Light and buttery Vegan Funfetti Cake filled with rainbow sprinkles and finished off with sweet vanilla frosting, and a jam core. No celebration is complete without a colourful funfetti layer cake! Learn how to make this rainbow cake scratch using my easy homemade recipe.
Vegan Funfetti cake
‘Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to… Holly, happy birthday to me’. It is my birthday today so that means, it’s FUNFETTI TIME!
This colourful birthday cake has a fluffy and soft cake which is perfectly moist with LOTS of vanilla flavour. Vanilla coats each crumb making this cake like a soft vanilla cloud. You’ll never need to source a cake from the shops ever again. This is definitely bakery worthy.
Funfetti cake has to have a vanilla buttercream. It’s essential for that classic birthday flavour and look! The smooth, creamy buttercream, compliments the moist, vanilla cake perfectly. If you have any buttercream left over, don’t stress. Transfer it into a piping bag fitted with a round tip nozzle and pipe a swirl around the top edge of the cake. It looks gorgeous!
Tools I used to help make the perfect Funfetti cake:
- 8” loose base / spring form cake tins
- Mixing bowl
- Silicone spatula
- Cooling rack
- Turn table
- Spatula
- Piping bags
- Round tip piping nozzle
- Kitchenaid stand mixer
This is the easiest funfetti recipe which is fool proof and would make any celebration that much sweeter!
How to make a Funfetti cake (step by step):
Cake + buttercream
- Make the buttermilk
In a bowl, mix the dairy-free milk and apple cider vinegar together. Set aside for 5 minutes and allow to curdle. This creates a vegan buttermilk.
- Dry ingredients
In a medium mixing bowl, add in the flour, sugar and raising agents. Mix to combine.
- Add in the oil
Pour the oil into the buttermilk and stir to combine.
- Wet into dry
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix to combine.
- Pour into cake tins
Evenly divide the mixture between the two cake tins and tap the tins on the worktop to remove any trapped air bubbles.
- Add the sprinkles
Sprinkle the rainbow sprinkles into the cake batter and stir to combine. Avoid over stirring as this will result in the colours bleeding.
- Bake and cool
Bake the cakes then allow to cool fully before frosting.
- Make the frosting
Transfer the butter into a bowl and whip until pale and fluffy.
- Add icing sugar
Sift in the icing sugar and vanilla extract. Whip to combine, add a splash of dairy-free milk to get it to the perfect consistency.
- Sprinkles
Add the sprinkles into the buttercream and whip to combine.
- Stack and fill the cakes
Lay a cake on a serving plate or turntable, add a thick layer of buttercream and a core of jam (optional). Add the second cake on top.
- Crumb coat and chill
Add a crumb coat and final coat of buttercream. Transfer any left over buttercream into a piping bag and pipe on top of the cake.
- Decorate
Decorate the cake with more rainbow sprinkles, candles and a birthday sign (optional).
5 TIPS TO MAKING THE BEST FUNFETTI CAKE:
Don’t use natural sprinkles!
A question I get asked all the time is’ why did my sprinkles disappear’?. Natural sprinkles bleed their colour. Use a high pigment rainbow sprinkle. I like to use ‘Sweetapolita Rainbow Jimmies’. American based sprinkles work best as they are high pigmented! It might be a faff to source the sprinkles online but it is well worth it for a vibrant cake.
Don’t over mix the batter.
Try not to over mix the batter. Mix the cake until it’s just combined to prevent this. This will result in the most incredible moist and light cake ever. Over mixing will make the cake denser, which is not what you want with a vanilla sponge cake!
Add the sprinkles after the cake batter is mixed.
This step should not be ignored. To prevent the colour of the sprinkles bleeding into the cake batter, pour the cake batter into the tins then add in the sprinkles. Gently stir in the sprinkles, then bake the cakes. This is the best way to get that magical funfetti cake.
Store the cake in a container overnight.
Did you know, sugar absorbs moisture? Interesting fact isn’t it!? When the cake is is sealed overnight in a container, it allows the cake to become extra moist and delicious. It’s well worth the overnight’s wait!
Whip the buttercream.
When making the buttercream, whip the butter for at least 5 minutes before adding in the other ingredients. This will result in a the classic pale buttercream.
