The Ultimate Vegan Funfetti Cake

My birthday is in June and after years of trying to perfect a vegan funfetti cake, I finally made one that rivals any bakery or non-vegan version! I know calling something the “ultimate” recipe is bragging but I’ve tried most if not all of the popular vegan recipes out there and nothing compares to mine. There’s a few reasons for that which I’ll explain in depth in a minute but this cake has it all. Perfect texture, sublime funfetti flavor and tons of sprinkles!!!

Like I said earlier, I’ve road tested just about every vegan recipe out there and they all came up short for me. They either didn’t have the right texture, or flavor and were just disappointing. I’ve been baking since I was a kid and I remembered a book I bought when it came out in the late 80s called “The Cake Bible” by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I made so many cakes (all in my pre-vegan days) from this book and I recalled she had an unusual method of incorporating ingredients and I went to my bookshelf to grab my well worn copy and started reading the recipes again. Yep, she had written about a revolutionary method of adding the fat to the dry ingredients FIRST before adding the liquid ingredients. It’s come to be known as the “reverse creaming” method and it guarantees a moist cake with an incredible texture. It’s a method used in commercial bakeries although they usually use vegetable shortening and not oil like I am in my recipe.

Why does reverse creaming work? Well, it coats the flour with fat preventing it from absorbing moisture and creating gluten resulting in a more tender lighter cake. The traditional method is to cream butter and sugar, add eggs then the dry ingredients usually alternating with milk. Using this method, you run the risk of over-beating the batter and creating a tough cake. Add the fact that we’re not using eggs because this is a vegan recipe (they add tenderness) then it’s difficult to make a really good cake with a fine crumb unless you’re an experienced baker and know just how much to mix the batter. With this method, you can’t over-mix the batter no matter how much you try!

Another amazing benefit of reverse creaming is that everything is mixed in one bowl. You really should use a stand or hand mixer for this but you could mix it by hand with a whisk. The dry ingredients are all blended together first to break up any lumps and then the oil is added with some vegan sour cream (for tenderness) and some of the vegan milk then mixed completely. Then you add the rest of the milk which we’re adding some lemon juice into for some lift from the acid and then the magical extracts. More about those after the photo jump.

What gives cake that magical funfetti flavor? Two options: cake batter flavor extract or clear imitation vanilla. I know, I know, Ina Garten only uses “good” vanilla but that just won’t give the cake that bakery flavor. Cake batter extract (I use McCormick brand) is what I prefer. It does color the cake a slight yellow but that’s fine. I grew up using Duncan Hines yellow cake mix and it replicates that flavor. Clear imitation vanilla is also another solid choice and it’s what I like to use in the frosting. I’ll add the extracts to my Amazon store (link at the bottom of the recipe) and the vegan sprinkles I use. More about sprinkles after the jump.

So vegan sprinkles. Wait, what? All sprinkles aren’t vegan? They’re just sugar right you might ask? Wrong. Most are made with confectioners glaze which has shellac in it derived from insects and colors can also be questionable. Vegan sprinkles are available online at some retailers (both Kroger and Whole Foods Market sell their own private label versions) but they’re usually way more pastel than their traditional bright intensely vibrant counterparts and tend to dissolve more into the batter. No judging If you use regular sprinkles but for a truly vegan cake you may have to forgo the fireworks in the cake itself and just be satisfied with a ton of them on the outside!

I tested this cake made with vegetable shortening, vegan butter and oil and oil was the clear winner. It was the moistest of the options as it’s pure fat which excels in the reverse creaming method as opposed to vegan butter which contains some water. For the frosting however I prefer a mix of vegan butter and shortening as it creates the lightest most bakery-like flavor. It’s what I’ve been using since my neighbor taught me how to make it like that when I was young. She would actually beat heavy cream until it became butter which was crazy now in hindsight. I had dreams of becoming a pastry chef so I know a thing or two about baking but they were sidelined by other creative pursuits. I’m finally getting to it though!

So why is my recipe the best?

• No special egg replacers!
• Reverse creaming method guarantees success!
• True funfetti flavor in every bite!
• Made in one bowl!
• Perfect texture and taste!

I hope you enjoy this cake for special occasions, events or just on a Tuesday because you’re worth it!

