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
Dimitra
Hi ! Iโm making this right now , can I frost the cakes and put them in the fridge until Saturday? Will
It still
Be as good ?
Sam
Hi Dimitra! If it is frosted and in an air tight container it should be just fine. Just keep in mind that the refrigerator tends to dry out cakes.
Kelcey
I’m so excited to make this cake for my girlfriend for her birthday. She would like me to make it Vanilla and Almond flavored. How much almond extract would you recommend adding?
Mindy
Odd question, what kind of sprinkles do you use? Just the typical longish rainbow sprinkles vs. nonpareils? Looks great and going to use for 3 YO bday this weekend, want to make sure to use the right sprinkles.
Sam
Iโm the cake I use colorful jimmies. Donโt use nonpareils as they will bleed when mixed in the batter.
Jones
Hihi, can I use this recipe for a 6 thin tiered rainbow cake?
Sam
That should work just fine.๐ Iโm just not sure on cook times.
Carla Destramp
I’m an experienced baker. Made this cake for my son’s birthday this weekend in 3 9″ layers – TWICE. I always use bake even strips and pride myself on beautiful, flat and even layers. I did not rotate halfway through baking as I find that causes cakes to fall. I have an oven thermometer to ensure temperature. This recipe came out of the oven looking beautiful, cake tested perfectly. Within 15 minutes, all 3 layers had fallen in the center. No amount of frosting was going to fill the void. The next morning, I baked 3 new layers (this is now a total of 18 eggs for the egg whites!), the exact same thing happened. I ended up cutting pieces from the first 3 to fill the gully in each of the layers, and then frosted over it. My measurements were precise. The cake was absolutely delicious. Should the milk have been buttermilk? Is baking soda missing? I used butter and canola oil, followed the ingredients to the letter.
Sam
Hi Carla! That’s very odd that they fell, I have not had this happen. The milk should just be whole milk and there is no baking soda in this recipe. Is it at all possible that the egg whites could’ve been under-beaten? Or even over-beaten, that could potentially cause the same problem. Or could your baking powder be bad? These would be my best guesses. I am glad you enjoyed the flavor, though!
JoAnna
I made the cake for my Grandson’s birthday and it was a huge hit. Thank you for an excellent recipe! My problem… the edges of the cakes were done at 35 but the centers were still goopy. I left them in another 5 mins. and the edges came out tough and overdone. Are my pans too thin? (Wilton brand, 8″ร 3″) should I lower the temp next time? Should I have wrapped the pans? What should I have done differently?
Sam
My best guess would be that your oven temperature is running a little higher than you set it to? Is that possible? A higher temperature in your oven would cause the problem you described.
Rachael
Looks great! How many cupcakes would this whole recipe make? Thanks!
Sam
It will make about 45 cupcakes! ๐
Christine
To make cupcakes do you use the same temperature and how long do you bake?
Sam
Hi Christine! They bake on the same temperature. 18 minutes for regular sized and 14-15 for mini cupcakes. ๐
Bonnie
Would your cream cheese frosting recipe go well with this recipe? Or does the buttercream taste/work better?
Sam
Hi Bonnie! I prefer the cream cheese frosting and it will definitely go well with this cake. I would recommend at least doubling the recipe though. ๐
Bonnie
Thank you so much! Trying it for my 5 year oldโs birthday party tomorrow. ๐
Chelsea
I do not have multiple pans, and can do without the layers. Is it fine to just make 1 cake and increase the bake time?
Sam
So long as your pan is large enough, yes that will be fine. ๐
Shaina
Hello I’m a novice baker and plan on using this recipe to make a heart shaped cake for my daughter’s bday. Can I pour this entire batter in the pan and cut it to make layers after it is cooked and cooled?
Sam
Iโm sorry, Iโm not sure what you mean. The recipe already makes a 3 tiered cake. You could cut those three layers into heart shapes if you want.
Sierra-Lynn
If I’m using egg whites in the carton how many cups or what’s the measurement in cups for 9 eggs white?
Sam
I would check your container to see if there is a conversion chart on the side first, but it should be about a cup + 2 tablespoons.๐
Erica
Baking now, but are you sure thereโs no baking soda?
Sam
Quite sure ๐
Carla Destramp
I questioned that as well. Mine fell in the middle, although the layers looked great coming out of the oven. Had to make the recipe a 2nd time because the layers weren’t usable, same thing happened. How did yours come out?
Robyn
This cake looks delicious and I love the white cut out plate. So pretty.
Sam
Thank you so much Robyn! I think the plate came from Target or Pier 1. โบ๏ธ
Lena
Can this be made with butter flavored shortening? I want to make for my niece, but butter effects her stomach.
Sam
I think that should work.