Vegan Sushi Cake

Vegan Rainbow Sushi Cake is a cute way to enjoy all the flavors of sushi, but in a pretty rainbow stack shaped like a cake. This is fun for any occasion, especially for birthdays, anniversaries, valentine’s day, or any dinner party or potluck. Layers of colored rice and veggies make this a gorgeous and healthy alternative to traditional Japanese sushi.

This recipe makes a 6” stacked rainbow sushi cake.

Table of Contents

(click the links to skip to the section you’re looking for)

Purple Rice Recipe

Fermented Pickled Veggies

Pink Sushi Rice

Yellow Sushi Rice

Green Sushi Rice

Blue Sushi Rice

Tips and FAQ

Ingredient Substitutions

YouTube Short Video

I had the idea for this rainbow sushi cake over a year ago when we were sitting in a park in Sebastopol, waiting for our dog trainer. I miiiiiiight have a little problem with follow through, considering it took me almost a year to actually make it, and then another 5 months to type up the recipe and post it. I love making cute food, but I don’t love spending even more time on the computer after my 8-10 hours I already spend for work. Can someone please be my assistant? I wonder if Alexa can learn how to update my website for me. Not that I have an alexa, but if she can do that, I’d seriously consider getting one.

I used a set of 3 6" round cake pans to make this sushi cake. If you have a tall springform pan, it might be easier to use that than the stacking method I used.

If you think this sushi cake recipe seems too challenging, but you like rainbow foods, you can also just skip the part where we stack it, and just make it into rainbow sushi bowls. Or you could start with an easier recipe like my sushi bake which is like a colorful sushi casserole. Then work your way up to this recipe.

Step 1: Purple Rice

• 2 ½ cups water
• 10 butterfly pea flowers
• 1 cup white sushi rice
• 2 tablespoons sushi vinegar

Boil the butterfly pea flowers in the water until the water turns dark blue.

Strain the flowers out of the water using a fine mesh strainer or a v60 lined with a coffee filter.

Measure 2 cups of the blue water into a medium sized pot.

Add a cup of white sushi rice, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook until all water is absorbed into the rice.

Cover the cooked rice and let it cool.

Divide rice into 2 equal bowls.

Add sushi vinegar to one bowl of rice, mixing until it turns purple.

Line a cake pan with plastic wrap and press the purple sushi rice into the bottom of the plastic wrap lined cake pan. Set aside.

Step 2: Pickled Purple Veggies

• purple cabbage
• any vegetable (I used cucumber)
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 2 cups warm water

Chop 1 cup of purple cabbage.

Slice 1 cup of cucumber or other light-colored veggies.

Layer the veggies into a mason jar, alternating between the cucumber slices (or other veggies) and the cabbage. Press as much as you can possibly fit into the jar, so that it’s almost overflowing.

Mix 2 tablespoons of sea salt with 2 cups of warm water until it dissolves.

Pour the salt water into the mason jar until it reaches the top and is basically overflowing.

Screw the lid onto the mason jar tightly. When you screw the lid on, you want the salt water to be leaking out to ensure that no air remains in the jar.

Leave on the counter for 10 days before opening and using.

Remove from the jar and layer between tea towels or paper towels to wick off the extra moisture. I skipped this step, and I ended up having a very drippy layer of pickled veggies, as you can see in the pictures.

Layer the dried purple pickled veggies in the cake pan on top of the purple rice. Set aside.

Step 3: Pink Rice

• 2 cups water
• ½ teaspoon beet powder
• 1 cup white sushi rice
• 2 tablespoons sushi vinegar

Measure the 2 cups of water into a medium sized pot and turn to high.

Add ½ teaspoon beet powder and a cup of white sushi rice.

Boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook until all water is absorbed into the rice.

Cool the rice covered.

Add sushi vinegar to the rice, mixing until it seems evenly distributed.

Press half of the pink sushi rice into the cake pan, on top of the pickled veggies. Try to make this rice layer reach the top of the cake and get it as level and even as you can on the top.

Cover with plastic wrap. Set aside.

Step 4: Yellow Rice

• 2 cups water
• ½ tablespoon turmeric
• 1 cup white sushi rice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• some shakes of pepper
• 2 tablespoons sushi vinegar

Measure the 2 cups of water into a medium sized pot and turn to high.

Add ½ teaspoon salt, ½ tablespoon turmeric, 1 cup of white sushi rice, and some shakes of pepper.

Boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook until all water is absorbed into the rice.

Cool the rice covered.

Add sushi vinegar to the rice, mixing until it seems evenly distributed.

Line a cake pan with plastic wrap.

