Strawberry Vegan Funfetti Sheet Cake

I may love this strawberry version of my vegan funfetti cake even more than the original. And that is saying something because that first recipe took me a long time to perfect.

This version is easier. It is baked in a sheet pan instead of layered. No stacking. No crumb coat. No fussing. If you want a bakery style vegan cake without the extra work, this is it.

It takes less time than a layer cake and still feels special enough for birthdays, holidays, or any celebration that needs pink frosting and sprinkles.

Why My Vegan Funfetti Cake Actually Works

When I was developing my original funfetti cake recipe, I tested just about every vegan cake out there. Most of them were dry, dense, gummy, or just flat in flavor. I wanted a soft, fluffy, nostalgic yellow cake vibe.

I have been baking since I was a kid, and I remembered a method I learned years ago from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. It is called reverse creaming, and it completely changed the texture of my vegan cakes.

Instead of mixing wet ingredients first and adding dry after, you coat the dry ingredients with fat first. In this recipe that means oil and vegan yogurt. That step coats the flour and limits gluten development.

Less gluten means a softer crumb. A finer texture. A better rise. This is the same technique commercial bakeries use, just adapted for vegan baking.

What is reverse creaming?

Reverse creaming is all about the order you mix ingredients.

Traditional cake mixing starts with combining wet ingredients, then adding dry just until mixed. That method can easily lead to over mixing, which forms gluten and makes cakes tough.

With reverse creaming, you:

• Mix the dry ingredients first
• Add the fat to coat the flour
• Then add the remaining wet ingredients

Because the flour is coated in fat, it cannot absorb moisture as quickly. That makes it much harder to over mix and over develop gluten.

The result is a moist vegan cake with a tender crumb and a softer texture that holds up beautifully in a sheet pan.

Another bonus is that everything mixes in one bowl. You can use a stand mixer or hand mixer, but you can also make it work with a whisk if needed.

What gives cake that magical funfetti flavor?

Funfetti cake has a very specific bakery flavor. Regular vanilla extract alone will not get you there.

You have two good options:

• Cake batter flavor extract
• Clear imitation vanilla

Cake batter extract is my preference for the cake itself. It gives that nostalgic boxed yellow cake vibe. Yes, it slightly tints the cake more yellow. That is part of the charm.

If you grew up on classic grocery store birthday cakes, this is the flavor you are chasing.

Clear imitation vanilla is another solid choice, especially for frosting. It keeps the color bright and clean.

About vegan sprinkles.

Did you know that not all sprinkles are vegan?

Many traditional sprinkles contain confectioners glaze, which is shellac derived from insects. Some artificial colors can also be questionable depending on the brand.

You can find vegan sprinkles online and sometimes at stores like Kroger or Whole Foods under their private label brands. They do tend to be more pastel and slightly less vibrant than traditional sprinkles.

They can also dissolve a bit more into the batter.

If you are not strict, use what you love. If you want the cake fully vegan, you may find that piling sprinkles on top gives you more color payoff than folding a ton into the batter.

What makes this strawberry version special.

The frosting is where this cake really shines.

Instead of artificial strawberry flavoring or food dye, I use freeze dried strawberries ground into a powder.

One cup of freeze dried strawberries yields about one quarter cup of strawberry powder when processed.

That powder:

• Gives the frosting real strawberry flavor.
• Naturally colors it a soft light pink.
• Does not water down the buttercream.

You can also use freeze dried raspberries or another freeze dried fruit if you prefer. The method stays the same. It is simple, shelf stable, and gives you bold fruit flavor without messing with the texture.

This cake works for:

• Birthdays
• Valentine’s Day
• Baby showers
• Spring parties
• Or just because you want cake!

Sheet cakes are low stress and easy to transport. They slice cleanly and feed a crowd without drama. Sometimes you want impressive. Sometimes you want easy and delicious. This gives you both.

I hope you enjoy this Strawberry Vegan Funfetti Sheet Cake for special occasions, celebrations, or just on a random Tuesday because you are worth it.

If you make it, let me know how it turns out and please rate if you try it!

Strawberry Vegan Funfetti Sheet Cake

Recipe by Kreg

4.7 from 9 votes

Cuisine: Dessert

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

My delicious funfetti cake NOW with strawberries!

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

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 or plain vegan yogurt

• 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

• Strawberry 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

• 1/4 cup crushed freeze dried strawberries (see notes)

Directions

• Funfetti Cake
• Prepare your 9×13 sheet pan and preheat the oven to 350°. Spray or butter the pan then add a tablespoon of flour to the 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.
• 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.
• Pour the batter in the baking pan and even it out and rap on your counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 35-40 minutes depending on your oven but don’t over-bake. 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 the cake cool completely before frosting.
• Strawberry Funfetti Frosting
• In a small or large food processor pulverize the freeze dried strawberries. You should have about 1/4 cup of strawberry powder. 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 including the powdered strawberries 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.
• Frost the cake evenly and completely in the pan and sprinkle some more sprinkles on top of desired. Cut into squares and serve!

Recipe Video

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 (or yogurt) 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.
  
• You can find freeze dried strawberries in most supermarkets now.

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