Vegan Gluten-Free Funfetti Birthday Cake. This classic birthday cake is a kid’s dream. It is sweet, moist, light, fluffy and is sure to impress both kids and adults at any party. Both vegan and gluten-free so anybody can enjoy it!
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VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE FUNFETTI BIRTHDAY CAKE
Sprinkles are always super fun. This Vegan Gluten-free Funfetti Birthday Cake has got to be one of my favorite cakes I’ve made. Not only because of the classic birthday cake flavor I created, but the texture is fabulous. Gluten-free cakes tend to have nasty textures, but this one is fantastic.
Plus, birthdays are a great excuse to use sprinkles. I don’t really use sprinkles, maybe once a year, if even that. They are not healthy, but since it is such a rare, rare thing I would use, I don’t stress over those small things in life. Besides, it’s cake, not exactly health food to begin with.
This cake is everything a birthday cake should be. It is perfectly moist, sweet, light, tender, fluffy and doesn’t taste healthy or vegan or gluten-free, period.
It’s also cause for a mini-celebration as I recently hit over 100k followers, a little over 102k as of this morning. I never in a million years thought that many people would be interested in my blog and recipes, so thank you so much for the support.
My daughter helped me decorate some with the sprinkles, so that’s why they are a bit messy, lol. She was going just about insane waiting for me to finish the photos so we could slice it.
Remember these Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes? Remember I said I was going to turn it into a cake? Well, when I got that request for a funfetti one around the same time, I knew it would be the perfect time to do it. I can’t even tell you how amazing it turned out! It took some adjusting of the ratios but it all worked out perfectly after a few trials.
VEGAN VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
THIS FROSTING. Y’all, this Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is to-die-for. It’s silky smooth, creamy, buttery, perfectly sweet and so easy to make, without using oil or butter. I used a combo of my Vegan Strawberry Coconut Butter “Buttercream” Frosting and Cashew Vanilla Frosting as inspiration. I’m not a huge fan of the flavor of coconut, yet I LOVE this frosting. The coconut flavor is very mild and it tastes freaking amazing. I rarely use powdered white sugar, but I added a small amount to help lend to that classic buttercream frosting taste and help with the structure. Remember, I want this cake to taste as close to traditional funfetti cake as possible, just healthier.
HOW TO MAKE A VEGAN FUNFETTI CAKE
For this super easy Vegan Gluten-free Funfetti Cake, you will need:
- blanched almond flour
- white rice flour
- potato starch
- baking powder
- lite canned coconut milk
- maple syrup
- vanilla extract
- vegan sprinkles
Since most sprinkles at the stores are not vegan, I found this Etsy shop called Sweetapolita, where this lady makes the MOST beautiful sprinkles I’ve ever seen in my life and she has a ton of vegan options.
EASY VEGAN FUNFETTI CAKE IN 1 BOWL
Seriously, this cake is ridiculously easy. The cake recipe is just 8 ingredients (+ salt) and the Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is just 6 ingredients. The cake is all done in just 1 bowl too! If you have a go-to frosting you typically use for cake, then by all means, use it, but I’d highly encourage to try this one.
OTHER VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE CAKE RECIPES
- Vanilla White Wedding Cake
- Cinnamon Caramel Bundt Cake
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Chocolate Peppermint Cake
- Gluten-free Vanilla Cake
- Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cake
- Gluten-free Vegan Cranberry Bundt Cake
- Cinnamon Cream Cheese Bundt Cakes
- Best Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes (not gluten-free)
Update: I’ve recently just made these as cupcakes and they are SO GOOD and fast. Listed in the directions now. I did a mini version of the frosting, but added yogurt too and turned it into a glaze more than a frosting. So good!
Vegan Gluten-Free Funfetti Birthday Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 1/2 cups (168g) blanched almond flour (See below NOTE)
- 1 1/2 cups (240g) white rice flour, I use Bob's Red Mill (brown rice flour does not work here, the white is crucial for structure and taste)
- 3/4 cup (120g) potato starch, not potato flour
- 4 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/4 cups (400g) pure maple syrup
- 1 1/4 cups (300g) canned "lite" coconut milk, shaken first (highly recommend Thai Kitchen for best results, it's 100% creamy and never chunky)
- 2 tablespoons (30g) vanilla extract
- 8 tablespoons (80g) vegan sprinkles
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM (This has a slight coconut taste. Use my regular buttercream below if you want it traditional.)
