5 years ago today, I started this blog called It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken with my very first (embarrassingly bad) post Simply the Best Tomato Sauce. (Apparently, I was overconfident from day 1)!
Way back then I had no idea that starting this blog would lead me to a complete career change leaving my job as art director to becoming a self-employed full-time blogger. Winning a competition and getting to film a cooking show with Food Network’s celebrity Chef Michael Smith. Writing my first cookbook Fuss-Free Vegan which now has over 150 5-star reviews on Amazon! And appearing on TV, radio, in magazines, on podcasts, and doing public speaking.
It all happened very slowly and gradually, with a lot of very hard work, but when reflecting on the years, it seems like a whirlwind of delicious vegan recipes, 1 million dishwasher loads, over 15,000 comments, almost 500 recipes (with several thousand failed recipe attempts), and a smile every morning as I open my computer to start the day. So, I'm celebrating today, my blogs birthday with a Vegan Confetti Cake!
Not only is it my blogs birthday but it also happens to be pride month, which makes this rainbow coloured cake even more celebratory! Celebrating the love of everyone.
Now to cake. Vegan Confetti Cake is a vanilla cake filled with sprinkles because... CUTE! When first writing this recipe I tried to use my Vegan Vanilla Cake recipe and just stirred in sprinkles. This didn't work too well. The cake was too fluffy and fell apart, and the sprinkles bled into a mess. So I did a lot of experimenting making this vanilla cake a little more dense (in a good way) to lock in those sprinkles, but still keeping it moist and fluffy by folding aquafaba into the batter.
The vegan confetti cake comes out perfectly sweet, incredibly moist, hard to resist delicious, and the dots of colour throughout the cake are just to die for adorable fun. Vegan confetti cake makes for a great birthday party cake or any celebratory occasion. I chose rainbow sprinkles, but you could alternatively choose all one colour of sprinkle, maybe for a gender reveal cake, or any colour combo you like... galaxy cake? The options and fun are endless!
To make Vegan Confetti Cake: in a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt. Now add the plant-based milk, light oil, and vanilla extract and stir to combine. It will make for a very thick batter, almost like cookie dough.
In another large bowl, use a stand mixer or hand beater to combine the aquafaba and cream of tartar until it forms stiff peaks. This will take about 3 to 6 minutes.
Now fold the aquafaba into the batter. The batter is thick and it will take a bit of time to combine the two, so be patient. When the batter is combined you can lastly add the sprinkles. Depending on the kind of sprinkles you have they may bleed, so working quickly, scatter the sprinkles over the surface of the batter and then quickly give it 2 to 4 stirs to combine. It's ok if the sprinkles aren't mixed in perfectly, they will do their thing in the oven, it's more important that they don't bleed.
A note on sprinkles. Not all sprinkles are vegan. They can sometimes include the ingredients confectioner's glaze or shellac, neither of which are vegan as they both come from insects. I found sprinkles at a bulk food store that were accidentally vegan, but you can also order vegan sprinkles online on Amazon, on Etsy, from Sweetapolita, or from Fancy Sprinkles, to name a few place.
Divide the batter evenly among the two pans. Bake for 35 to 42 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
To make vegan vanilla frosting: In a large bowl, use a stand mixer or hand beater to mix together the vegan butter, vegetable shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until fluffy. Add 1 - 4 tablespoons of plant-based milk as needed to reach desired frosting consistency.
Decorate cakes as desired. I covered the sides of my cake with sprinkles. I did this by placing the cake on a large baking tray (to catch any loose sprinkles), then grabbing handfuls of sprinkles, I lightly pressed them into the frosting on the sides of the cake working my way around and filling in any gaps until it was all covered.
Vegan Confetti Cake
Ingredients
Vegan Confetti Cake Bowl 1:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup plant-based milk (such as soy or almond)
- ⅔ cup light oil (such as canola or vegetable)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Vegan Confetti Cake Bowl 2:
- ¾ cup aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas)
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ⅓ cup vegan sprinkles (plus more for decoration)
For the Vegan Vanilla Frosting:
- ½ cup vegan butter
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 - 4 tablespoons plant-based milk (such as soy or almond)
Instructions
To make the vegan confetti cakes:
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease two 8" baking pans and line the bottoms of the pans with a circle of parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt. Now add the plant-based milk, light oil, and vanilla extract and stir to combine. It will make for a very thick batter, almost like cookie dough.
