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 Tbsp butter softened
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 cup canola oil vegetable oil would also work
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups+ 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 4 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup milk
- 9 egg whites room temperature preferred
- 1/2 cup sprinkles*
Buttercream
- 1 lb unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 6 Tbsp heavy cream
- 2 tsp LorAnn Princess emulsion or vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F 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, 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 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
LeAnn says
May 20, 2019 at 3:02 pmI love love love this cake i make 3 time’s in the month of May alone as my last 3 kid’s have May Birthdays thank you so so much for this recipe i found it a lil over a year ago and could not tell u how many times i have been ask to make it for people’s special day!!
Sam says
May 20, 2019 at 5:13 pmWow! 3 times in one month! That’s a lot of cake making! I am so glad everyone enjoys it so much. 🙂
Mj says
May 18, 2019 at 5:58 pmTaste great. Easy and beautiful.
Sam says
May 18, 2019 at 10:46 pmThank you so much, MJ! I am glad you enjoyed the cake! 🙂
Eric says
May 15, 2019 at 1:59 pmHi! I’m excited to make this recipe later this week for my 7-year old son’s birthday but I don’t think I need as much batter as you detail. I only need batter for one 9×13 pan, which I’m guessing would require less batter than the three 8-inch rounds. Any easy conversions/modifications you would suggest for my needs (i.e. 1/3 or 1/2 of each ingredient)? Thank you in advance!
Sam says
May 15, 2019 at 10:08 pmHi Eric! This batter will make about 12 cups of batter and a 9 x 13 typically holds about 10 cups of batter. So unfortunately there isn’t an easy conversion here. You would have to cut everything by 1/6 and that could get tricky. You can always discard any batter that you don’t use. 🙂
Cheri Gibson says
May 13, 2019 at 2:52 pmHi, I am making a wedding funfetti cake for my son and wanted a moist cake. I am using your receipe and do I need to add pudding in the mix tmake it extra moist? And also I heard freezing the cake like two days before icing would help make it moist. Should I freeze the cake layers?
Sam says
May 13, 2019 at 10:17 pmHi Cheri! I have never added pudding, so I can’t comment on that. Sometimes freezing the cake can make it extra moist, but make sure it is wrapped tightly. The best thing to do to ensure it is moist is to not over bake or over mix the batter. Hope that helps. 🙂
Kelsy says
May 11, 2019 at 11:28 amCan I use this recipe for cupcakes? If so, how many can I expect it to make?
Sam says
May 12, 2019 at 12:29 amHi Kelsy! Yes you can, it will make about 45 cupcakes. Fill the liners about 3/4 full and bake for about 17-18 minutes on 350. Enjoy!
Kelsy says
May 13, 2019 at 4:54 pmPerfect, thank you!!!
Kyrsten Rue says
May 11, 2019 at 10:38 amThis recipe is a bit time consuming but SO WORTH IT. Last time, I added nerds in between the layers for a fun sour taste with a slight crunch for texture! I’ve made it 3 times now (with cake and cupcakes) and it hasn’t failed me yet.
Sam says
May 12, 2019 at 12:22 amLove the idea of adding Nerds! Thank you so much for commenting, Kyrsten! I’m so happy to hear the funfetti cake was such a hit! 🙂
Kimberly says
May 6, 2019 at 3:49 pmSo I made the cake today… 9 egg whites and all. I added the sprinkles and the eggs whites as directed..and the sprinkles bled all together and turned my beautiful white cake gray/pink!! What the heck? Any suggestions? I can’t find a difference in decorating sprinkles and baking sprinkles. Its for a gender reveal party and they did not want the inside of the cake colored…just funfetti. I guess Im going to have to make another cake.
Sam says
May 6, 2019 at 4:23 pmHi Kimberly! That is frustrating, it might have been the brand of sprinkles? What brand did you use? I also just want to make sure you didn’t use nonpareils. Nonpareils are liable to bleed through the cake and discolor your batter and I always recommend using traditional sprinkles or “jimmies”.
Kimberly says
May 9, 2019 at 9:04 pmIm afraid they were the nonpareils…I have never cooked with sprinkles so I did not know there was a different. The container said sprinkles. My coworkers were very happy to polish off my failure. They are hoping I do it again. Thanks for your response. Tonight I try again…and I tested the new sprinkles for bleeding. I think I got it. This time I think I’m going to fluff the egg whites first…so the batter doesn’t sit too long. Mistakes certainly do mean you learn. ; )
Sam says
May 9, 2019 at 9:34 pmI hope it works perfectly this time! <3
Lis says
May 16, 2019 at 9:22 pmI’m making it tomorrow. I decided to do it mainly because I have a lot of sprinkles in the house.
How do know if they are just nonpareils in disguise!?
Sam says
May 16, 2019 at 9:50 pmHi Lis! Nonpareils are those teeny tiny round balls, if they’re not balls (and are shaped like dashes instead) you are good to go! I hope you love the Funfetti cake! 🙂
Wendy says
April 28, 2019 at 12:44 amCan buttermilk be substituted?
Sam says
April 28, 2019 at 8:39 pmHi Wendy! That should be fine. 🙂
Olivesdelicacies says
April 25, 2019 at 6:01 amHiya, thanks for the recipe. Looks delicious. However, ai can’t do cups and tablespoons so please can i have the recipe in metric measures. Many thanks for your response
Sam says
April 27, 2019 at 10:20 pmI’m sorry but I haven’t yet tested this one in my kitchen with weights instead of cups. Generally for me, though, a cup of flour is 125g, and a cup of sugar is 200g and I am quite certain that would apply to this recipe as well. I hope that helps!
Kelsey says
April 23, 2019 at 5:09 pmHi! Does it matter what kind of milk I use? Whole milk, 1%, etc.?
Sam says
April 23, 2019 at 7:26 pmHi Kelsey! I recommend whole milk.
Tina says
April 19, 2019 at 4:52 pmSalted or unsalted butter in the cake recipe?
Sam says
April 19, 2019 at 5:31 pmUnsalted. Enjoy! 🙂
Sam W says
April 18, 2019 at 12:29 pmThis is by far my favorite white cake base recipe! Thank you so much for sharing! I’m going to be trying to give it a champagne twist this weekend and was thinking of substituting 3/4 cups of milk for 3/4 cups of champagne reduction. Do you think this would be okay or mess with the consistency too much?
Sam says
April 18, 2019 at 7:49 pmHi Sam! That sound super interesting. It may work. My only hesitation is fact that you are cutting the fat from the recipe. You have really piqued my interest, if you try it, I would love to know how it turns out. 🙂
sebastian says
April 17, 2019 at 11:55 pmDid you purposely leave out the step where you combined the the sugar mixture with the flour mixture?
Sam says
April 18, 2019 at 9:06 amNope, it’s there, step 7 🙂
Dulce Pasatiempo says
April 15, 2019 at 9:51 am¡Super rico! Thanks for sharing.
Sam says
April 15, 2019 at 11:05 amSo glad you enjoyed! 🙂