This Vegan Funfetti Cake + Vanilla Buttercream is a healthier option to your classic childhood favorite—funfetti!. Not only is it completely moist + fluffy, but it’s also loaded with sweet little rainbow sprinkles that when paired with this airy vegan vanilla buttercream, they all work amazingly together. A definite crowd-pleasing cake for any occasion, especially for Birthdays.
Hey ya’ll. Today’s my Birthday and I couldn’t be more grateful in this moment. Yet another day and another year. In addition to it being the start of my newest chapter—-Year 30.
I know. I’m getting old. Haha.
Seriously—-I’m so excited for my 30s and can’t wait to see what it all entails. As for my 20s—I’ve carried with me some really valuable lessons.
For one, relationships have been my biggest lessons. Along the way, I’ve lost some really close relationships while gaining a few in turn.
Yes—I can admit that it’s been super tough in the process, however, looking back at everything, I can see God’s hand in it all. He was being strategic.
Secondly, I’ve learned just how tough cultivating your dreams and a business can be. Initially, it takes a ton of investing before you reap even a tad bit of the actual reward.
So, if you’re just starting out or you’re half way through—-don’t give up! Things will get better in time. Consistency is important.
Remain consistent even when everything says that it’s not going anywhere. Something will happen when it’s time.
Honestly, there a ton of other things I’ve learned, however, I can attest to the top two being my biggest ones for the past year or so.
But to dig deeper, I’d recommend checking out one of our articles—Ending Relationships: 5 Mindsets That Keep You Stuck.
Of course When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Sweet Tea! We’ve all been there or know someone who has been there.
That place where you’ve felt like Life has handed you a handful of lemons and boy, are those lemons real sour. I know that they say that you should make Lemonade with those lemons, but what if you don’t want the obvious?
What if you’ve decided that you’re willing to do things the unconventional way so that you can get unconventional results?
If you’re anything like me, then when Life gives you lemons, make Sweet Tea; forget Lemonade.
Once you’ve pin-pointed out everything, always think about your steps to becoming better. I’ve assessed this for myself and found that it’s truly helpful in discovering the best version of yourself.
8 Secrets to Being Your Best You is a guide to making your current year and years that follow, the most effective and life-changing.
From doing the necessary work that is required to letting go of toxic relationships + environments to making minor tweaks to a healthier lifestyle; all 8 habits and practices are sure to help you be the best version of yourself that you possibly can.
OK, so can we talk about this cake for a sec? If you’ve been an avid follower of Orchids + Sweet Tea, then you know that I often opt out of Birthday Cakes for my special day and go for my favorite—some form of cheesecake.
Check out this Mango Cheesecake + Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust.
Trust me, you can never go wrong with cheesecake.
However, I wanted to do something a bit different to bring in my new chapter (Chapter 30), so I decided on a cake. Since this occasion isn’t that ‘simple’, I wanted to make a fun cake while keeping things on the healthier side.
So, why not a Vegan cake, right?
Honestly, Cakes have been super challenging for me since I began pursuing them, however, I still fight through it and create to the best of my ability.
Take this Lemon + Strawberry Layer Spring Cake that I made recently for the Spring. It was my first experimented cake that included real flowers as decor. Yet—it was fun!
With this particular cake, I chose to create a beautiful Vegan cake that remained fluffy and airy, but also showcased a delicious frosting.
Usually regular cakes are topped with some sort of buttercream and while this cake was a Vegan one, I had to come up with ways to best create a similar ‘buttercream’. And wallah!
All I needed to do was incorporate vegan shortening along with my vegan butter of choice, and you get a great buttercream without the dairy and/or other preservatives.
Lastly, another thing that I’ve learned about baking a cake is having the right tools. As a basic—-you should have a cake stand (preferably one that has a turnstile table), spatulas (big + small), piping bags + tips, correct baking pans and parchment paper, and if you need to get a bit more fancy—Bake Even Cake Strips (Wilton has some awesome quality ones!), which are such a genius invention.
Have no clue what these are? Whelp, you basically soak them in water before wrapping them around your cake pan while baking.
These stripes ensures that your cakes don’t bake with a funny “dome” or anything. Just flat and even.
Yup. So, that’s it. All the details of what I’ve used. Looking for other great Birthday cake ideas?
If you’ve been an avid follower of Orchids + Sweet Tea, then you’ll know that I’ve attempted a few other cakes for my Husband’s Birthday and Little Guy’s Big Day: Vegan Carrot Cake + Orange-infused Frosting, Fluffy, Buttery Vanilla Birthday Cake, and Very Vanilla Cake!
Now, let’s dig right into this recipe shall we?
Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease (with vegan butter) AND line with parchment paper the following cake pans: THREE 8-inch round cake pans or TWO 9-inch cake pans.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the Almond milk and Apple Cider Vinegar. Set aside for 5-10 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and sea salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer (attached with a whisk), add the Milk-ACV mixture and add the oil and vanilla. Mix for a minute or two before turning off the mixer and changing the attachment to a paddle.
On low speed, add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and continue to mix until well incorporated and batter is smooth, about 3-4 minutes.
Fold in the rainbow sprinkles until well incorporated.
Pour batter evenly into prepared pans, spreading everything around for a perfect roundness. **NOTE: If using Bake Even Cake Strips, you would wrap them around your pans at this point.**
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the center of the cakes come out clean using a toothpick.
