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
Amanda
I am wanting to make this for my daughter….thing is her birthday falls on a weekend that we have a trip scheduled, so I am going to have to bake it prior to us leaving (on a thursday) for her birthday on Saturday. Could I bake this on Wednesday and it stay fresh until Saturday? Should I do anything different with assembly? In my research it seems as though iced uncut cake can last for a few days so I was hoping I could make it and put it in a cake carrier for travel but with this icing being buttercream, I wasn’t sure if it would go rancid? Thank you for all of your advice!!
Sam
I think you would be ok to make it Wednesday and serve Saturday. Just be sure to keep it in an air tight container. ๐
Gina
Can I use cake flour?
Sam
I haven’t tried so can’t say for sure
demi
can i use whole eggs?also is ti moist to make a 4 layer cake?thank youuu
Sam
You can’t use whole eggs, you need whites only. The cake should be ok in 4 layers.
Kara
Also – will the cake hold with dowels in it to hold a 6โ chocolate tier on top? Just making sure it will taste wonderful and moist but not fall apart :). Thanks!!
Sam
It is a fairly sturdy cake, so I think it will hold up just fine. ๐
Kara Murray
Thank you Sam!! My soon to be 6 year old saw the cake picture and said “oooh I want that”! So momma will deliver ๐
Sam
I hope he loves it! ๐
Kara
Hi! What brand of jimmies do you use? My daughter has requested a โsprinkleโ tier for her birthday cake and I love the colors you have throughout yours! Thanks!
Sam
Hi, Kara. I buy them in bulk and mix them all together. I use a lotttt of sprinkles. ๐
Trevor
I have baked a lot of birthday cakes for my kids, but this one was delicious!!! I received several comments. I baked it in two 10 inch pans and put them in the fridge. I frosted it two days later and everything worked fine. My only issue was using the sprinkles that bled into the batter vs using jimmies.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Trevor! I have made the same error when not using jimmies. It makes quite the interesting looking cake! ๐
Deepika
I tried this recipe, but the cake turned out too moist. I didnโt whip the egg whites separately, could that have done it? Iโm refrigerating it now to decorate tomorrow, but super scared it wonโt harden and it will fall a part and I will have to redo it. I used two 10 inch pans. Any suggestions?
Sam
I’m sorry but if the egg whites weren’t whipped properly I’m really not sure that it will turn out ๐
BRIGITTE Couture
Made this scrumptious cake and it was a big hit! My first 3 layer cake and it was perfect, followed the recipe exactly and it come out looking just like the picture and that never happens to me ๐ We made it with the cream cheese frosting and it was delicious. Now I’m impatiently waiting to get your recipe suggestions to decide what to bake next. Might try the nutella brownies!
Sam
HI Brigitte! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake!! Oh man, you really can’t go wrong with whatever you choose (in my biased opinion ๐) but have you tried my Worst Chocolate Chip Cookies?
Allison Gillespie
Now if I do it in 2 round pans instead would it be a little longer baking time?? Thanks! And would I need to do anything else different? Ultimately I need to make 4 round cakes.
Sam
If you were to do it in 2 pans, you would need bigger pans than the 8 inch pans I call for in this recipe. If you have one that is deep enough to hold the batter, you would need to bake them longer. ๐
Kimberly
I love your blog!! Its adorable how you speak! I made your confetti cake and I loved it. You now ha e another follower!
Sam
Thank you so much, Kimberly! I am so glad you enjoy my writing. I do put a lot of effort into it, so it’s nice to know it is appreciated. I’m so happy to have you following along. ๐
Thabatha
I love the cake, thanks for sharing!
Can you tell me what the baking time is the for cupcakes, please?
Sam
Hi, Thabatha! Cupcakes would need to bake for 14-15 minutes on 350F. ๐
Rhiannon Reid
Can I make this cake in advance? If yes, should I put the frosting on and leave in the fridge? Or should the cake and frosting be seperate? Thanks!
Sam
Yes you can make it in advance. You can just assemble the cake. It will be good for several days if you leave it at room temperature.
Andi
Iโm making mini cakes for my cousin to decorate for her bday. If I bake them in 4 inch rounds how long should I bake them and at what temp??
Sam
Hi, Andi. You would want to bake them on the same temperature, but I have not baked them in that size pan, so I don’t know how long they would need to bake.
Cassie
How many cupcakes would you guess this recipe would make?
And any idea if I did a 9 by 13 how long to bake for?
Sam
Hi, Cassie. It will make about 45 cupcakes, and unfortunately I do not know a bake time on a 9 x 13.
Margaret Kusner
The sprinkles ran and turned the cake mostly pink. Should I add the sprinkles at the last minute, or use different sprinkles, maybe?
Sam
Hi, Margaret. Using jimmies is the best way to avoid this problem. If you use nonpareils they are going to bleed everywhere. I don’t think adding more sprinkles would fix it for you. Next time try the jimmies. Enjoy! ๐