FAQ for Funfetti Cake
It sure can! Switch out the wheat based flour for a gluten-free self raising flour!
Yes! Doubling makes for a great 8” three tier cake.
I like to source my sprinkles online. My favourite vegan sprinkles are from Sweetapolita. I am yet to find a UK based company which sell high quality and high pigmented sprinkles. If you know of any, drop them in the comments below!
Of course! A simple bowl and spatula will be great for whipping up both cake AND buttercream! It might just take a fraction longer.
Yes! You can make the cake ahead of time and store it in a sealed container at room temperature. The buttercream can be made ahead too. Simply re-whip before assembly.
For more Funfetti recipes, check these out:
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you & happy baking!
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Mini Funfetti Cake
- Total Time: 1:30
- Yield: 8–10 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Funfetti Cake! A 2-layer vegan funfetti cake with rainbow sprinkles, and a vanilla buttercream frosting!
Ingredients
Ingredients for the cakes
- 240ml of dairy-free milk
- 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
- 210g of self-raising flour
- 200g of caster sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- 60g of vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 20g of vegan rainbow sprinkles
Ingredients for the buttercream
- 200g of dairy-free block butter*
- 200g of icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons of dairy-free milk
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 10g of vegan rainbow sprinkles
+
- Strawberry jam(for the middle-optional)
Instructions
Method (Cakes)
- Preheat your oven to 180℃ fan and line two, 6 inch loose base / push up cake tins with grease-proof paper.
- In a bowl, combine the dairy-free milk with the apple cider vinegar and whisk until fully combined. Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle. This creates a vegan ‘buttermilk’.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well to combine.
- Add the oil and vanilla extract in to the ‘buttermilk’ and whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
- Pour equal amounts of batter into the lined cake tins. Make sure to tap the tins on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
- Add the sprinkles into the tins and gently stir in. Don’t over-mix or the colours will bleed.
- Before the colour starts to bleed into the batter, place the cakes into the centre of the pre-heated oven and bake for around 25-30 minutes. You will know they are done when you put a knife or skewer in and it comes out clean and they are springy to the touch.
- Place the cakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool fully. Once cool, remove from the tins then pop them into a sealed container to keep them fresh before frosting.
Method (buttercream)
- In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free butter, whip until creamy. I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment, a hand mixer will work great too.
- Sift in the icing sugar and pour dairy-free milk and vanilla extract, whip on high speed for a couple of minutes to incorporate it.
- Fold in the sprinkles, being careful not to over mix.
- Place one of the cakes on a serving plate or cake stand. Dollop or pipe some of the buttercream on top and spread out until even using an off-set spatula or pallet knife.
- Make a well in the middle of the buttercream and fill with 2 – 3 heaped tablespoons of strawberry jam (optional).
- Place the second cake layer on top. Press it down gently so it sticks. Coat the whole cake with a thin layer of buttercream. This creates a crumb coat.
- Place the cake into the the fridge to set for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the fridge and apply a second coat, this time thicker.
- Transfer any left over buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip nozzle. Pipe a swirl of buttercream around the top edge of the cake.
- Decorate the cake with more rainbow sprinkles.
- Slice and enjoy!
Notes
To store: Keep this cake stored in a sealed container in the fridge. Best eaten within 3 days of making.
Un-iced cakes can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for 2 days.
What vegan butter to use? My favourite vegan / dairy-free butters are the Naturli Vegan Block and Flora Plant Based Butter Alternative.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
- Category: Cakes and layer cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
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Such a gorgeous recipe. An ideal size and the best funfetti birthday cake I’ve tasted.
Wie ist denn der Durchmesser des Kuchen?
Author
Hello, It’s two 6 inch cake tins 🙂 Happy Baking x
Would I be able to substitute the vegetable oil with another type of oil? (like coconut oil or something else)
Good Morning, I was wondering why the recipe calls for self- rising flour plus baking soda and baking powder. Can I use regular flour and the powder and soda? Thank You!
Author
Hello, It helps make the cake super light and fluffy!! If you wanted to use plain flour along with the raising agents, you can, it just wont be as light & fluffy, but will still be very delicious! x Happy baking