- 2 cups (460g) melted liquid coconut butter (this is simply pureed coconut)I highly recommend buying this instead of making your own, as it is much smoother. I recommend Maranatha brand or Dastony from Whole Foods. Make sure the only ingredient is coconut.
- 1 cup (240g) plant milk (I used "lite" coconut milk)
- 1 cup (320g) pure grade A maple syrup (grade B will make the frosting darker)
- 6 tablespoons (96g) RAW cashew butter (NO added oil)
- 8 tablespoons (60g) vegan powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla powder (I use this white powder instead of extract to keep the frosting whiter.)
- Use this frosting if you prefer a traditional style buttercream
NOTE
- Always use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl and make sure to zero out in between each ingredient.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
This cake is best made the day of the party so it is moist and has the best structure, but will still be delicious if made the night before, just leave covered well at room temperature. The frosting can be made the day before, just remove it from the fridge an hour or so before needing to frost the cake.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and lightly spray two 8 inch round cake pans (with 2 inch tall sides) and line with a round piece of parchment paper just on the bottoms. I used coconut oil nonstick spray. OR, to make as cupcakes, line 20 paper liners in a muffin pan.
- To a very large bowl, weigh each flour (zeroing out in between) and add to the bowl the almond flour, rice flour and potato starch. If you absolutely must use measuring cups, scoop the flours out with the cup and lightly pat down each flour making sure there are no gaps, then level off. Add the baking powder and salt and whisk really well.
- To the same bowl, add the syrup, milk and vanilla. Whisk again for at least a minute until it becomes completely smooth and thickens a bit. It is a thin batter, not a thick one. Stir in the sprinkles. Pour the batter evenly among the 2 pans. Give it a jiggle to smooth out.
- Bake both cakes on the same rack with a couple inches in between them for best results for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out totally clean. For cupcakes, they are done in 20-22 minutes. You don't want any wet batter. Should be clean, a couple of DRY crumbs are ok. Leave in the pan for 30 minutes (10 for cupcakes), no exceptions, or it can crack if removed too early. Place a piece of parchment paper on a cooling rack and invert it over the cake pan and flip the cake over and release. Leave to fully cool 1 hour.
FOR THE FROSTING
Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature. Otherwise, the coconut butter can harden if your other ingredients are cold. If your coconut butter is hardened, melt it to a complete runny liquid, like an oil consistency. Heat it in the microwave for 15-30 seconds and stir to get it thoroughly mixed and smooth, be very careful not to burn it.
- Add it to the food processor and quickly add the remaining ingredients. Process until completely smooth. It will be VERY runny at this step, but will firm up in the freezer. Pour into a bowl and place in the freezer for 20-30 mins until it's firm enough to whip.
- If it gets too hard, just let it sit at room temperature until it softens back up. Whip just a few minutes until fluffy. Spread a thick layer onto the top of the bottom cake, place the next cake on top. The best way to frost a cake is to add a super thin layer on the top and sides and smooth it out (a crumb coat). It doesn't need to be perfect, just a thin layer to seal crumbs. Place in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes. This will make frosting the cake much easier.
- Add a bunch of frosting on the top of the cake and begin to spread it out to the edges, letting it slightly hang over the edges and then apply thick layers to the sides, adding more as needed onto the sides to fully and evenly cover the cake. Once you are ready to smooth the sides, it is best to go into one continuous direction, spinning your cake stand around as you gently drag the icing spatula along. Or, if you have a bench scraper, this will make a much smoother edge. Don't drag it back and forth or it will create a mess. Once you've iced the whole cake, if you drag the edge of the icing spatula (or bench scraper) very gently across the top, starting from the edges and working towards the center and repeating, you can create a smooth top. Wipe off the spatula often in between smoothing strokes, to keep a smooth layer. This will take practice to get it right. Use the spatula to scrape off any messy parts on the cake stand.
