A light and fluffy, made from scratch ย funfetti cake (sometimes also called confetti cake)! ย 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. ย 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 originallyย bought the name, Sugar Spun Run,ย inย 2012 and published a few postsย super casually, photographed viaย iPhone-only, and focused on… whatever caught my attention that particular day. ย It was maintainedย sporadically, sloppily, and definitely without intention.
So in April of 2015 when I got the bill to renew my website, I almost canceled everything. ย 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,ย nearly 250 recipes later with a bright cheerful funfetti cake to show for it.
It’s now been twoย years of late, powdered-sugar filled nights, of re-making recipes over and over again (often only to decide that they really were just rightย the first time), of website code-induced headaches, and ofย desperately attempting to solve the Rubik’s cube that is my camera.ย 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, whileย today can’t rightly be called my blog’s “birthday”, I wanted to commemorate this twoย year anniversary anyway. ย Today I’m celebrating Sugar Spun Run’s Unbirthday, and slicing up this confetti-colored, sprinkle stuffed, 3-layer, from-scratchย Funfetti cake just for the occasion. ย 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). ย Developing this recipe took weeks, andย 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). ย 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 spatulaย into the cake batter. ย This is easy to do– it takes only about 5 minutes– and isย critical for a light and fluffyย 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. ย 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 cakeย into thickย 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 postsย (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 withoutย you coming back day after day, and I know I wouldn’tย 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 Runย is here to stay.
Never give up on a dreamย just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. ย The time will pass anyway. –Earl Nightingale
Funfetti Cake from Scratch (and an UnBirthday)
Ingredients
- 9 Tablespoons (127 g) unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (236 ml) neutral cooking oil Use canola, vegetable, or avocado oil
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups+ 2 Tbsp (516 g) all-purpose flour (all of the flour goes into the cake batter, you will also need additional flour for preparing the cake pan)
- 4 ยฝ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ยฝ teaspoons salt
- 1 ยฝ cup (355 ml) milk
- 9 egg whites room temperature preferred
- ยฝ cup (80 g) sprinkles*
Buttercream
- 1 lb (453 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ยผ teaspoon salt
- 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar
- 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.9 Tablespoons (127 g) unsalted butter
- Add sugar and oil and beat until all ingredients are well-combined and creamy.3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar, 1 cup (236 ml) neutral cooking oil
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and then stir in your vanilla.4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt.4 cups+ 2 Tbsp (516 g) all-purpose flour, 4 ยฝ teaspoons baking powder, 1 ยฝ teaspoons salt
- Measure out your milk.1 ยฝ cup (355 ml) 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.9 egg whites
- 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.ยฝ cup (80 g) sprinkles*
- 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.1 lb (453 g) unsalted butter
- Add salt and beat again for about 20 seconds.ยผ teaspoon salt
- Gradually, about 1 cup at a time, add powdered sugar, waiting until each cup is completely mixed before adding the next cup.6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar
- 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.6 Tbsp heavy cream
- Add flavoring (vanilla extract or emulsion). and stir on medium-high for 30 seconds.2 teaspoons LorAnn Princess emulsion or vanilla extract
- 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
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase anything through these links I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please view the disclosure policy for more information.
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Recipe originally published 4/13/16 — text updated 4/13/17
Glynnis
Thank you replying so quickly. Planning to use this recipe as a base for a unicorn cake for my niece’s 7th birthday. ๐
Sam
I hope everyone loves it! โบ๏ธ
Theresa
What would the bake time be for cupcakes?
Sam
About 18 minutes. โบ๏ธ
Glynnis
Hi, What is the weight of the eggs used? Would they be medium, large or extra large? Trying to work out which ones to use for the egg whites.
Sam
I use large eggs ๐
rob
Hey! thanks for this recipe. I’m going to make exactly ‘as is’ tomorrow. I wonder if you can share why no egg yolks? What would happen if they were in the recipe? I’m curious how you came to the conclusion of so many egg whites! Would love to hear how you tested this to get the perfect recipe! thanks for this recipe!
Sam
There are no egg yolks because it is a white cake and it helps keep the color a pure white. It also makes it a very fluffy. I tested many many recipes, wanting to get a fluffy cake that was pure white before I came to this particular one. The reason there are so many egg whites is because it is a 3 layer cake. Good luck! I hope you love it! โบ๏ธ
Lisa
I want to make this for my coworker. I only have margarine will that work the same as butter. Moist and light is what Iโm looking for. I want to find my go-to cake.
Sam
I have never tried it, but I think it will work.
Abby
I am interested in using this recipe for my son’s birthday cake and would need to use 3- 12″ cake pans. Any idea how much I would need to increase the recipe? Thank you so much in advance! I’m really looking forward to trying it!
Sam
I’m sorry, I’m not sure I have not baked this in a 12 inch pan before. ๐
Jessa
I’ve been steaming the cakes that I bake given that the recipe uses all purpose flour. I was wondering if I can steam this recipe too.
Sam
I’m so sorry I have never done that before so I really can’t say.
Laura Smith
What is 9 ounces in cups?
Sam
9 ounces of what? It depends on what you are weighing.
Andrea
Hi! I was wondering what the recipe would be if I only wanted one layer of the cake. Thanks!!
Sam
Hi Andrea, you would just use 1/3 of each ingredient. I actually have the recipe written out as 1/3 for my Confetti cupcake recipe, its the same recipe but smaller and I use buttermilk for the cupcakes but you can use regular whole milk. Follow that recipe and just bake it in a cake tin according to this recipe’s instructions. I hope that helps!
Haven
Hi!
Im excited to try this as I’ve been looking for a good confetti cake recipe to add to my rotation.
For the cake recipe, I’m assuming it’s unsalted butter that you used and whole milk?
Also, would this recipe work wit cake flour and if so, how much?
Thanks!
Sam
Yes, unsalted butter and whole milk ๐
I haven’t made this with cake flour, I think it would work but I’m not sure how it would affect the texture, I recommend all-purpose for this recipe.
I hope you love the cake, Haven!
Traci
Is the icing stiff enough to pipe? I need to do piping around the top and bottom of my cake. I’m super excited to try this recipe.
Sam
It is! All the decorations on the top of this cake were done with this icing. Enjoy! ๐
Lily
Hi Sam,
I am testing different cake recipes, in search of just the right one to bake for my daughterโs third birthday! Found yours and tried it. I dont generally like confetti cake but the cake was very, very delicious!! It was moist and beautiful! Btw – I used 4 1/2 cups of cake flour instead of AP flour. I am super happy and cannot wait to bake this cake for my Livyโs bday. You give great instructions too, thank a bunch!!!
One question, does this cake need to be refrigerated? If not, how long can I leave the cake out at room temp?
Sam
You can leave the cake out of the refrigerator for 2-3 days in an air tight container. โบ๏ธ
Cathy
Hello! I wonder if using salted butter in the frosting would help tone down the sweetness. Have you tried it?
Sam
It would probably make the frosting too salty. If you are looking for a less sweet frosting consider my cream cheese frosting.
Ashley McKinnis
Any idea how much liquid egg whites you would use instead of separating the eggs?
Sam
Generally an egg white is roughly 1 oz so using 9 eggs in the recipe I would assume around 9 oz, but eggs can vary in size and I have not done it this way, so this is just an approximation. โบ๏ธ
Rebecca
Do the sprinkles bleed when you mix the batter?
Sam
No they should not bleed when mixing the batter. โบ๏ธ