June is pride month so I decided to make a super-sized version of my red and green Italian vegan rainbow cookies previously only available in my holiday ebook. These are basically my peanut butter Tandy Cakes base cake recipe with some modifications and they’re really legit tasting. I’m from NY and grew up eating these so I consider myself a pretty good judge.
I’m not going to lie, these are a little bit of work, but are so worth it! There’s nothing too crazy complicated but baking the layers then assembling the cookies is a bit time consuming and may be a lot for a beginner vegan baker. I used 5×7.5 sized aluminum pans we bought on Amazon that are really drip trays for our Weber grill (check out my Amazon store at the end of the recipe if you want to buy these). They were the perfect size but you could double the recipe and use half sheet baking trays if desired. These are called cookies, but they’re really more like mini cakes in texture or petit fours. They’re layered with almond paste (it comes in a can, pack or tube) and apricot jam then frosted with chocolate and sprinkles. These have all the classic flavors of the bakery rainbow cookie but are completely vegan.
I used nonstick foil then sprayed it with cooking spray to make sure these would release. If using a traditional baking tray, you can use parchment paper (what I use for my Tandy cakes recipe). After they bake, you need to cool them completely then you’re going to stack them with rolled out almond paste and a thin layer of apricot (or seedless raspberry) jam in between each layer. I prefer the bitter edge of apricot jam but have had many a rainbow cookie made with raspberry as well.
You could just frost these cake layers in between and on top with a vanilla buttercream frosting if you want just a rainbow cake but I wanted these to taste like the traditional rainbow cookies. The cake is super moist and tasty so I imagine it would be great just as a regular layer cake. For the egg replacer, I’ve found a combination of aquafaba (the magical liquid from canned chickpeas) and Just Egg (the vegan egg substitute brand) to give these the perfect rise and texture. If you don’t have or don’t want to buy Just Egg, you can use all aquafaba but I would also add flaxmeal (see the notes at the bottom of the recipe) to give it a little more body. I do this often for baked goods. I don’t think these would work well with applesauce or another egg replacement (I’ve tried them all) so stick with the original recipe as I cannot promise good results otherwise.
You can choose whatever colors you’d like for these. I used vegetable based colorings but feel free to use other rainbow colors like purple or red. Since I only made four layers, I went with these colors to represent a rainbow. You could make these more pastel if desired in other color themes like shades of pink or blue for a baby shower or greens for St. Patrick’s day or oranges for Halloween. The possibilities are endless! If you don’t like almond paste or are allergic, you can certainly leave it out and just use the jam instead. The cake layers are almond flavored already but the paste really turns up the volume on the almond flavor and it’s what makes these so distinct. If you don’t like almond paste or are allergic to almonds, you can certainly leave it out and just use the jam instead but almond is the traditional flavor of these cookies.
I used vegan sprinkles which are available at some stores (just avoid ones made with confectioners glaze as that’s an insect byproduct) but I buy mine in a large container from Amazon. Again, you can find them in my Amazon store at the bottom of the recipe. You could also use non-pareil smaller sprinkles or even all chocolate sprinkles or none at all! A dusting of plain cocoa powder would also be good.
After assembling the layers, they need to chill the layers down completely (overnight is best) then you can trim the sides (I use a large serrated bread knife). I cut mine into the finished sizes before adding the chocolate top layer but you can also cut them after the chocolate has set. I hope you enjoy these! If you do try them, let me know how it went and leave a comment below! 🌈
Vegan Rainbow Cookie Cakes
25
minutesThis is an amazing recipe for a legit tasting rainbow cookie cake that’s completely vegan but tastes like it’s from a bakery!
Ingredients
- Cake
1 cup plain plant-based milk (I used unsweetened soy)
2 tablespoons vegan butter
6 tablespoons aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas), whisked slightly
6 tablespoons Just Egg (vegan egg)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
pinch of salt
2 cups vegan granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Food coloring (yellow, orange or red, green and blue or purple)
- Filling
1 pack almond paste (8 oz)
1/2 cup apricot jam
- Chocolate Topping
4 oz semisweet chocolate
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Add vegan butter to milk in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup and cook just until butter is melted about 30-40 seconds depending on your microwave. You don’t want it to boil. If you cook it too long, let it cool slightly before proceeding to the next step. You can also melt them together in a saucepan on the stove.
- Add dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk together. Then add the lightly whisked aquafaba, Just egg, extracts and lightly stir to incorporate. Add the milk/butter mixture to the bowl and mix. Don’t over-mix, just make sure everything is combined and the batter isn’t too lumpy. Divide batter into 4 equal parts (just over 1 cup each) and color with food coloring. I used a few drops of each coloring until I got the intensity I wanted.
- Pour each color of batter into a parchment paper lined or release foil lined and sprayed small baking or jelly roll pan and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean with no batter or crumbs on it. Cool completely.
- Roll out the almond paste between two layers of parchment or wax paper roughly the size of each layer. You’ll need three total so separate the paste into 3 equal parts. I used the bottom of the baking pan to roughly cut out the shape of the rolled almond paste so it was the right size. You can re-roll scraps together so you’ll have enough.
- Assembly
- Place a layer on the bottom of a lined pan and spread with a thin layer of apricot jam then add a layer of the almond paste (if any piece breaks, just place it back on). Repeat twice and top with the last layer. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for a few hours or preferably overnight.
- When ready to finish, melt the chocolate with the coconut oil in a double boiler or in the microwave until almost completely melted. I start with 30 second intervals in the microwave and remove when almost melted. Continuing to stir will melt it completely as you don’t want it to burn from over cooking.
- With an offset spatula or knife, spread the chocolate evenly over the top of the cookie cake and top with sprinkles if desired. Cool at room temperature completely until set then cut with a sharp knife into the sized pieces you’d like. Store leftovers in the fridge. Enjoy!
Notes
- I find a mixture of aquafaba and Just Egg the perfect egg replacement for these but you could use all aquafaba and add 2 tablespoons of flax meal.
- I like the mixture of semisweet and bittersweet chocolate in these but feel free to use all of one or the other.
- You can find almond paste in the baking section of a lot of supermarkets. Marzipan is a bit sweeter but will work as well if that’s all you can find. You can make it from scratch but why would you?
- I prefer apricot jam in these cookies but you could use a seedless raspberry jam too. I like the slight bitter edge of apricot and it’s what you’ll mostly find in the traditional bakery version of these cookies.
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