Recipe Notes
It's crucial to use a superfine blanched almond flour because it is what makes the cake so moist and light and fluffy. I do not have luck with Bob's Red Mill, but love King Arthur, Honeyville, Wellbees, Nature's Eats, Heb brand (in TX) all work well.
Nutrition per cake slice (without frosting) based off 12 slices: 336.5 calories, 63.5 carbs, 8 g fat, 2.1 g protein, .75 g fiber, 13 g sugar, 157.9 mg sodium
Your recipes look wonderful. I have a question about your funfettie cake if I do not want to make it gluten free what adjustments would I make?
Hi Billie! I’m so sorry, but since I created this recipe specifically to be gluten-free and oil-free, the almond flour and flours listed are crucial to the texture. Subbing with regular flour would completely change the result and make the cake dry. The almond flour is what gives so much moisture since there is no oil. If you want a regular cake made with regular flour, then I would make this one and just add funfetti sprinkles, would work perfectly! 🙂
https://thevegan8.com/2013/02/26/best-vegan-vanilla-maple-cupcakes/
This is by far the BEST gluten free vegan cake I’ve ever had! It is a staple now for our birthdays in my family, I think I’ve made it like 6 times in the last year! Moist, really delicious flavor and can fool non vegans easily! Thank you Brandi for this recipe it really is perfect! 🤘
Thank you so so much Lindsi for making this and leaving this fantastic review! I’m so very happy to hear how much you and non-vegans love it!! Loved your pic of the 4 layer cake you made too, amazing!
Forgot to rate. ❤
This may be silly and since your vegan I’m sure you haven’t tried, but would adding an egg to anything negatively to the cake? I just want to ensure it is fluffy and so many GF vegan cakes don’t fluff nicely… I’m GF and dairy free but I can do eggs. Thanks!
Hi Tami! Yes, I would not add an egg to it. The recipe is written based on the above ratios so adding an egg would throw off the liquid/dry ratio and add unnecessary liquid to the batter. The starch in the recipe is what makes the cake fluffy and replace the eggs. As you can see from all the above reviews, readers have loved this cake! It’s loved by everybody I’ve made it for, vegan or not. I hope you give it a try!
This cake looks amazing!! Unfortunately, I am allergic to coconut. 🙁 Would another plant milk work just as well? Thank you so much for all of your wonderful recipes!!
Hi Renee, you can try cashew milk. The coconut milk makes the cake more fluffy and moist so it may alter the result a tiny bit but should still be good. Let me know!
Hi there! This cake was absolutely FABULOUS! It was the first time I’ve ever actually followed a recipe’s suggestion and measured out the ingredients and it turned out wonderfully! I was just wondering if you’ve ever made this as a chocolate cake? Or has a suggestion on how to turn in into one? Thanks!
Gabriella
Hi there! This cake was absolutely FABULOUS! It was the first time I’ve ever actually followed a recipe’s suggestion and measured out the ingredients and it turned out wonderfully! I was just wondering if you’ve ever made this as a chocolate cake? Or has a suggestion on how to turn in into one? Thanks so much!
Gabriella
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that Gabriella, thank you for the wonderful review! I haven’t made this specific recipe as a chocolate cake (but that’s a great idea to test out) but I DO have this other chocolate recipe made with almond flour already that is a big hit with readers!
https://thevegan8.com/2015/12/22/vegan-gluten-free-chocolate-peppermint-cake-oil-free/
Once the cake is cooked and cooled, should I put it in the fridge or could I keep it on my kitchen counter? Thank you! It looks delicious!
Hi Caroline, the counter covered!
Hi! I’m making this cake for my son’s 2nd birthday and I am really looking forward to the results! I have to admit that I am new to cooking with coconut butter. For the frosting…do you need to melt the butter before measuring 2 cups or measure 2 cups in solid form and then melt?
Thank you!