- In another large bowl, use a stand mixer or hand beater to combine the aquafaba and cream of tartar until it forms stiff peaks. This will take about 3 to 6 minutes.
- Now fold the aquafaba into the batter. The batter is thick and it will take a bit of time to combine the two, so be patient. When the batter is combined you can lastly add the sprinkles. Depending on the kind of sprinkles you have they may bleed, so working quickly, scatter the sprinkles over the surface of the batter and then quickly give it 2 to 4 stirs to combine. It’s ok if the sprinkles aren’t mixed in perfectly, they will do their thing in the oven, it’s more important that they don’t bleed.
- Divide the batter evenly among the two pans. Bake for 35 to 42 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
To make the vegan vanilla frosting:
- In a large bowl, use a stand mixer or hand beater to mix together the vegan butter, vegetable shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until fluffy. Add 1 - 4 tablespoons of plant-based milk as needed to reach desired frosting consistency.
Nutrition
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
Theresa says
Can I make all the components ahead of time and freeze them and then thaw and assemble them about a week later?
Ashley says
I made this cake for my daughter's 3rd bday at the beginning of April and everyone loved it! I have never been much of a cake person until your Ultimate chocolate cake and now this one!!! I am officially a cake lover! Great job Sam like always! Hope you are keeping safe and healthy!
Sam Turnbull says
Hahaha! My boyfriend said the same thing about my cakes! 🙂
Caylie says
Hi! I made this last year and it was a huge hit! This year I would love to make it gluten free. Any suggestions?
Kylee says
Thanks for sharing this recipe, it looks great! What are your thoughts about range hoods? I'm trying to decide if I should get one.
Dylan says
Hi Sam,
Love this recipe! I've just baked my two halves for my housemates birthday. I didn't have cream of tartar so I substituted lemon juice which seems to have worked great. Just one question, I didn't have any vegetable oil so I had to resort to olive oil. The cake seems quite yellow but smells great - do you think this will have affected it badly?
Thanks for the recipe,
Dylan
Sam Turnbull says
You might taste the olive oil which might be a bit weird,but otherwise is should bake up the same. Enjoy!
Ella says
I want to try out this cake recipe this week, is it necessary to buy no salt added can of chickpeas or does a regular can of chickpeas work? Also is there a substitute for cream of tartar? Thank you!
Christel says
I made this cake for a friend's birthday and everyone loved it - and they were all non-vegans and shocked that it was vegan. Everyone thought I had bought it! I love making vegan things and proving to people that they can be delicious.
I loved the cake, however, only the yellow colouring of the sprinkles could be seen in the cake when cut. The blues and pinks had disappeared! Do you know possibly why this could have happened? I definitely quickly added them to the batter and only stirred a few times as suggested.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Christel. Oh wow that's awesome!! I have no idea why some of the sprinkles would disappear, I would try a different type of sprinkle next time. Hope that helps!
Tracy W says
Mine came out... crunchy. Any ideas? The inside is good but the outside is almost fried / really hard.
Sam Turnbull says
Sounds like it was a bit overbaked!
Sheri Reid says
Exact same thing happened to me even though I baked it for the minimum time stated in the recipe. Would definitely a lot sooner especially around the edges. That being said, the frosting was delicious!
Renee says
Hi Sam
How did you decorate the cake with the sprinkles all around the outside?
Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
I just picked up a handful of sprinkles and pressed them into the side of the cake. I put the cake on a large tray to catch all the sprinkles that fell. Enjoy!
Jo Moore says
Another winner, thank you Sam 🙂
Easy enough to make (my manual whisk of the aquafaba was a great workout lol), and the cake looked and tasted great. Went down a treat for my team's first day back at work together, and I had so many comments about the softness and moisture of the sponge - think we've got some aquafaba converts.
Sam Turnbull says
Thrilled you enjoyed it, Jo!
Brandy says
To make a double layer sheet cake, would I double the recipe?
Sam Turnbull says
Use a guide such as this one to convert the recipe. Enjoy!
