A pretty Easter cake is a cake I never get tired of making and creating! It might be because the use of adorable pastels, bunny rabbits and chicks.
I have created this delicious 3 tiered ‘Easter Funfetti cake’ with 3 layers of pink cake with a vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, decorated with buttercream bunnies and pastel sprinkles.
This cake screams spring to me, and really gets me in the mood for Easter!
Looking for more Easter recipes? Look no further:
I wanted to up my came so to say and create a really easy, simple yet effective cake which is delicious! Que, funfetti sprinkles. I absolutely love using sprinkles. As its Easter, I wanted to follow the pastel theme, so I picked up some pastel confetti sprinkles which work perfect when mixed with the swiss meringue buttercream. I also added some pastel chocolate balls to the outside of the cake.
I think the Easter bunny would be very happy with this cake- haha!
Why I love this vanilla swiss meringue buttercream:
- It’s light and airy
- It’s not overly sweet
- It complements the vanilla cake beautifully
- It’s easy to make
- When used with a fluted piping tip, it looks so pretty
Notes*
What is the best dairy-free butter for swiss meringue buttercream?
I highly recommend a vegan block butter when making any kind of meringue buttercream. As you’re adding in a liquid (aquafaba) you want a firmer butter which will set. If you use margarine, the buttercream will be far too soft. My two favourite block butter’s are ‘Naturli’ and Flora Plant-Based Vegan Block Alternative.
What food gel should I use? When it comes to cakes, I only like to use gel. I have tried liquid food colouring and for me, it never works. Liquid food gels don’t give you the pigment so you end up adding more which changes the texture of the batter.
Food gels on the other hand are highly pigmented and you only need a little bit, so it won’t change the texture of the bake. Pro Gel from Rainbow Dust Colours are my go-to’s. Check out all of their colours here.
What is Aquafaba: Aquafaba is the water from a can/tin of Chickpeas. The Chickpea water or brine as it’s called, acts as an amazing egg substitute for cakes, cupcakes and this delicious meringue buttercream. You can also get aquafaba in a carton for easy use. Check it out here.
Preparation: 10 minutes
Baking time: 30-35 minutes
Serves: 10-12
Level: Medium
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Ingredients for the cake
- 480ml of dairy-free milk
- 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
- 420g of self raising flour
- 360g of caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- 120ml of sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon of pink food gel (see notes*)
Ingredients for the buttercream
- 250g of dairy-free block butter (see notes*)
- 40ml of aquafaba (chickpea brine) see notes*
- 600g of icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Pink food gel (see notes*)
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Method (cakes)
1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees c fan and line three 6 inch cake tins with grease-proof paper.
2. In a bowl, combine the dairy-free milk with the apple cider vinegar and whisk until fully combined.
Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle. This creates a vegan ‘buttermilk’.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
Mix well to combine.
4. Add the oil and vanilla extract into the ‘buttermilk’ along with a drop of pink food gel and whisk to combine.
5. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
6. Pour equal amounts of batter into the lined cake tins.
Make sure to tap the tins on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
7. Pop the cakes into the center of the preheated oven and bake for around 30-35 minutes. Check them after 30 minutes. You will know they are done when you put a knife or skewer in and it comes out clean and they are springy to the touch. If theyre not quite baked, pop them back into the oven for an extra 5 minutes.
8. Place the cakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool fully.
Once cool, pop them into a sealed container to keep them fresh before frosting.
Method (buttercream)
1. In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free butter and whip until creamy. I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment, a hand mixer will work great too.
2. Add in the icing sugar & vanilla extract and whip on high speed for a couple of minutes to incorporate it.
3. Add in the aquafaba a little at a time and whip for 5-10 minutes until it turns light and creamy. If it feels too thick, add a few more chunks of butter. The texture should be very light and airy.
4. Take 1/3 of the white buttercream and add it into a piping bag fitted with a star tip nozzle. Set aside.
5. To the remaining buttercream, add a small drop of pink food gel and whizz to combine.
6. Stack and fill the cakes with the pink buttercream, adding some pastel confetti sprinkles in-between each layer (optional), then crumb coat the whole cake and pop into the fridge to set. This will take 20-25 minutes.
7. When the crumb coat feels firm to the touch, add a thick layer of the pink buttercream all over the cake and using a smooth or textured cake scraper or large spatula, smooth out the buttercream.
8. Add any leftover buttercream into a piping bag fitted with an open star tip nozzle and pipe swirls around the top edge of the cake.
9. Pipe white buttercream rosettes around the bottom edge of the cake, spacing them out. Add two ears above the rose (as seen in the photos).
10. Press pastel sprinkles or pastel chocolate balls all around the edges of the cake and sprinkle on-top (as seen in the photos).
Slice and enjoy!
To store:
Serve fresh and store in a sealed container in/out of the fridge. The buttercream will firm up in the fridge.
Best eaten within 3 days of making.
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WOW Holly, you're a baking genius. So pretty.
I made this in 2 batches with different colours for a 6 layer rainbow cake for my sons birthday. I've had no luck with vegan vanilla sponges before but this one was spot on! It was light and fluffy and rose beautifully. Thank you for the recipe, this will be the only one I use from now on x