Vegan Gluten-Free Funfetti Birthday Cake

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. I tested this cake both in 6 inch pans and 8 inch, which you will see in the photos. The 6 inch of course made the cake layers taller, but they didn’t cook through as well, so 8 inch is better and a more traditional size of layers.

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
• Easy Vegan Lemon Cake (6 Ingredients!)
• 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

Brandi Doming

This classic funfetti cake is both vegan and gluten-free, but out-of-this-world delicious. It is lacking in nothing and full of everything we love in a party cake. Sweet, moist, light, delicious and topped with a wonderful sweet frosting. This one kids, and adults, will love!

4.95 from 39 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Gluten-free, Vegan

Servings 2 layer 8 inch cake

Calories 336.5 kcal

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 (THIS CANNOT BE SUBBED or the texture will be ruined)
• 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 and frost the top and sides as desired.

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.
• I tested this cake both in 6 inch pans and 8 inch, which you will see in the photos.  The 6 inch of course made the cake layers taller, but they didn't cook through as well, so 8 inch pans yield a much better texture and a more traditional size of layers.
• Nutrition stats do not include frosting since different frostings are suggested. Nutrition based off of 12 slices. per cake slice (without frosting) based off 12 slices.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 336.5kcalCarbohydrates: 63.5gProtein: 2.1gFat: 8gSodium: 157.9mgFiber: 0.75gSugar: 13g

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Keyword vegan funfetti cake, vegan gluten-free funfetti cake, vegan birthday cake