Vegan Funfetti Bunny Cake

♫ Listening to: Sororicide by Raffaella ♫

The birthday of one of my bestest friends, Pamela, is 1 week after mine, so we often have combined birthdays. However, since this year is a special milestone birthday for her, the end of May will be a celebration of the birth of Pamela only. Her birthday cake request was a funfetti cake, so I’m practicing her birthday cake before the big day, to make sure the recipe is perfect. If you love bunnies and cake, you might also like this bunny themed cake. Another cake the sprinkleful that might like is this one.

This recipe makes a 2-layer funfetti cake, but you can also use this recipe to make 24 cupcakes.

Vegan Funfetti Cake Ingredients

• 2 cups nondairy milk
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or substitute white vinegar)
• 3 ½ cups organic unbleached flour*
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 3-4 pinches of salt
• ⅔ cup safflower oil
• 1 ½ cups organic or raw sugar*
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup vegan sprinkles mixed with ½ teaspoon flour until thoroughly coated

Vegan Funfetti Cake Directions

Coat 2 8" round cake pans using a paper towel with safflower oil on it.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Combine vinegar and nondairy milk, stir, and let sit.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in another bowl and whisk together.

Add oil, sugar, and vanilla to the milk mixture and stir well. Add dry ingredients into the wet and mix until smooth.

Gently stir in the vegan sprinkles.

Quickly divide the batter evenly into 2 8" round cake pans .

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until when you insert a toothpick into the center of one, it comes out clean. (If making funfetti cupcakes, bake for 18-20 minutes.) Set cake pans on cooling rack to cool completely before removing from pans.

Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Ingredients

• ¾ cup vegan butter or margarine (if you avoid soy, buy the soy-free earth balance; otherwise buy the organic whipped earth balance)*
• ¾ cup organic palm shortening (if you plan to decorate the cake with frosting instead of coconut and bunny ears, use 1 cup of palm shortening)*
• 1 tablespoon nondairy milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 cups organic powdered sugar (if you plan to decorate the cake with frosting instead of coconut and bunny ears, use 6 cups of organic powdered sugar)*

Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Directions

Whisk the spectrum sustainable organic palm shortening and margarine for 1 minute using a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer.

Sift in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing for at least minute between each addition.

Add the vanilla and nondairy milk, and mix for 2 more minutes.

Spread the frosting between the 2 cake layers. If the cakes aren’t flat on top, use a bread knife to slice the hump off the tops of both cakes before assembling.

Prepare all your decorations (instructions below) before frosting the entire cake.

Frost the entire outside of the cake.

Spin the cake while smoothing out the icing with an offset spatula.

Vegan Funfetti Bunny Cake Decorations

• a handful (around 30) of vegan chocolate chips
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 2 pieces white cardstock
• 2 pieces of light pink felt
• 2 popsicle sticks
• double sided tape

Vegan Funfetti Bunny Cake Decoration Directions

Melt the vegan chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave. Cool to touch.

Transfer melted vegan chocolate chips to a piping bag or squeeze bottle.

Draw the bunny facial features onto a piece of parchment paper laid onto a cutting board.

Chill the facial features in the fridge or freezer.

Cut your preferred shape of bunny ears out of the 2 pieces of cardstock.

Cut the same shape (but slightly smaller) out of felt.

Tape the felt onto the cardstock using double sided tape.

Tape the popsicle sticks to the back of the ears, leaving only an inch hanging off the bottom for sticking into the top of the cake.

Remove the chocolate facial features from the fridge once the cake is completely frosted.

Place the facial features onto any side of the cake.

Grab a handful of coconut and carefully press it around the entire outside. When you get to the face, be careful not to knock the facial features off. If there’s less coconut in this area, that’s okay.

Stick the ears into the top.

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* I use mostly organic ingredients when I cook, but I realize that not everyone has the disposable income to purchase all organic ingredients. Therefore, I only specify organic on the ingredients that really matter - when buying the organic version is the only way to ensure that the item is vegan.