A light and fluffy, made from scratch funfetti cake (sometimes also called confetti cake)! This soft, snow-white cake is speckled with brightly colored sprinkles and iced with a sweet buttercream frosting — it’s the perfect homemade birthday cake!
If this funfetti cake looks familiar, you caught me, I shared it exactly one year ago in celebration of the first unofficial birthday of Sugar Spun Run.
Well, it’s been two years now since I almost completely deleted this whole website. Instead, I dug in full-force and have spent almost every spare second of my time developing and photographing (and now videoing) recipes to share with you.
As a brief review before we get to this favorite layered funfetti cake of mine, I originally bought the name, Sugar Spun Run, in 2012 and published a few posts super casually, photographed via iPhone-only, and focused on… whatever caught my attention that particular day. It was maintained sporadically, sloppily, and definitely without intention.
So in April of 2015 when I got the bill to renew my website, I almost canceled everything. I was literally one button-click away from doing so… and then decided maybe I’d give it one more shot.
Well, here we are, nearly 250 recipes later with a bright cheerful funfetti cake to show for it.
It’s now been two years of late, powdered-sugar filled nights, of re-making recipes over and over again (often only to decide that they really were just right the first time), of website code-induced headaches, and of desperately attempting to solve the Rubik’s cube that is my camera. Well over 200 lbs of butter have made their way through my kitchen, and my KitchenAid has become my near-constant companion.
And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
So, while today can’t rightly be called my blog’s “birthday”, I wanted to commemorate this two year anniversary anyway. Today I’m celebrating Sugar Spun Run’s Unbirthday, and slicing up this confetti-colored, sprinkle stuffed, 3-layer, from-scratch Funfetti cake just for the occasion. So let’s get down to it.
How do you make Funfetti cake?
Funfetti cake is typically a fluffy white cake with sprinkles mixed into the batter.
Light and fluffy, this cake is made with a combination of butter (for flavor) and oil (for texture and moisture). Developing this recipe took weeks, and the ingredients and their ratios were calculated very precisely and carefully.
For maximum fluffy softness, this recipe calls for plenty of egg whites (no egg yolks). You’ll whip these separately with an electric hand mixer until they reach stiff peaks (that just means that when you lift a whisk straight out of the whites, the peaks stay and don’t recede back into themselves) and then fold them with a spatula into the cake batter. This is easy to do– it takes only about 5 minutes– and is critical for a light and fluffy white cake (don’t get me started on yellow funfetti cakes — there should be no such thing).
I used a buttercream that I flavored with a new emulsion that I found at my local cake shop (see notes in recipe), which accented the frosting with notes of citrus and almond. This kept the buttercream from being overbearingly sweet, but didn’t go over as well with Zach, who loathes lemon.
Vanilla extract (or any other that you prefer) can also be used, of course, and I included notes in the recipe.
Today, I’m cutting up this carefully-crafted funfetti cake into thick slices in an Unbirthday celebration, and I’m so glad that you are here to join me.
Thank you so much for following along, for taking the time to read my posts (or just look at the pictures, that’s OK too), comment, e-mail, and follow me on social media (your support as I tackle video on Facebook has been so helpful).
This space would be nothing without you coming back day after day, and I know I wouldn’t have made it this far without so many kind, encouraging comments (when I get a comment telling me that you tried a recipe and loved it, it makes my whole day).
Sugar Spun Run is here to stay.
Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway. –Earl Nightingale
Funfetti Cake from Scratch (and an UnBirthday)
Ingredients
- 9 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups granulated sugar (600g)
- 1 cup canola oil vegetable oil would also work (236ml)
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups+ 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (all of the flour goes into the cake batter, you will also need additional flour for preparing the cake pan) (516g)
- 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 cup milk (355ml)
- 9 egg whites room temperature preferred
- 1/2 cup sprinkles* (80g)
Buttercream
- 1 lb unsalted butter softened to room temperature (453g)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 cups powdered sugar (750g)
- 6 Tbsp heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons LorAnn Princess emulsion or vanilla extract
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare 3 8-inch round cake pans by generously greasing and flouring. Be sure to shake out excess flour.
- In stand mixer, beat butter on medium-low speed until creamy.
- Add sugar and oil and beat until all ingredients are well-combined and creamy.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and then stir in your vanilla.
- In separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Measure out your milk.
- With mixer on medium speed, gradually alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Stir until each one is almost completely combined before adding the next.
- Pause occasionally to scrape down sides and bottom of bowl.
- In separate bowl, combine your egg whites and, with a hand-mixer on high-speed, beat until stiff peaks form.
- Using a spatula, gently fold your egg whites and sprinkles into your batter. Take care to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so that ingredients are well-combined, and take care not to over-mix.
- Evenly divide cake batter into prepared pans.
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake layer comes out clean or with few crumbs (should not be wet). For best results, rotate your cake pans halfway through baking to ensure even baking.
- Cakes will be a light golden brown when done baking.
- Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Run a butterknife around the inside rim of each pan and invert each onto a cooling rack.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- I used this technique from I Am Baker to frost my cake. If you intend to use this technique as well it requires a lot of icing for the top and I recommend increasing this recipe by 50%. If you are just doing a plain covering that will not be needed.
- In stand mixer, beat butter on medium-speed until creamy.
