“If the hilarious pun doesn’t get you, maybe the peaches will!”

A friend of mine hosts an Oscars party every year, and part of the fun is the food-related contest that she encourages all of her guests to participate in.

The rules are simple: create a clever recipe inspired by one of the films nominated in this year’s show. It can be an actual dish that was featured in a movie or a unique recipe that plays off the title. Extra points for puns and tongue-and-cheek details!

Of course, this Pear – a – Sprite vegan cake recipe is my entry for Sunday’s contest and I cannot wait show it off because aside from the funny name, it’s very delicious.

The cake itself – despite consisting of only two store-bought items – is fluffy and tender, and it tastes like a “party cake” in that it’s not too fancy or complicated. Just really good and tasty. It’s one of those “hard to mess up” recipes and it can easily be customized with spices like cinnamon and nutmeg or by changing up the toppings. The soda + cake mix technique has been around for a while, but if you haven’t tried it, you’re going to be pleasantly surprised at how easy – and fool proof – it is to make a cake without eggs or milk!

I opted to frost this cake with a simple cinnamon whipped cream and fruit as a playful nod to the peach plot twist in the movie, but it’s great served warm from the oven with a scoop of vegan ice cream and a handful of berries or topped with this easy chocolate icing and some dairy-free chocolate chips on top too.

This recipe is easy, the contest will not be! Some of the entires I’ve seen in years prior have been extremely creative so wish me luck! I’m pretty sure this will be one of the few vegan entries on the table so hopefully everyone will try it and be surprised that a vegan cake can taste EXACTLY like the traditional varieties.

That will be the real treat for me, if I’m honest, because my favorite way to turn people on to veganism is to let the food do the talking. Here’s hoping this cake says “Veganism is AWESOME and the award goes tooooo…Nikki Vegan!!”

For the Cake:

• 1 box yellow cake mix (see Note 1 below for vegan mixes)
• 12oz lemon lime soda or plain sparkling water (Note 2)
• vegetable oil or spray for greasing the pan

For the Glaze (optional):

• 3/4 cup of the liquid in 1-2 cans of pears (I used one made from juice rather than syrup)

For the Frosting:

• 2 cans coconut cream, chilled
• 3-4 tbsp organic powdered sugar (organic sugar is usually vegan)
• 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
• pinch of nutmeg (optional)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

For the topping:

• Sliced pears and peaches (I used canned for softness but any fruit you like will work)
• See notes for more topping ideas 🙂

1. Place the cans of coconut cream in the fridge the night before to chill completely.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9″ round cake pan with vegetable or refined coconut oil.
3. In a mixing bowl, add one box of dairy-free yellow cake mix and 12 oz of lemon lime soda. Stir immediately and transfer to the baking dish.
4. Drop the pan on the counter a few times to release and air bubbles and then bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. In the meantime, measure 3/4 cup of the liquid from the canned pears and place in a saucepan. Boil on medium-high heat for about 10 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half. Then remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
6. When the cake is golden brown and fragrant, insert a toothpick to see if it comes out dry. If so, the cake is ready, so remove it from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
7. While it’s cooling, generously brush the pear glaze on top so that it can soak in to the warm cake as it cools.
8. When the cake is cold to the touch, make the whipped cream by combining all of the ingredients in a bowl and whipping until very it’s thick and creamy. SEE THE VIDEO BELOW FOR TIPS!
9. Dollop the whipped cream generously on the cake and arrange the sliced peaches and pears on top. If you saw the movie, you’ll get the peach joke but honestly, I like this cake best with just the pears so feel free to customize the fruit you use on top. More topping ideas below in the Notes.
10. Serve immediately and enjoy!

TIP: If you want to make cinnamon frosting instead, mix together about 1/4 cup of softened vegan butter – the Myikos brand works really for this – and beat the butter with an electric mixer. Then add about 3 cups of powdered sugar. I sometimes have to play around with the amount of sugar, depending on how soft the butter is. If the mixture is too thick, I add 1 tbsp of water at a time to make it nice and fluffy or I’ll keep adding sugar if it’s too thin. Finish with a few generous shakes of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg if desired and whip until smooth. So good on this cake!

1. These widely available cake mixes just happen to be vegan according to Peta and GoDairyFree.org. Always be sure to double check the label just in case the ingredients have changed Accidentally Vegan Cake Mixes and Boxed Cake Mix Vegan Hacks .
2. Sprite is definitely not a “healthy drink” but it is accidentally vegan and works mind-blowingly well as both an egg and oil substitute in this recipe! It ends up being around 2oz of soda per serving in this recipe and I personally think a little is ok when it comes to treat foods like this, but that’s just my preference! If you want to substitute a more natural option or even use sparkling water, that works really well too! Just make sure you use a sparkling water that is really fizzy, like Croix rather than something like Pellegrino for this.
3. These vegan gummy worms would a great decoration and a fun play on the whole parasite thing 🙂
4. Additional topping ideas: 1. Serve this cake warm from the oven with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream and sliced strawberries on top. Simple but crazy good. Especially in the summer when strawberries are a dessert in their own right! 2. Omit the pear glaze and serve this cake with vegan chocolate ice cream, a drizzle of peanut butter, and a handful of vegan chocolate chips or crushed roasted, salted peanut nuts. 3. If you’re opting for fresh berries and whipped cream on top, I’d leave out the cinnamon and consider zesting a lemon and/or orange on top for brightness and zing. 4. Finally, a fun way to change things up for the holidays is to mix 2.5 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg into the cake batter. For the topping, place chopped apples on a lined cookie sheet and add a drizzle of maple syrups, a sprinkle of cinnamon and ground ginger, and a squeeze of lemon. Bake until the apples are soft and gooey. About 15 minutes. Then spoon the warm apples on top of the cake and serve with some vegan whipped cream. It’s SOOO good!
5. You can also bake the fruit on top of the cake if you like. I love adding sliced pears on top of the batter with a sprinkle of cinnamon. It softens the fruit and adds a subtle pear flavor to the cake. Especially good if you add 2.5 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg into the batter.
6. If peaches are in season and you want to use fresh peaches, go for it! A little freshly grated nutmeg on top too would really make them sing. Enjoy!