Vegan wedding cakes (recipes and sustainable bakers)
A wedding cake can be a centrepiece, a shared treat and a memorable part of your celebration. Choosing a vegan wedding cake is one way to make that moment more inclusive, while a zero-waste approach helps avoid plastic packaging.
This vanilla wedding cake (The Vegan 8) is quite complicated, but a fun challenge if you’re a baker!
A sustainable cake does not have to look rustic or compromise on flavour. It can be elegant, colourful, traditional or completely unconventional. The key is to plan early, speak clearly with your baker and make decisions that fit your priorities.
- Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets.
- Before recycling cans, rinse then remove lids (pop ring-pulls over holes). Then step on upper cans to ‘pinch’ inner rims together, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.
- Unless you have a food waste bin citrus scraps, acids could harm compost creatures.
Allergens need careful attention. Common allergens in vegan baking include soya, nuts, wheat and sesame. Tell your baker about guest requirements as early as possible.
What makes a wedding cake vegan?
A vegan cake is made without animal-derived ingredients. That means no eggs, butter, milk, cream, honey or gelatine. Instead, bakers use plant-based ingredients to create structure, moisture, flavour and decoration.
Common substitutions include:
- Plant-based milk, such as oat, soya, almond or coconut milk
- Vegan butter or vegetable oil (with no palm oil)
- Aquafaba, the liquid from cooked chickpeas, as an egg-white alternative
- Ground flaxseed or chia seeds, mixed with water, to help bind a mixture
- Apple purée, mashed banana or yoghurt alternatives to add moisture
- Plant-based cream, made from ingredients such as coconut, soya or oats
- Agar-agar or pectin instead of gelatine in suitable fillings and decorations
The right choice depends on the recipe. A light sponge, a dense chocolate cake and a fruit-filled layer cake each need different ingredients and techniques. An experienced vegan baker will know how to balance them so the cake holds its shape, tastes delicious and can be transported safely.
It is also worth checking decorative ingredients. Some food colourings, sprinkles, chocolates and edible decorations may contain animal-derived ingredients. If vegan certification matters to you, ask your baker to confirm the ingredients used in both the cake and its finishing details.
What does zero waste mean for a wedding cake?
For a wedding cake, that may include:
- Ordering a realistic quantity of cake
- Choosing ingredients and decorations carefully
- Avoiding unnecessary single-use packaging
- Reusing or hiring cake stands and display equipment
- Planning how leftovers will be stored or shared
- Selecting decorations that can be eaten, composted or reused
- Coordinating delivery to avoid damage and replacement cake
A practical approach is more useful than aiming for perfection. Food safety, venue rules and transport requirements still matter. The aim is to make considered choices that work in real circumstances.
Start with the guest list and serving plan
The most effective way to reduce cake waste is to order the right amount. Begin with your guest list, then consider how the cake will be served. Will every guest receive a slice? Will there also be other desserts? Is the cake being served after a full meal, or is it the main sweet treat?
Ask your baker how many portions each size and shape will provide. A tall, narrow tiered cake may look substantial but serve fewer people than expected. Conversely, a large display cake may leave you with far more than you need.
A useful plan might include:
- Estimate the number of guests likely to want cake. Not everyone will necessarily have a slice, particularly if there is a dessert table.
- Choose the portion size. Wedding cake slices are often smaller
- Decide what happens to any surplus. Arrange takeaway boxes, a family gathering or a donation option where appropriate.
- Confirm the final number with your baker. They can advise on portions
Make a vegan wedding cake from a recipe book
One way to get around huge prices for custom-made wedding cakes, is simply to make a nice vegan cake recipe that could be used at a wedding!
This lemon rum cake is from the fab book Simply Vegan Baking.
This pistachio lime and raspberry cake is from the book Va Va Voom Vegan Cakes.
Try recipes in Decadent Vegan Cakes
Pick a cake style that suits your wedding
A zero-waste cake can take many forms. The best option is one that suits your venue, guest numbers, serving plan and personal style.
A classic tiered cake
A tiered cake offers a traditional focal point and can be decorated to match your wedding. You might choose different flavours for each tier, such as lemon and elderflower, chocolate and raspberry, or vanilla with seasonal fruit. Ask whether the tiers can be made in flavours that suit a wide range of guests.
A smaller cutting cake with extra desserts
A modest cake can be paired with vegan brownies, tarts, cookies or mini cupcakes. This gives guests a choice and can make portion planning easier. It may also help you avoid ordering one oversized cake to serve a varied crowd.
A naked or semi-naked cake!
Naked and semi-naked cakes show some of the sponge through the icing. They can use less outer frosting than a fully covered design, although the difference depends on the recipe and finish.
A dessert table
A dessert table can work well for relaxed celebrations or guests with different tastes. It might include a small cake, slices, cookies and fruit-based desserts.
Make decorations reusable or edible
Decorations can have a big effect on how a cake looks, but they can also create waste. Before ordering plastic toppers, disposable supports or elaborate decorations, consider what will happen to them after the wedding.
Choose edible decorations
Fresh fruit, suitable edible flowers, chocolate curls and piped icing can all create a striking finish. Check that flowers are grown for edible use and have not been treated with unsuitable chemicals.
Reuse or borrow a cake topper
A wooden, metal or ceramic topper can be kept as a memento, passed on or reused.
Ask about cake supports
Tiered cakes usually need internal supports for stability. These may be food-safe materials that can be cleaned and reused, or components that need to be discarded.
Reduce packaging and delivery waste
Cake delivery needs to protect the cake, so packaging should never be reduced at the expense of food safety or a damaged order. Still, you can ask what packaging is necessary and whether any of it can be returned, reused or recycled.
Questions to ask include:
- Can the delivery boxes be collected after the cake is set up?
- Are reusable transport crates available?
- Can the baker deliver directly to the venue rather than making several trips?
- Will the cake be assembled on site to reduce transport risks?
- Can the venue provide a stand or display equipment?
- Are cake boards recyclable or reusable?
Plan for leftovers before the wedding
Even a carefully sized cake may leave leftovers. Decide in advance how they will be handled, rather than leaving the decision until the end of a busy evening.
You could:
- Ask the venue to pack slices for guests
- Provide recyclable or reusable takeaway containers
- Send portions home with family and friends
- Arrange a next-day gathering
- Store remaining cake safely for later
- Ask a local organisation whether it can accept suitable surplus food
Do not assume a venue or charity can accept leftover cake. Food-safety rules, storage conditions and donation policies vary. Check in advance, and make sure the cake can be kept at a safe temperature until collected.
Ruby’s of London (luxury vegan wedding cakes)
Ruby’s of London is known for her delicious vegan cupcakes and doughnuts (with delivery through London and another shop in Tonbridge Wells). These are expensive but designed to rival the top bakers, and they are made with natural ingredients and no palm oil. Book her wedding cakes well in advance!
You can order a sample box of cupcakes, try out all the flavours:
- Vanilla strawberry
- Pistachio rose
- Lemon raspberry poppy seed
- Red velvet (beetroot chocolate)
- Chocolate salted caramel
- Classic carrot cake
Ruby also offers petal cupcake favours, and petal cupcake towers!
