June seems to have become national birthday cake flavored everything month and I’m here for it. Not only is my own birthday in June but so are Mrs. BBV and my dogs birthdays. They don’t get cake though – sorry pups. Birthday cake, cake batter or funfetti flavor is what it’s often called and it’s really a bakery cake flavor to me or what I remember bakery cakes tasting like. It’s a complex mix of flavors and includes vanilla of course but the imitation variety is actually better than good vanilla (sorry Ina Garten!). Almond, orange, and imitation butter flavor extracts usually round out the rest of the flavor profile. You can buy pre-made cake batter flavor extracts at stores or online (some are natural, some artificial) and I’ll include some varieties in my Amazon store link at the bottom of the recipe.
This is a version of my popular classic vegan blondies but includes sprinkles (I buy vegan ones from Amazon and others at Whole Foods Market) and vegan white chocolate chips (Walmart has Great Value vegan white chocolate chips that are great!) instead of dark chocolate and nuts. They’re ridiculously good and you would think they’d be too sweet but they’re perfect. You could probably make these as cookies too but I haven’t tried that yet.
There’s a few things that are a little different from a standard cookie recipe that makes these blondies. One is you need to beat the wet ingredients well until they’re light and fluffy. There’s also a secret ingredient of 1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice. It seems weird but it makes the blondies super chewy, so don’t skip it!
I’ve been using Country Crock sticks lately for baking and they’ve been fantastic. Their texture is better than any other butter sticks I’ve used. I’m not getting paid to say it, I just like them!
Another unusual thing about these is that they’re baked in a lower temp oven. These also keep them chewy and tender. Resist the temptation to over-bake. Better to under-bake than over-bake.
To get perfect crisp edges, make sure to cool the blondies completely (preferably in the fridge) before cutting with a serrated knife. This will give you clean edges like mine. If your sides puff up, you can trim them off before cutting the rest. Some prefer the edges (like me!) and are the cook’s treat!
I use aquafaba + flaxmeal eggs with a lot of my baking recipes. You can certainly use water with flax but the liquid from canned chickpeas is magical stuff. It really helps mimic an egg when combined with flax so I suggest you try it. Cans of chickpeas are usually under $1 and I prefer unsalted varieties. I haven’t tried with other egg replacers but you could possibly use applesauce or a powdered replacer although I don’t think they’ll be as chewy. I hope you enjoy these because it’s always somebody’s birthday somewhere right?!
Birthday Cake Funfetti Vegan Blondies
12
servings15
minutes24
minutesThe best chewy vegan funfetti blondies that taste like cake batter!
Ingredients
1 cup vegan butter, softened (or two sticks)
3/4 cup plus one tablespoon vegan granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons finely ground flax meal
6 tablespoons aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas) or water
1 teaspoons vanilla extract (imitation is actually better)
1 teaspoon cake batter extract (see notes for substitutions)
1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 cup vegan sprinkles plus more to top
1/2 cup vegan white chocolate chips
Directions
- Whisk the flax meal into the aquafaba or water and set aside for five minutes to thicken.
- Cream the vegan butter, sugar and brown sugar in a bowl using a stand or hand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
- Add flax eggs, vanilla and lemon juice, blending with the mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour, rolled oats, baking soda, and salt, blending for about 45 seconds. Don’t overmix. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in sprinkles and white chocolate chips by hand.
- Preheat your oven to 300°. Grease a 13×9 baking pan and add the batter spreading evenly to all sides of the pan. I find an offset spatula does quick work of this. Too with some more chips and sprinkles if desired.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes until
just starting to brown and puff up. Don’t over-bake. Cool completely, then cut into squares. I trim the puffy edges off then cut neatly into squares but it’s not necessary.
Notes
- I find the combination of flax and aquafaba ideal as an egg substitute. You can use plain water with the flax as well.
- Cake batter extract can be hard to find (I have some in Amazon store in the link at the bottom of this recipe) so you can use all vanilla (imitation vanilla actually tastes more funfetti-like than pure vanilla) or make your own using 1/4 teaspoon each of almond, orange, coconut and imitation butter extract.
- Vegan white chocolate chips are getting easier to find. Walmart’s Great Value brand ones are actually my current favorite.
- Sprinkles that contain confectioners glaze are not vegan as the glaze is shellac sourced from insect shells so look for sprinkles that don’t contain that ingredient. Artificial colors have most likely been animal tested so buy ones containing natural colors if you want to avoid that.
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