- Add salt and beat again for about 20 seconds.
- Gradually, about 1 cup at a time, add powdered sugar, waiting until each cup is completely mixed before adding the next cup.
- Tbsp at a time, add the heavy cream on medium-high speed, waiting until each addition is well-combined before adding the next 2 Tbsp.
- Add flavoring (vanilla extract or emulsion). and stir on medium-high for 30 seconds.
- Transfer one layer of your cooled cake to serving platter. Use frosting to ice the top. Add the next layer, ice the top of that. Add your third layer on top and ice the top, and then do a thin "crumb coating" around the entire cake.
- Transfer to freezer for 10-15 minutes, then remove and apply a clean, thick coat of frosting around the entire cake.
Notes
Nutrition
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Recipe originally published 4/13/16 — text updated 4/13/17
Noel says
Hello do I need to double the recipe to do a 3 layer cake with 10″ round cake pans? Beginner cake baker here lol.
Sam says
Hi Noel! You will need about 50% more batter here. If you want to be safe you can double the recipe and just make sure not to overfill the pans and discard any excess batter you may have. 🙂
Jesse says
Hi Sam I’m planning on making this recipe for my girlfriend’s birthday cake. I did however want to make it into a rectangular cake. Is it possible to adjust the baking time for an 9×13 pan? Thanks in advance!
Sam says
Hi Jesse! This will make a little more batter than you will need for a 9 x 13. You can bake it in the 9 x 13 just make sure not to over-fill your pan. 🙂
Samantha says
Hi Sam! I made this recipe for my son’s birthday the last two years and we LOVE it! My question today is: Is there an easy-ish way to adjust the ingredients needed to make a small, 8″ cake? With corona in full swing, our party this year will be a party for 3 and we will not need much cake.. but still want to make this cake. It is THE birthday cake in our family. As I am not a math whiz, I thought I would reach out to you first before braving the adjustment of the ingredient values/amounts on my own. Thank you again for A+ recipes and content 🙂
Sam says
Hi Samantha! Are you making a two layer 8″ cake or a one layer 8″ cake? If you’re making a two layer, my white cake recipe is essentially the same, only a 2-layer, and I would recommend that to you. You can fold in sprinkles at the end for the Funfetti look. I hope that helps!
Susan Sanchez says
Can I use Liquid egg whites for this recipe?
Sam says
Hi Susan! I really don’t recommend egg whites from a carton here. They can be much more difficult to whip to stiff peaks and the cartons I have seen always say you can’t whip them. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible but you really need to have your egg whites whipped to stiff peaks for the best results.
Lena Moua says
Hi! If I would happen to make this would it be fine if I were to substitute the flour for almond flour?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Lena! Almond flour tends to lead to a dry, denser cake, therefore I don’t reccomend it for this recipe.
Skylar says
Awesome day Sam,
This cake looks AMAZING! The calorie count is 800 calories is that per slice?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Skylar. The calorie count is an estimate. If followed the recipe to the T and you divide the cake into 14 equal slices, one slice would be 800 cal.
Skylar says
Okay, thank you for responding
Zoe says
Hi Sam I want to make this cake but I only have two 8 inch pans. I could put the rest of the batter in a cup cake tin… how full should I fill the cake pans please so I don’t overfill. Appreciate your help!
Zoe
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Zoe! You want to fill the pans 2/3 of the way full. The rest can be baked into cupcakes. I hope that helps! Keep me posted on how your cake turns out. 🙂
Zoe says
Hi Sam. The cake was a huge hit!! OMG it is amazing. Moist and delish. Another home run. Been making a lot of your recipes and everything turns out perfectly.
Thank you so much!
Zoe
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much, Zoe! I am so happy that you enjoyed the cake! 🙂
Natali says
I would like to make this in a 3* 10 inch pans, how do i adjust the recipe?
Sam says
Hi Natali! I would probably increase the batter by about 50% to make sure you have enough. 🙂
Noel Jessup says
Thank you so much!
Shannon Pritchett says
How can I make this recipe if I only have a stand mixer? I don’t have egg beaters.. 🤦♀️
Sam says
Hi Shannon! You can beat the egg whites in your stand mixer, just make sure your bowl and beater are very clean and dry. I have had success beating egg whites with my paddle attachment as well as with my whisk attachment. I hope that helps!
Ann Tortora says
I love this cake! Where do you get your adorable sprinkles from?
Thanks!
Sam says
Hi Ann! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake! I actually buy them in bulk and mix them up for myself.
Marie says
Hi, will this recipe work without a stand mixer? I haven’t found a way to make frosting like this with a handheld mixer anywhere. Thanks in advance!
Sam says
Hi Marie! You can make this without a stand mixer. You shouldn’t have any issues doing the cake portion, but for the frosting it makes A LOT of frosting so it may be easier to do it in 2 different batches. 🙂
Eva Parguian says
Hi Sam, planning to make this for my daughters birthday. My concern is, I live in the Philippines and it is quite humid here. My buttercream tends to melt easily once out of the fridge. I wonder what can I do to avoid it from melting. I’ve read about subtituting vegetable shortening to butter?!?
Sam says
Hi Eva! I have heard about using shortening instead of butter. I don’t really like the flavor too much so I don’t recommend it but I think that would stop your melting issue. 🙂