Once done, remove cakes from the oven and let cool completely. **NOTE: I often let my cakes cool for 30 minutes or until them are very cool when touched and then place them in the refrigerator to cool completely for another hour or so; this makes icing easier.**
To Make Vegan Vanilla Buttercream:
In the bowl of an electric mixer (attached with a paddle), beat the butter and shortening on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Turning the mixer on low, add the powered sugar (1/2 the amount), vanilla, and 1 Tbsp of Almond milk, mixing them together until well combined. Add the remaining powered sugar and mix until well combined. **NOTE: If the frosting is too thick, add additional milk (1 Tsp at a time); if it’s too thin, add additional powered sugar (1 Tbsp at a time). Lastly, add a pinch of sea salt to balance sweetness and Wallah!
Assembly:
Using a large knife (or cake slicer), slice a thin layer of cake off the tops of each cake to create a flat surface (**NOTE: Skip this step if you used the Bake Even Cake Strips; not needed).
Place first cake layer on your cake stand and evenly cover the top with buttercream. Now, top with 2nd layer and evenly cover the top with buttercream. **NOTE: Repeat another step if using 3-layers.**
Once fully layered, add remaining buttercream atop cake and spread it over the tops and sides of cake, evenly and thinly. **NOTE: Adding a thin layer of buttercream around cake and chilling it for 30 minutes to 1 hour before adding remaining buttercream does the trick for an easier frosting of cake; this called a ‘crumb coat’.**
Once fully frosted, add small little designs of the buttercream using a piping bag + tip and more rainbow sprinkles around the sides and top of cake. Chill for 5 minutes to ensure that buttercream sets. Slice and enjoy!
Bon Appetite!
If you choose to make this Vegan Funfetti Cake + Vanilla Buttercream recipe or any other recipe from us, be sure to tag us on Instagram at #Orchidsandsweettea so that we can share the love!
Tag @orchidsnsweettea_ on Instagram and hashtag it #orchidsandsweettea
Vegan Funfetti Cake + Vanilla Buttercream.
LOVE THIS RECIPE?
LET US KNOW!
I really enjoyed this cake. I made it twice, first time I made it as instructed except I added a tbs of vanilla instead of a tsp. I wasn’t a fan of the sprinkles in the cake but that’s just my personal preference. It was a lovely cake. The second time I left out the sprinkles and used 1.5 tbs of vanilla paste and it was so yummy. Made for my sons 5th birthday.
Hi Sherry! OMG! I’m so happy that you loved this cake! It’s definitely one of my faves! Thanks so much for choosing my recipe and for sharing! 🙂
Can these (cupcake version) be frozen?
Hi Alex! Yes, the cupcakes can be frozen for up to 6 months when unfrosted and thawed.:-)
I never read the notes and planned on making 3 8-inch cakes Assuming that the recipe was enough for the cake shown in the picture. After Attempting to fill the 3-8 inch cake pans, I ended up with about an eighth filled of the bottom Of each 8 inch pan, so i made the recipe all over again, and as it turns out doubling the recipe gave me 3-8-inch cakes.
Hi Lisa!
I’m so happy to hear that you were able to remake it and it turned out great! I only triple the ingredients for thicker layers, however, doubling definitely does the trick! I hope that you enjoyed it!
Tried this cake today, taste really good, although it only filled up one 9inch cake pan and not two and a full cup of funfetti is way too much, would cut it by half if i were you.
Thanks
So sorry to hear that it didn’t work out in terms of size! Did you double all of the ingredients? Thanks for your feedback! Truly appreciated! 🙂
Do you have to double it to get two layers? Are the ingredients written as-is only for one layer?
Hi Stephanie! Yes, they are! I’ve included the amount of times that you would need to add the ingredients in the notes depending on the amount of layers that you are trying to achieve! 🙂
This looks so so beautiful and delicious. I am planning a unicorn themed birthday for my kiddo and this looks perfect for that. Right recipe at the right time!
I love funfetti cake and this one looks amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, and I can’t wait to try it!
What a beautiful birthday cake! This will be great for my husband’s birthday next week! Looks delish!
I have made similar recipes like this before
The rainbow sprinkles dissolve when added and batter turns purple.
Any tips or is this normal?
Hi JoAnn,
Honestly, I think that it might depend on the brand of sprinkles. Also, since they are made out of sugar and bleed pretty quickly, I always recommend adding them at THE VERY END and only folding once or twice. This should help!:-)
Hope you had a great day! Vegan cakes are hard, but this looks utterly delicious! Fluffy and perfect.
Whoah what a gorgeous cake! Would never have guessed it was a vegan cake!
Happy belated birthday!! What a way to celebrate, this cake looks so perfect and delicious! I love anything with funfetti!
What a beautiful looking cake. Even better that it is vegan too!
Thank you for this useful recipe! Vegan is on the rise and I am myself always looking forward to new recipes that give me the option to go vegan. This is a great one. I’ll definitely give it a try for my 3 year old who LOVES frosting!!!! Funfettis are great too!
What an absolute stunner! You can see how fluffy the cake is in the photo. It looks like a dream!
I have several July birthdays coming up so this recipe came at the perfect time! So fun & delicious!