This vegan lemonade funfetti cake is the easiest and best recipe for a quick party or birthday cake! It’s soft and fluffy yet super simple and it comes together in less than 5 minutes. Top it with lemon glaze and vegan sprinkles, you‘ll have the perfect cake for any occasion!
The easiest and best vegan funfetti cake
If you are looking for a super simple vegan cake recipe that comes together in just a few minutes, this no-fuss lemonade cake will quickly become your favorite!
Though this cake does not require eggs or dairy butter, nobody will ever notice that it is vegan! Both, children and adults alike will surely love this lemonade cake!
All you need to make this recipe is a bowl, a spoon or whisk, a baking pan, 5 simple ingredients, and fancy colorful sprinkles for the decoration. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? In fact, it is!
Use your favorite baking pan!
Since this vegan funfetti cake can be baked in any baking pan, you can absolutely use your favorite. Whether a springform pan, square pan, loaf tin, muffin or cupcake pan, or even a classic oven sheet – any will do!
While small funfetti muffins or cupcakes are very handy for birthday party’s or for kids to take to school, traditional sheet cake bars or slices make a great sweet treat for bigger parties such as New Year’s Eve, carnival, or a fancy theme party. And if you’re looking for an elegant dessert to serve your guests with a cup of tea or coffee in the afternoon, turning this recipe into a round funfetti layer cake would be an elegant option!
But in the end, it doesn’t matter in which pan you bake this recipe because the vegan funfetti cake tastes amazing in any shape!
A little note on the baking time
Keep in mind, however, that the baking time can vary depending on the oven or size/shape of your baking pan or whether you cover the cake during baking. Therefore I highly recommend doing a chopstick test before you remove it from the oven! Also remember that the longer you bake your cake, the drier and crumblier it gets. That being said, if you want a super soft and moist lemonade cake, be sure to not overbake it. Here are the baking time guidelines for different baking pans:
- 8- or 9-inch springform pan (or a similar-sized square pan): approx. 40 minutes.
- 8-inch loaf pan: approx. 50 minutes
- 12-cup muffin or cupcake pan: 20-25 minutes
- Baking sheet: approx. 35 minutes
Note: If using a standard sheet pan (large baking tray) to make vegan funfetti cake bars, simply double the quantities of ingredients as written in the recipe card below. The same applies to a cake: simply bake 2 round cakes and put them on top of each other. You can find a frosting recipe here.
How to make Vegan Funfetti Cake
This vegan funfetti lemonade cake is super easy and definitely a failproof recipe – so it’s perfect for beginners, busy, lazy, or impatient people, and just anyone who wants a quick uncomplicated cake!
- Start by preheating the oven to 356˚F (180˚C) and prepare your desired baking pan.
- Now whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
- Then add the oil and orange lemonade and stir briefly with a whisk until just combined.
- Pour the batter immediately into the prepared baking pan and bake.
- Allow it to cool.
- Finally, pour the lemon icing over it and decorate with sprinkles or other toppings you like.
Vegan sprinkles
If you’ve ever seen my popular pancake or mugcake creations on Instagram, you might have noticed that I love to decorate any desserts with colorful sprinkles! Especially, these super cute pastel colors are my favorites! Besides using classic pearls, sticks, and chips, I also love vegan sugar sprinkles in other shapes like unicorns, animals, hearts, or clouds.
Anyway, if you’re not a big fan of sprinkles, you can definitely leave them out. Feel free to only pour the lemon icing over your birthday cake and then top it with chopped nuts, chocolate chips, vegan mini marshmallows, or whatever decorations you desire. Of course, this soft and fluffy lemonade cake will be delicious as it is, so you can even skip the toppings altogether!
Which lemonade can I use?
Orange lemonade aka “Fanta” is vegan like many other sugary lemonades. Therefore you can basically use any carbonated orange lemonade, even with other flavors or sugar-free ones! However, if using sugar-free lemonade, please keep in mind that the cake will not get such a crispy golden crust. Also, the consistency will be slightly different.
Can I make this vegan funfetti cake gluten-free?
To make this cake gluten-free, I recommend replacing the all-purpose or light wheat or spelt flour with gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour. Of course, you can try it using different flours, but please remember that the cake will probably not be as fluffy and soft, especially if you choose a heavier flour, such as wholemeal flour.
How can I store this cake?