The Ultimate Vegan Funfetti Cake

Recipe by Kreg

4.8 from 12 votes

Cuisine: Dessert

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

The BEST hands down vegan funfetti cake on the planet! Prove me wrong.

Ingredients

• Funfetti Cake

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 1 1/2 cups vegan cane sugar

• 1/4 cup cornstarch

• 1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1 cup plain vegetable oil

• 1/3 cup vegan sour cream

• 1 tablespoon cake batter flavoring or clear imitation vanilla

• 1 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 1/2 cups vegan milk

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 cup vegan rainbow sprinkles plus more to decorate cake

• Funfetti Frosting

• 1 cup vegan butter at room temperature

• 3/4 cup vegetable shortening

• 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

• 1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt (this generally is called a “pinch”)

• 2 teaspoons clear imitation vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 tablespoon vegan milk

Directions

• Funfetti Cake
• Prepare your baking pans and preheat the oven to 350°. I used three 6-inch cake pans for three layers but 8-inch pans are traditional and the most common size but only make two layers. You’ll need to line the bottom on the pan with a round of parchment paper. It’s not 100% necessary but makes the cake release much easier. I usually place the pan into the parchment paper then trace around the bottom with a pencil. I then cut out the rounds. Spray or butter the pans then place a parchment round in the bottom of each pan. Spray or butter again and then add a tablespoon of flour to each pan and shake it around the pan to coat the bottom and sides. Tap out any excess flour in the sink or over a garbage can.

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• Mix dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using a hand mixer to combine and aerate for a minute. If mixing by hand, use a whisk. Add the oil, 1/3 cup vegan sour cream and 1/2 cup vegan milk and mix until combined on low speed. Scrape down bowl then continue to mix on medium speed for 1 minute.
• Mix the lemon juice into the remaining 1 cup milk and let it sit for a minute. Add the extracts and whisk to combine. Slowly add the remaining liquid to the mixture in the bowl on low speed then scrape the bowl down and mix for two minutes to combine. The great thing about this is because we use the reverse creaming method you can’t overmix this and make the batter tough because we coated all the flour with fat. Fold in the 1/2 cup sprinkles by hand just until combined. Don’t use the mixer to combine the sprinkles as it will break them up too much. Just fold them in until just combined.
• Evenly distribute the batter in the pans and bake for 35-45 minutes depending on your pan size but don’t over-bake. You can look up recommendations for baking times for different sized pans. Everyone’s oven is also different and baking times can vary. I have a convection oven for example and my cakes cook quicker. Cakes are done when a cake tester or tooth pick comes out clean. This website lists baking times for different sized pans but like I said, testing before they should be done is always advised so you don’t over-bake your cakes. Let them cool for about 15 minutes then turn them out into a wire rack and remove the piece of parchment if necessary (sometimes it stays in the bottom of the pan) and cool completely before frosting.
• Funfetti Frosting
• In a bowl, mix the room temperature butter and shortening together with a hand or stand mixer until light and fluffy about 3 minutes scraping down as necessary.
• Sift the powdered sugar over the butter mixture (if you don’t sift, your frosting will be lumpy – I use a small fine mesh strainer) and add the remaining ingredients and mix until we’ll combined and fluffy about 2-3 minutes. You want it to be a light consistency so you may need more than one tablespoon of milk.
• You may need to trim the domed portion of your cakes with a serrated knife before assembling so the layers will be flat and even. See photos below. To frost the cake, use an offset spatula to spread the icing on the top of each layer, then down the sides and smooth it out evenly. To add sprinkles to the outside, refrigerate the frosted cake for at least an hour so you can handle it easily. I use wax paper to wrap the outside so you’re not touching the iced cake with your warm hands and then roll it in sprinkles that I’ve spread onto a baking sheet. Expose a portion of the cakes side and roll it on the sprinkles like a log rolling removing the wax paper as you go until the sides are completely coated. Place cake back onto plate and add more sprinkles to the top if desired.

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• Refrigerate the cake but let it come to room temperature before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

Notes

• You can find vegan sprinkles in some stores like Whole Foods Market and Kroger or you can order them online. I have a link in my Amazon store below.
  
• Use your favorite vegan sour cream and milk.
  
• If you can’t find it don’t want to use artificial flavorings then use pure vanilla but understand that your cake won’t have a true funfetti flavor.

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