Hi Becky! You definitely want it melted as a liquid, runny as oil, and then measure 2 cups. I highly recommend a scale too so you make sure you get the exact correct amount. And with coconut butter, if you are new, here is a tip for success. I recommend the MaraNatha brand, it’s the most common brand and is sold at many grocery stores. I find mine at Sprouts usually or HEB or Kroger, or can easily be ordered off of Amazon. Since the oil can separate from the coconut meat in the jar, it’s best to remove the lid, then melt just gently in the microwave for about 15 seconds, just until it’s soft enough to scoop it all out into a separate container. This is how I store my coconut butter, then once you’ve added it to a container, melt a few more seconds, just until it’s super soft and then stir it until it’s completely smooth and well mixed. If you don’t mix it then you will be likely adding the oil and not the coconut meat since it separates and will affect the frosting texture. Hope this helps!
OR, if you want a more straight-forward easier traditional buttercream frosting, make this one from my wedding cupcakes post and double the frosting to ensure you have plenty.
https://thevegan8.com/2018/07/12/best-vegan-gluten-free-cupcakes/
Love love loved it. It’s all oil-free (even the frosting!) and it’s cake cake. Like cake shop cake. The texture is amazing – dense but fluffy, and I think it’s the best vegan vanilla frosting we’ve ever made! I do believe we have a new go to cake! Yay! Super creative and whole food plant-based!
Yay, thank you so much Beth for this gorgeous photo you shared on IG and the amazing feedback! Really made my day!
I made this cake for my daughters birthday. With the help of Brandi for the measurements I made 2 6″ layer cakes. It turned out fantastic. It was moist and tasty. I used the traditional buttercream icing recipe and she loved it!
Thanks for your help Brandi!
So thrilled it was such a hit Sue, thank you so much!
I made the funfetti cake into an ice cream cake for my daughter’s birthday. It was a huge hit! Thanks Brandi for all of your efforts.
Yay, so glad to hear this Nicole, thank you for the awesome review!
Hey brandi! Every single store in my city is out of potato starch! And I was going to make these cupcakes this weekend. Is it possible to swap it for tapioca or arrowroot? Thanks!
Hey! Oh no, bummer! No, do not use tapioca, it will make them gooey and gross. Potato starch is what makes them fluffy, so your next best option is cornstarch. Use the same weight amount. Unfortunately, cornstarch doesn’t work as well in the fluffy sift department as potato starch does, so they won’t be as light, but I think they should still be good. Let me know!
Hi Brandi! Had to let you know we made this cake for my daughter’s 2nd birthday party this past weekend. Followed your instructions to a tee and it was amazing! So many compliments. Got a small food scale for Christmas (under $20) and I have to tell you it’s been really fun to use!!! I love it. Anyway, since I had ingredients still on hand and hey.. it’s Friday.. I made the cupcakes tonight. Even without ANY frosting (was feeling lazy) I have to admit these are the best cupcakes I’ve ever had! So beautiful to boot! Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us. We make several of your recipes every week!
Oh goodness, your review made my whole night, heck weekend, Christina, haha! So happy to hear this and happy birthday to your little girl!! So happy these are the best cupcakes you’ve ever had, yay! Thank you so much for leaving this review!
I’m sensitive to almonds’s :(. What can I replace the almond flour with?
Thank you
Hi there! I listed under Note on the recipe in regards to the almond flour and linked to another recipe if allergic to nuts. The almond flour cannot be subbed here, it’s the main ingredient.
I made this for my daughter’s birthday party and it turned out delicious and very moist. I was shocked that it was oil-free and still this moist. Got lots of compliments. It was so pretty, I was happy to make a white cake that doesn’t use white flour (I usually use whole wheat flours or almond meal for my cakes so they turn out brown), and has the health benefits of using almond flour. I actually was out of potato starch so in a pinch I swapped out with arrowroot starch that I had on hand, but it was still moist and sweet, arrowroot has a neutral flavor (both potato and arrowroot are in the tuber/root starch category so the way they gelatinize is more comparable than a grain starch like cornstarch) so it worked out well, don’t know if the flavor would have been different with potato starch but it was delicious either way. I used the King Arthur blanched almond flour as suggested in recipe notes and was so happy with it, will use again. Most importantly, my toddler was thrilled at having a “confetti cake”, thank you so much Brandi for this recipe, it’s a keeper!