Press half of the yellow sushi rice into the bottom of the plastic wrap lined cake pan. Set aside.

Step 5: Steamed Greens

Wash and chop your greens. I used spinach and kale, but you can use anything you like or have on hand.

Steam them for 5 minutes.

Cool them until you can touch them without it hurting.

Squeeze any excess water out of them.

Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

Press the greens into the cake pan on top of the yellow turmeric rice, until the cake pan is two-thirds full.

Step 6: Blue Rice

Press blue rice into the cake pan on top of the greens. You should already have the blue rice made from when you made the purple rice. Try to make it reach the top of the cake and get it as level and even as you can on the top.

Cover with plastic wrap. Set aside.

Step 7: Pink Rice

You should still have half the pink rice leftover from before.

Line your last cake pan with plastic wrap.

Press the remaining pink sushi rice into the bottom of the last cake pan. Set aside.

Step 8: Carrots

Grate 2-3 carrots, using a grater. I made carrot ribbons with a vegetable peeler, but they ended up sticking out the sides of the cake, and I don’t think it looked very good. I recommend using a grater to grate your carrots, so that they stay in place.

Press the carrots into the cake pan, on top of the pink rice, filling the cake pan two-thirds of the way.

Step 9: Yellow Rice

You should still have yellow turmeric rice leftover from when you made it before.

Press the remaining yellow rice into the last cake pan on top of the carrots. Try to get it as even as you can on the top.

Step 10: Rainbow Cream Cheese

Buy a container of kite hill cream cheese.

Divide it evenly into 3 small bowls.

Color each bowl a different color of your choosing.

Mix each color well.

Spread all 3 colors side-by-side in a disposable piping bag fitted with a Wilton star tip 1M and chill in the fridge.

Step 11: Assemble and Decorate the Vegetarian Sushi Cake

Start with the first cake pan - the one with pink rice on top, and set a cake board or plate on top of the cake pan.

Flip the cake pan upside down over the cake board.

Slowly lift the cake pan off, leaving the stack of sushi cake on the cake board.

Remove the plastic wrap carefully if it’s still attached to the cake.

Next, grab the cake pan that’s topped with blue rice.

Flip the second cake on top of the stack that has purple rice on top, so that your blue and purple rice are next to each other.

Repeat with the last cake pan, until the sushi cake is completely stacked in a rainbow formation.

Pipe rainbow cream cheese on top of the sushi cake in any design you prefer.

Slice and serve with a side of soy sauce, wasabi paste, and pickled ginger (optional).

Questions and Answers and Tips

Can I use different vegetables for my homemade sushi cake?

Sushi cakes are so versatile, that you should feel empowered to mix and match different veggies of your choosing. If you’re making this vegan sushi cake for a large group and certain that it will all be eaten and there won’t be leftovers, I recommend using avocado for the green layer. And if you don’t like the look of the messy carrot ribbons, you can use cooked sweet potato for your orange layer.

I already started making the recipe and realized I don’t have any cake pans. What do I do?

Don’t worry, you can still make rainbow vegan sushi rolls, and they’ll be gorgeous. Just grab some nori seaweed and make stripes of your rainbow rice and veggies on the nori sheet, leaving a space with nothing on it at the far end. Then when you roll it, that extra blank nori at the end can be moistened (I use soy sauce, but you can also use water) so that it will stick to itself to help keep the roll from unraveling. Some people use a bamboo sushi mat for this, but I don’t think it’s necessary.

Then, just slice the sushi roll into rainbow maki sushi bites and repeat with the rest of your ingredients. This is actually what I would recommend if you want to take this to a picnic because it’s easier to transport.

Substitutions

• If you don’t have access to sushi vinegar, you can make your own with 6 tablespoons rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons vegan sugar, and 1/2 tablespoon pink sea salt (you’ll just want to heat it up enough to get the sugar and salt to dissolve when you stir it).
• If you don’t have vegan cream cheese, you can substitute vegan mayonnaise or skip it altogether and decorate the top by sprinkling sesame seeds or gomasio. Other decorating options are to make a spicy mayo with sriracha mixed with vegan mayo or to mix wasabi paste with vegan mayo.

YouTube Short Video showing how I made this vegan sushi cake

If you make this sushi cake, snap a pic, post to instagram, and tag me @vegandollhouse. I love to see your creations! You can also message me through instagram or email me if you have any questions about the recipe.

If you’re a sushi lover and would like to explore other unique sushi recipes, you might also like my galaxy sushi bowl recipe, my temaki recipe, and my sushi cupcakes.

For another recipe that uses sushi rice, check out my Korean Rice Balls recipe.

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