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
Laura Riff
This cake sank terribly in the middle. Very disappointing. There is a giant crater.
Sugar Spun Run
Oh no Laura, I am so sorry to hear that this happened! The temperature of the oven could possibly be too high causing the cake to rise too rapidly. Have you tested the oven with a temperature to check for accuracy? If you haven’t, I highly recommend doing so. I recently purchased a new oven for our new home and found that it ran 15 degrees hotter than it indicated. Again, I am sorry that this happened. Regardless, I hope that it still tastes delicious. ๐
Holly Wolfe
I have enough frozen egg whites to make this recipe. Is there a problem with using frozen?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Holly! I have never frozen egg whites, no I am not certain how they will do. Keep me posted if you try it. ๐
Holly Wolfe
Hi! I did end up using frozen egg whites and the cake turned out perfectly! Nice and fluffy and moist. I let them come to room temperature before using.
Sugar Spun Run
That is wonderful, Holly! I am so glad that it all worked out perfectly. Enjoy! ๐
Diandra Diaz
Hello,
would this recipe work for a wilton jumbo cupcake pan?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Diandra! I have never used the jumbo cupcake pan, but I think it will be fine. I recommend keeping an eye on the bake time. Let me know how it turns out. ๐
Nina Villarreal
Making this for my husband tonight. Wish me luck!! and thanks for the detailed instructions! I am not a baker so this is much appreciated ๐
Sugar Spun Run
Good Luck, Nina! I hope that your husband enjoys the cake! ๐
Chenoa
Is the extra flour (2 Tbsp) for flouting the pans or does it go into the cake mixture along with the 4 cups?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Chenoa! The extra 2 Tbsp of flour is used in Step one of the directions. You want to prepare your cake pans by generously greasing and then using the 2 Tbsp of flour to cover the pan, being sure to shake out any excess flour. I hope that helps! ๐
Devin
Would this work using only a hand mixer? And square pans? Thatโs all I have but would love to make this. Any advice welcomed!
Sam
Hi Devin! A hand mixer will work just fine. Square pans will work as well, but the bake time may vary depending on the dimensions of the pan, so keep an eye on them while baking. I hope you love the Funfetti cake!
Johnesha White
My first cake from scratch, loved it. It gets better and better each day. Telling all my friends.
Sugar Spun Run
HOORAY! That is awesome, Johnesha! I am so happy that you enjoyed the funfetti Cake. I can’t wait to hear what you bake next! ๐
Laura
Obsessed with this recipe. Makes for great cupcakes too!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Laura! I am so glad that you enjoy it! ๐
Angie Ochoa
about how many cupcakes will it make and how long should i bake them for?
Jewell
I am making my daughters b-day came for tomorrow and my husband doesnโt really like buttercream so do you think cream cheese frosting with be ok with the Funfetti cake?
Also is there any eggy taste to the cake bc when I do cakes with just egg white they seem to taste a little eggy to me.
Sam
Absolutely OK to do a cream cheese frosting, that’s my favorite too. Here is my go-to cream cheese frosting recipe if you are looking for one, though you might want to increase it by 50-100% for this size cake.
I have never noticed an eggy taste at all, neither has anyone else I’ve served this Funfetti cake to.
I hope you enjoy, Jewell!
Dearra N Hollins
Could I just do a sheet cake instead of the three round pans? Would the recipe still be the same?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Dearra! Yes, you can do it in a 9″ x 13″ pan instead. The ingredients will remain the same, however, the bake time will vary. Others who have tried baking this recipe in a 9″ x 13″ said it took approximately 30 minutes to bake. I recommend just keeping an eye on it. Let me know how it turns out! ๐
Jackson
Hello! How do I store this once it is made? Also, is there a way for me to make the cake and then do the decorative part of the icing the next day? Thanks!
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Jackson! I recommend storing the cake in an airtight container or a cake container. You can make the cake in advance and decorate it the next day. I hope that you enjoy it! ๐
Darrien
I made this cake and frosting and they were an absolute hit, especially the frosting. You mentioned the possibility of only using two 8-inch rounds and using the rest for cupcakes. Do you know about how many cupcakes this would produce? Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Nancy
Hi, I’ve cut the recipe in 1/2 and that makes (2) 8″ round pans and (12) regular sized cupcakes. I’d assume using the whole recipe would be (24) cupcakes.
Monica
Thank you for letting ua know you were able to cut the recipe in half with good results! โบ I would like to do the same, but am wondering about ingredients calling for a “9” measurement. Did you go with “4” or “5” on those?
Megan
I’d love to make this for my 5 year old birthday party. Any advice on how I could make this in a 13×18 sheet pan, or even just a 9×13 so I could stack in layers? Thanks!
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Megan! I have had others make this recipe using a 9″ x 13″ sheet cake and it worked well. They said that it took approximately 30 minutes to bake. Having not tried it myself, I recommend just keeping an eye on it. If you’d like to layer the cake, you will want to double the recipe and bake two 9″ x 13″ cakes. I hope that the birthday cake is a big hit! Let me know how it turns out. ๐
Lisa Baucom
Hi! I love your recipes and thank you very much for them! Do you have the measurements in ounces or grams?
Sam
Hi Lisa! I am working on getting this one converted to grams, I just always have to test my recipes with gram measurements first (I never use an auto-converter) and haven’t with this one yet (I developed it before I switched over to weights). I’m sorry, I hope to have it updated soon!
Tiffany
Hi! This looks delicious! I want to make it for an upcoming birthday. I was thinking of making it a striped buttercream cake but they seem to usually be 6inch cakes. If I used six inch rounds would you recommend lowering the oven temp to 350? And do you have a guess for how long they would bake for?
I appreciate your help!!
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Tiffany! You can use 6″ baking pans. The oven temperature will remain the same. As far as baking time, since I have not done it, I can’t advise on the exact timing. I would just keep an eye on it. I hope that your birthday cake turns out wonderfully and is enjoyed. Happy Baking. ๐