Funfetti Cake – Vegan and Gluten Free!

I can confirm there is no better cake than funfetti cake. If a birthday cake isn’t some sort of funfetti or sprinkles flavor, I don’t want it (embracing the TikTok meme on that one lolol). But seriously – when it comes to birthday cakes, there is no other flavor in my mind besides the infamous (and v vague) birthday cake flavor. It’s basically vanilla with a s**ton of sprinkles – BUT THAT’S WHAT MAKES IT AMAZING.

So for my new series – The Nostalgia Series – I’m making super nostalgic recipes, but my way. And for this recipe, that means vegan, gluten free, packed with oat flour, and made in one bowl. Super easy, super quick, extra delicious. And when you try it? You’ll forget all about your girl Pillsbury, because we won’t need that boxed mix anymore!

ingredients you’ll need to make the Funfetti cake

I like to keep all my recipes super simple – but this one might take the cake (seriously no pun intended…just….I promise). This cake is made with pantry staples that you wouldn’t think could create an amazing dessert, but mixed all together they are pure magic. For this recipe you will need:

The dry ingredients:

• 150 grams oat flour – I always measure my flour by grams because it’s by far the most accurate, but if you only have cups on hand, this is about 1 & 1/2 cup. If you are making oat flour by blending up rolled oats (which I highly recommend – it’s so affordable!) then use about 1 & 2/3 cup oats.
• 1 tsp baking powder – I played around with the leaveners a lot on this recipe, but I found a bunch of baking powder really helps stabilize the reaction.
• 1/8 tsp baking soda – baking soda reacts when there is an acid present (hellooo maple syrup!) so adding the baking soda here helps create a double reaction and create more lift in the cake.
• 1 pinch kosher salt – salt, even in a sweet recipe, is 100% a necessity. It helps brings out every flavor in the cake and highlights the sweetness!

The wet ingredients:

• 3/4 cup tahini – I use tahini for its light color and because it is allergen friendly! But if you are worried about the slightly bitter taste of tahini, almond butter will also work perfectly in this recipe!
• 3/4 cup maple syrup – AKA liquid gold.
• 1/2 cup almond milk – or any plant-based milk of choice! I’ve found soy milk and oat milk word wonderfully here.
• 1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla extract – it seems like a ton, but it is crucial to getting the perfect “birthday cake” flavor.
• 1/4 tsp almond extract – this is the only “rare” ingredient in the recipe, and I know it’s not an ingredient everyone has on hand, but it will make such a difference in the cake if you use it!

The add-ins:

• 1/4 cup sprinkles – now it would NOT be a Funfetti cake without the sprinkles. This recipe calls for a lot of them, but that’s because they add such a fun color, flavor and texture to the cake! I like using large, flake-like sprinkles, but really any opaque sprinkle should work! I just highly recommend you go with a multi-colored option. Bc c’mon…it’s so cute.

but wait, how is this funfetti flavored?

Now, I know what you’re thinking – how do we get that iconic “birthday cake” flavor in a recipe that uses mostly whole-foods and nutrient-dense ingredients? Well, that’s where the almond extract and vanilla extract come in.

According to The Takeout, Funfetti cake “is just vanilla cake mix with unremarkable candy sprinkles baked in.” And tbh, they aren’t thaaaat far off. (Also if you have time, their whole article on Funfetti mix is such a fun read).

But I have yet to meet someone who can definitively confirm what the exact flavor of Funfetti is, and after a lifetime of taste-tests (because ya girl loves a funfetti cake) I have come to the conclusion that Funfetti is just a more concentrated, sweeter vanilla cake. So when developing this recipe, I knew vanilla extract had to be the star of the show.

But when I was recipe testing, the vanilla extract needed some extra push behind it to really make the cake feel all the birthday-cake-vibes. And that’s where the almond extract came in! It might be a small amount, but it really adds another layer of flavor that the vanilla can play off of, and it creates a great, sweet flavor in the cake that is a perfect match for the boat-load of sprinkles inside!

how to make the funfetti cake

Once you have all your ingredients, this cake comes together in minutes. You only need one bowl, one whisk and one 8×8′ baking sheet. After that you are good to go!

Here are the steps you need to take to make the batter:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Add in the tahini, maple syrup, almond milk, vanilla & almond extract. Whisk together until the batter is well combined.
• Stir in the sprinkles until evenly distributed.
• Note: the batter might feel thin at first, but the oats will absorb the moisture and thicken up after a few minutes. Don’t let the batter sit too long, or else it will become slightly difficult to pour into the baking sheet!

Here is how to set up and bake the cake:

• Preheat your oven to 350F.
• After the batter is mixed, pour it into a parchment lined 8×8′ baking sheet. Top with extra sprinkles, bc why not?
• Note: I like to line the bottom of my pan with parchment paper that I cut to fit the edges. Then I slightly grease the pan edges with a nonstick spray. If you prefer to just put a large piece of parchment paper in the pan and fold in the edges so that the whole pan is covered by paper, that works too!
• Then just bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Tips for when your cake comes out of the oven

A recipe this easy seems impossible to mess up, but there are always a few tips and tricks to help make the entire process go smoother! When the cake is out of the oven, it will be hard to resist immediately diving in, but there are a few things to remember before you go all-in on this incredible funfetti cake!

How to know the cake is ready to be taken out of the oven

I have two main tips for how to know when your cake is ready to be taken out:

1. Listen to your cake! I know, it sounds weird, and I sound crazy, but I’m serious! When your cake looks done, hold it up to your ear and try to listen for any faint bubbling or fizzing sounds. You’re listening for what a soda sounds like when it has just been poured. If you hear any bubbling – your cake needs a few more minutes! The liquid in the cake is what is causing the bubbles, so as long as they are going, there is still moisture in your cake that needs to be baked off.
2. The second best method is the tried-and-true toothpick method. The only reason it’s my second favorite is because it requires you to poke a hole in your cute-a** cake, but otherwise it’s a great way to know when your batter is done!

Cooling the cake

It’s everyone’s least favorite thing – but it is so important with this recipe! Since this cake is using oat flour, it already has a more tender crumb than your normal, run-of-the-mill funfetti cake. To help the cake keep most of its structure, try to let it cool before removing it from the pan. It’s a pain to wait, but you’ll thank me in the end, I promise!

Tips for storing the funfetti cake

It has come to my attention that (gasp) some of you will not eat this entire cake in one sitting. And while I don’t understand it, I gotchu. There are a few super easy ways to store these Funfetti squares, whether you want to store them individually or as a batch. A few key things to remember are:

• You can store the cake at either room temperature or in the fridge. I recommend the fridge just to help maintain the moisture and freshness! It will last 5 days at room temp and 7 days in the fridge.
• If you want to store the cake before you cut it, I find it easiest to keep it in its baking dish and wrap it tightly in cling wrap.
• For those who have already cut the cake, I would store the pieces in an airtight container (such as Tupperware or pyrex) and place in the fridge.
• If you’d like to store the pieces individually, wrap each piece tightly in cling wrap to make sure no air gets in (this will preserve moisture!) then store them stacked in the fridge. Perfect for an individual snack on-the-go!

And as always, if you make the cake please let me know what you think in the comments! Did you like it better with tahini? Almond butter? Anyone try any particularly good sprinkles? I want to know!

And since I live over on Instagram, feel free to tag me on there too! I respond to all my DMs and would love to see how your cake turned out! And of course, happy baking!