This is so wonderful to hear Sofia! So happy it was such a success and your toddler was happy!
Hi Brandi, I’m hoping to make this cake for my 5 year olds birthday party. I noticed in your notes you mentioned that it should be made the day of the event. However, i will most probably have to make it the day before so that i can also ice the cake with fondant (I’m planning a Lightening Mcqueen themed cake). Do you have any tips for storing the cake if made the day before? Alternatively, if the taste isn’t there, i might try another cake of yours such as the white wedding cake? Any and all suggestions will be much appreciated. Thank you so much!
Hi Bama! That is actually totally fine. Truth be told, I’ve made it many times the day before and the cake is so moist and delicious, it will be fine 🙂 Yes, just store it after it’s cooled in a cake dome at room temperature. Do not store it overnight in the fridge, as it would dry it out. This is my most popular cake recipe on the blog, as you will see from all the reviews, many readers make this cake weekly for their kid’s so I have no doubt you will love it! If you follow the recipe exactly, it should turn out perfectly 🙂 The wedding cake is phenomenal too, but I think this cake is better suited for birthdays 🙂 Now, one thing, I’ve never worked with fondant and the cake is tender, so I might suggest to chill the cake for just maybe 15-30 minutes at the most in the fridge right before doing the fondant, this should make it a bit easier to work with. Then just store the cake at room temperature. I hope that helps!
Do you think this would work for turning into ice cream cake? I read that you said that putting it in the fridge would dry it out.
Hi Susanne! Since potato starch is an ingredient, that’s why it will dry out in the fridge. I honestly can’t answer if it would work as an ice cream cake. The potato starch and lack of oil will make the cake drier in the freezer but maybe with the ice cream, it would help it? I just don’t know, but you can always try it!
Thank you for your insight!
Do you have any suggestions for where to buy vanilla powder? Planning to make it this weekend but not sure where to purchase that! If you have a link or place you suggest checking for it I would love to know 🙂
Hi Shauna, I’m SO so sorry I missed your comment in time! I greatly apologize. I get so many comments that sometimes I miss one. I updated the recipe above with the vanilla powder I use and noted why it’s the best in the comment below as well. It is by far the best tasting one out there that I’ve tried! Stores do sell some white vanilla powders but they tend to be mostly sugar and taste a bit fake, so I’ve found ordering it online is the best kind.
I’m gathering all the ingredients to make this cake for my granddaughter’s birthday. I just need to know what kind of vanilla powder you use. There are so many and lots of negative reviews… some with sugar, some without sugar, some taste like chemicals etc. Will you please tell me what kind you use and I’ll just get that! 🙂 Thanks!
Hi Sharon! This is by far the best one out there that I’ve tried and I’ve tried several. It is a bit pricey, but will last a long time and the cheaper powders just simply do not taste as good or pure. It doesn’t have added sugar or alcohol either like so many brands or have a fake taste. As you can see, all the reviews are amazing too. Vanilla Powder
Found it! Thanks for the recommendation friend! I’ll let you know how it goes. 😉
Thank you, Brandi! I didn’t even realize the comment before mine was asking the same question! lol I love your blog! It is because of you and your amazing recipes that I have been able to maintain a plant based diet – no meat, dairy or oil and gluten free! In fact it was after I came across your article “Learn to Cook and Bake Without Oil” that I gave up oil! It was so informative! The work you do is saving lives by helping people, like me, make healthy food that actually tastes good! God bless you!
So I just made this cake for my sons 3rd bday tomorrow. I had a little crumb and the texture-so moist , flavor-perfect! Now the icing, I do not like coconut really and to me the coconut butter flavor stuck out like a sore thumb to me (i have the same exact kitchen scale; I’m a huge perfectionist so measurements were exact while brand of ingredients were top notch) I dumped all the icing into the trash and went ahead on making your regular buttercream frosting you linked, and wow okay def better. By the way my fav vegan butter is miyokos which is what I used for the buttercream frosting. Can’t wait for everyone to try the cake tomorrow.
