheese with more vegan butter and add lemon juice to taste.
This post was originally published in January 2020 and updated in September 2021.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
What a wonderful recipe. Thank you anthea. I followed your recipe to the T and the cake turned out amazing.
Hi Tirtha, aw that’s just amazing!! I’m so happy you loved it. Thanks soo much for letting me know!
Thank you for this recipe! This cake has a lovely flavor and almost came out perfect, but… I used canned unsweetened mango and the cake came out too wet and thus a bit stodgy and a little oily. I suspect the canned mango was more liquid than fresh mango and perhaps had more water in it. I will try decreasing the amount of plant milk (I used almond milk) next time. Have you tried making this with vegan butter instead of oil?
Hi Susan, thanks for your feedback! That’s strange about the mango! Yes, I agree – I wonder if that particular brand of canned mango has more water in it (canned mango has worked for some other readers and myself, so perhaps it’s the brand). However, it’s a good idea to reduce the amount of plant milk next time! Or, do you have access to frozen mango? I haven’t tested this recipe with vegan butter but from experience, the cake will have more depth of flavor but will be denser and slightly drier. I hope that helps!
Hi, this looks delicious, I am planning on making this for a birthday. Could I incorporate passionfruit at all into the recipe within the wet ingredients at all (and if so how much?)
Hi Dhanesha, I haven’t tried this cake with passionfruit so I can’t say for certain. It might work if you replace some of the milk with the passionfruit, but you’ll need to test it out. Let me know how you go!
Thanks Anthea! Just another question, could I half the ingredients of this and make it in a 6 inch pan?
If you halve the recipe, it’ll fit 2 x 6″ pans. If you want to use just 1 x 6″ pan, you’ll need to divide the recipe by 3 (for a thicker and denser layer) or by 4 (for a shorter layer). Hope that helps!
Could I add shredded coconut to the batter? If so, how much would you recommend?
Hi Lauren, I haven’t tested this recipe with coconut but I think it’ll work well! I would pulse the coconut in a food processor before adding it otherwise it may be too coarse. And I’d add 1/2 cup (40g) of coconut. Hope that helps!
Looks delicious! Could I freeze the sponge (without frosting) to then decorate at a later date?
Hi Kajal, yes you can!
I made this recipe for a party a couple of days ago and it turned out great! I used canned mango pulp. So easy! Thank you!
Hi Dawn-Leah, I’m so glad that you enjoyed this cake!! Thanks so much for your lovely feedback 🙂
That’s the second recipe I made from your website and everyone was amazed by it. LOVE IT, please keep doing on what you do 🤍
Hi Gabrielle, aw that’s amazing!! Thank you sooo much for letting me know and for your support and encouraging words too!
Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe. I love cooking but I don’t ever bake. As my daughter always makes birthday cakes for the whole family, I decided to bake one for her on her birthday. I was looking for an easy, tested recipe. Your mango cake worked really well and was a big success! I will be definitely making it again and checking out your other recipes 🙂
Hi Magda, I’m thrilled that you and your family enjoyed this cake! And I’m honored that you chose to bake it for your daughter’s birthday too. I hope you enjoy any other recipes that you make from my website, and thanks so much for your feedback!
Hi,
Is there a way to make this without sugar? Eg, maple syrup instead?
Thanks!
Hi, you might be able to replace it with a granulated sugar replacer. Maple syrup may work, but you’ll need to reduce the milk a lot and the cake will be denser. Hope that helps!
Can we use this recipe for cupcakes?
Hi! I imagine so, but I haven’t tested it.
hello I am going to make this for my daughters birthday and I’m wondering have you had success using gluten-free ingredient
Hi Diane, I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but it may work with a high-quality gluten-free flour blend. If you’ve successfully used a brand of gf flour with an eggless/vegan recipe, it should work for this one. Hope that helps!
This is my go to recipe for birthday cake. I have used it for most of my family and it’s been made time and time again. I think that is testament to how delicious this cake is. Thank you!
Awww, I’m thrilled that this recipe has been a keeper for you! And I’m honoured that you’ve baked it for most of your family. Thanks sooo much for your feedback 🙂
Great recipe! How long do I bake if making as sheet cake?
Hi Shreya, it should take around 35-40 minutes to bake in a sheet pan. Hope that helps!
Do you think you could make this a mango rum cake? I made a mango rum cake years ago before I eliminated eggs and dairy. It was a crowd pleaser! How would you recommend incorporating rum into this recipe?
Hi Manda, I imagine it would work well! Try replacing 1/2 cup (125g) of the dairy-free milk with your rum of choice. I hope that helps :).
Hi Anthea, my son has asked this cake for his birthday. Can I replace the granulated sugar with coconut sugar? Many thanks, Alessia
Hi Alessia, yes it will work. Coconut sugar will just make your cake darker in color and slightly more moist. I hope that helps!
Absolutely amazing recipe! Oh my goodness this is a great cake! It’s moist and flavourful and has a lovely crumb. I used canned pureed mango which was pre-sweetened so I added slightly less sugar (150g rather than the full 200g) and it’s so yummy. I didn’t use the full can so I ended up pouring the leftover puree over individual slices when I served it. It just makes this cake so delicious. I also put cardamon in and it goes so nicely with the mango. Honestly one of my favourite cakes and I’ve made a lot in my life.
I’m thrilled that you loved this cake, Kris! I love that you added cardamon and that you drizzled the leftover puree over the individual slices. Thank you so so much for your kind feedback!
Absolutely delicious cake; moist, soft and flavorful. I made ginger icing, which went really with it!
That sounds delicious! Thanks so much for your review, Andie!
Hi! Thank you for this amazing recipe, cannot wait to try it. We don’t get to buy Vegan cream cheese where I live and Vegan butter is really expensive too. Can you suggest alternate options for the frosting by any chance please? Thank you!
Hi Neha! You could possibly try a cashew-based frosting (the only one I have is in my cookbook) or make a one-layered cake and top it with dairy-free whipped cream such as coconut cream. I hope that helps!