Since this vegan lemon cake is a dry sponge cake, it is best stored in an airtight container. That way the cake keeps fresh and soft for 2-3 days.
If you want to make this cake ahead to enjoy on later days, you could also freeze it. Simply cut the cake into bars or slices. Then wrap them tightly in cling film and put in a freezer bag. If you want to enjoy a piece, just take it out of the freezer and allow to thaw at room temperature.
This vegan funfetti cake is:
- Egg-less
- Dairy-free (lactose-free)
- Quick and easy
- Failproof
- Versatile
- Soft
- Fluffy
- Moist
- Delicious
- The easiest vegan cake that’s perfect for any occasion!
Looking for more easy vegan cakes with orange or lemon flavor?
If you love quick and easy cakes with fresh lemon or orange flavor, here are some similar recipes you can try:
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
- Best Vegan Lemon Cake
- Strawberry Lemon Cake
- Blueberry Bundt Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Raspberry Orange Almond Cake
- Cranberry Orange Bread
If you try this vegan funfetti birthday cake recipe, please leave me a star rating and comment on how you liked it! And if you take a picture of your party dessert and share it on Instagram, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka so I won’t miss your post! Have fun baking!
Easy Vegan Funfetti Cake
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
Lemonade Cake
- 2 ½ cups (300 g) all-purpose or light spelt flour or sub gluten-free flour, *see notes
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) neutral oil e.g. canola or sunflower oil
- 1 ¼ cup (300 ml) orange lemonade *see notes
For the glaze
- ¾ cup (90 g) powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice or water or lemonade
Decoration
- sprinkles see blog post for other suggestions
Instructions
Note: Be sure to watch the recipe vieo and step-by-step pictures + tips in the blog post above!
- Preheat the oven to 356°F (180°C). Grease an 8- or 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. (You can also use a similar-sized square pan or an 8-inch loaf pan or a 12-cup muffin pan. If you want to bake the cake on a large sheet, simply double the ingredients.)
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
- Add the oil and orange lemonade and stir briefly with a whisk or spatula until just combined.
- Pour the batter immediately into the prepared baking pan. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. (Cover the top loosely with parchment paper if it gets too brown during baking). (Note: Smaller or flatter cakes are done sooner. Muffins take only 20-25 minutes. Flat sheet cake or 2 layer cake takes about 35 minutes. Loaf takes about 50 minutes).
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Then remove it onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
- Stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice to smooth icing. Then pour the icing over the cooled cake. Decorate with sprinkles or other toppings as desired.
- Slice and enjoy it!
Notes
- Springform pan: I used an 8-inch springform pan here. If using a 9-inch pan the cake will be a bit flatter.
- Layer Cake: To make a layer cake, bake two round cakes. You can find a frosting recipe here.
- Flour: To make this cake gluten-free, I recommend using gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour. When using a heavier flour, such as wholemeal flour, the cake will not turn out as fluffy and soft as when using a lighter flour.
- Orange lemonade: I use "Fanta" but you can use any carbonated orange lemonade, even sugar-free varieties.
- The baking time may vary depending on your oven or the size/form of your baking pan. Therefore please make sure to not skip the chopstick test before removing the cake from the oven. Also remember that the longer you bake the cake, the drier it gets. So if you want a moist cake, do not overbake it.
- Please read my blog post for storage tips and more helpful information.
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I love this Cake. I really often make this, for every occasion. I made for Birthday, or sunday afternoon event. I always put some chocolate chip to the pasta. We love it, thank You! <3
Wow, that’s great! I’m so happy about it! 🙂
I made this cake yesterday. I am new to gluten-free baking and used the bob’s red mill 1-1 baking flour. The batter was very thick and I had to add extra fanta to get it to a pouring consistency. Beside that I followed every measurement provided. While I loved the taste, it just felt like it was not as soft and spongy as your video is showing. Should I be doing something different?
I highly recommend measuring the ingredients in grams and ml. Maybe you added too much flour?
I think this is my new fav ‘fast’ cake. Made it with my 4-year old. We baked 1 8inch cake + 3 little cup-cakes. Recipe is easy to follow. Cake came out perfect. We squeezed fresh orange juice for the frosting. Yum!!
That’s awesome! Thanks for your feedback, I’m glad you liked it that much! 😍
What happens if you use lemonade but not carbonated?
It won’t rise as well.