Alyce says
First let me say that no one in my family are Vegans. I made this for my Granddaughter's 11th Birthday Cake. I have a grandson who cannot eat eggs or milk products due to allergies. I have tried other recipes without eggs and milk and they were edible but not very good. My family was upset when they found out I tried another vegan recipe. My granddaughter told me if the cake was bad I owed her a cake with milk ,eggs and butter. Well just let me say that this cake is fantastic and was a big hit with the whole family. So moist and tasty. My granddaughter informed me that I did not owe her a cake. My adult son who complained the most had to have a second piece. I made this cake and frosting exactly as the recipe was written. The can of chick peas I bought had no added salt. I needed to whip the aquafaba for the full six minutes. If you make this cake keep beating the frosting until it's light and fluffy. I used a stick of Country Crock Almond Plant Butter in the frosting, I tried Earth Balance before in frosting but it made the frosting taste too salty. I used Wilton Rainbow jimmies in the cake and they did not bleed at all. Thanks Sam for a Fantastic Recipe that was a big hit with the whole non Vegan Family !!! I did freeze a piece of this cake for my grandson to have next month at my son's birthday party.
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's so wonderful, Alyce!! Glad it was a hit 🙂
Amanda says
My (almost 2 year old) daughter has milk and egg allergy and I went looking for a good birthday cake recipe and came across yours. We tried it out today in preparation for her upcoming birthday and it was fantastic! She loved it too! I don’t think the average person would even notice the “missing” eggs and cows milk! Thank you for a great recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
I've never heard anyone say "this cake tastes good, but I wish it tasted more like eggs"! Haha. So happy you loved the cake! 🙂
Ashley says
Hi! My daughter is actually allergic to chickpeas (Aquafaba) I normally use flax meal for substitutes. With the texture of the cake be compromised due to using a different egg replacing agent?
Sam Turnbull says
I would recommend to instead use my vanilla cake recipe which doesn't require aquafaba.
Yasmin says
Hello! I’d like to make this for my baby girls 1st birthday on Sunday! Do you know what size cake tin I should use if I want to make 20 servings (or more)?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Yasmin, a 2 layer cake like this should feed about 16 - 20 people depending on how small the slices are. If you want to make more I would make a third layer. Enjoy!
Taylor says
I made this for my boyfriends birthday last month. one of the easiest & yummy recipes i have ever used,it was so tasty & moist. i will be making it again for thanksgiving this year
Sam Turnbull says
Aww yay! Thrilled you loved it 🙂
Casey says
Do you know if using oat milk will result in a textural difference in the cake or frosting? I know it tends to be thicker than almond or soy milk. Thank you and can't wait to try this recipe!!
Sam Turnbull says
Oat milk will work just fine. Enjoy!
Marlene says
Hi, I made this cake for the first time today. I had to bake it twice as the first time it was still all gooey inside even though the knife came out clean. It looked better after the second time and still looked moist, but it was really crumbly. I let both layers cool down completely before taking them out of the tin but when trying to move off the parchment paper both started to break and one broke into pieces when I tried to lift it on top of the other. Any idea what I might have done wrong? The flavour was great so I'd love to try making it again.
Thank you,
Marlene
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Marlene, it's very difficult to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you. If the cake cooled after you baked it the first time, then you put it back in the oven, which could definitely result in a weird cake texture. Or it could have been something being measured wrong. Sorry I can't be more help!
Jennifer says
Hi I’m trying this out tonight. Do you ever do a jam layer along with frosting? Or is it not needed? Thanks
Sam Turnbull says
It's not needed but if you wish to put a jam layer between the two layers of cake, you are welcome to do so. Enjoy!
Mark Jeary says
Hi. I’ve tried a couple of your recipes and they’re wonderful. Could you let me know if your oven temperature stated is fan assisted or if I should reduce it?
Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
I don't use a fan in my oven. So happy you're enjoying my recipes, Mark 🙂
Brittany says
Hello! Forgive me if someone has already asked this! I would like to make this into cupcakes. Are there any modifications that should be made besides the baking time? Also how long do you recommend baking them? Thank you so much!! ❤️
Sam Turnbull says
The only modification would be the baking time, everything else would stay the same. I would keep an eye on them around the 18 minute mark and when they start looking cooked, test them by poking them with a toothpick. When the toothpick comes out clean they will be done. Enjoy!