So glad you loved the cake Paige!! Yay! Yes, the frosting has 2 cups of coconut butter in it, so if you hate coconut, I wouldn’t make something with so much coconut butter. I linked to the regular frosting recipe for those who prefer traditional 🙂 Glad you liked the regular buttercream! I personally love the coconut frosting because I love coconut butter, but can definitely see how it will be overpowering for those who don’t 🙂 Oh, I’ve heard great things about her butter!
Allergy to nuts can another gf flour work
Hi Jean, no, unfortunately there is no sub for the almond flour for this particular recipe. It is what gives the texture, as well as the moisture, since there is no oil or butter. It simply won’t work without it. I have this cake though that does not use almond flour. You could use sunbutter I suppose in place of the almond butter? https://thevegan8.com/vegan-almond-butter-cake-with-chocolate-frosting/
I also have this cinnamon bundt cake that doesn’t use any nuts. https://thevegan8.com/cinnamon-caramel-bundt-cake-vegan-gluten-free/
Hi Brandi. Thank you for the great recipe. I tried it in cupcake form. My fronting did not come as white as yours on the picture. Is it because of vanilla powder? That was my only alteration from the recipe. Also, I found it too sweet. The amount of maple syrup and sugar that goes into this cake scares me a bit. DO you think the cake or frosting wouldn’t come out right if I cut a bit on sugars? Thanks.
Hi Vanda! I wouldn’t worry about the maple syrup in the cake. Remember, this is a two layer cake, so it’s not a large amount of syrup for the size of the cake. The cake itself is not overly sweet at all. Also, yes, the frosting is sweet since I designed the cake to be served at parties where lots of kiddos would be. I’d say 90% of the people that make this cake weekly are for babies and kids birthday parties, so I like my cakes to show non-vegans that cake is just as good as traditional! 🙂 But if you would like to make the frosting less sweet, you can cut down the maple syrup by a 1/4 cup? The powdered sugar is what really helps it to set, so I’d be concerned about reducing that too much. I’ve just never tried it other than how it is written. I would not alter the cake recipe though, the liquid ratios are perfect for the taste and texture. In fact, most of the time when I make the cupcakes, we eat them plain without any frosting! The cake is so moist and perfectly sweetened and both adults and kids love it and I’ve never heard of anybody saying the cake itself was too sweet. As far as the color of the frosting, that could be due to the syrup used and vanilla extract. Also, make sure the cashew butter is raw and not roasted, as roasted will make it much darker. If you don’t want a sweet icing, you could always make this light fluffy coconut whipped icing. It is very, very mild with very little sweetener. It won’t last long as room temp though, so it would need to be served soon after frosting. Here is the recipe: https://thevegan8.com/gluten-free-pumpkin-spice-latte-muffins/
Hi Brandi,
I am all set to prepare this cake for hubby’s birthday tomorrow, but I just realized the recipe calls for double acting baking powder. Can I use regular baking powder or am I making a trip to the store? Thanks!
You can use regular!
Will try this for my birthday party soon and hope you can answer some of my questions! 🙂
1. I live in Sweden, so with “lite” coconut milk, do you mean the more creamy version that comes in metal cans or do you means the coconut milk that you can also use for drinking, like normal milk? I always use very creamy thick coconut milk for your buttermilk pancake recipie, but i find the batter to be a bit dry (doesnt affect the result though, best ever!)
2. Maple syrup is crazy expensive here, can i sub it for agave or liquid honey?
Hi, yes, the kind in a can! Lite is much thinner than the full fat kind. It resembles dairy milk, whereas full fat coconut milk is like cream. Definitely don’t want the full fat kind. If you can’t find a can that says lite or low fat coconut milk (should say about 4g per serving, as opposed to 12g of fat), you can try the carton kind. You can try agave. Would not use honey, it’s too sweet and very very thick. Agave will taste a bit different, but is closest to maple.
Any idea how many cupcakes this recipe will make?
Yes, it’s listed under step 2.