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
Allen B.
Followed this recipe yesterday to make a sheet cake. It came out perfect, well maybe just a bit sweet, but this was a test, so I will adjust the next time. Nice tender crumb and moist cake. I will be using this as a go to recipe!
Thanks for sharing Sam!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that it came out perfectly for you and that you enjoyed it, Allen! Thank you for commenting! ๐
Erika
Would this recipe be okay for cupcakes? If so, could I freeze half baked cupcakes? Thanks.
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Erika! I actually have a confetti cupcake recipe that I would use instead. It will provide you with exact measurements and bake time. You can also freeze half of the baked cupcakes to frost later. Enjoy!
Gracie
Hi, I was wondering if I could use almond extract instead of vanilla Have none.
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Gracie! You can, however, it will change the taste of the cake and it will no longer have that vanilla flavor. Almond has a much stronger flavor as well so you will need to reduce the amount of extract added by half. I hope that you enjoy the cake. ๐
Kelsi Allen
Sooo good! Made it for my husbands birthday. Everyone loved it!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that everyone enjoyed the cake, Kelsi! Thank you for trying my recipe. I hope that your husband had a nice birthday celebration.
Michelle
Did anyone find the 6 cups of powdered sugar to be extremely sweet? I am loving everything else about the way this recipe turned out, but the icing is crazy sweet!! I would cut it in half next time!
Sam
Hi Michelle! It takes a lot of powdered sugar simply because you are making a lot of frosting. If you cut the powdered sugar your frosting won’t be quite as thick, but I am glad you enjoyed the cake otherwise. ๐
Kelsi Allen
Hi for the 9 egg white, can I use liquid egg whites in a box? If so what is the measurements to equal that amount?
Sam
Hi Kelsi! I know some have had success using the egg whites in a carton but I don’t recommend it because sometimes you can’t get them to whip to stiff peaks. I am not sure what the measurement would be, it should have a conversion on the side of the carton. Good luck! ๐
Shelly
Have you by chance done the measurements for this cake? Also if I only had cake flour would the measurements (in grams) be the same as all purpose? What all purpose flour do you like?
Sam
Hi Shelly! I am so sorry I haven’t added the gram measurements yet. I will get those added as soon as possible. If you use weights the weights would be the same, if you use cups it is not the same. I use pretty much any brand of all purpose flour. ๐
vince
I used this in a 9×13 pan. Followed recipe as instructed. My only problem was it was a little sugary in the cake. I don’t know where it went wrong. The buttercream I used 4 cups instead of 6 cause it was getting sweet. Overall it came out really good.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it overall. ๐
Jenn
I was really excited about trying this recipe but I messed up the batter on step 7 because the instructions were not clear. I had the butter oil and sugar mix left to the side because it didnโt say to mix them. Then I realized in the comments that I was supposed to mix them. Maybe make it more clear now I feel like Iโve wasted all these ingredients ๐ฉ
Sugar Spun Run
I am so sorry that you found the directions confusing, Jenn! I will look at reworking the instructions and create a video so others do not have the same issue. I appreciate your feedback and am sorry that your cake did not turn out. ๐
Christie
Hello! How do you store the cake? I am making this tonight and its for my sisters birthday tomorrow! Not sure if I should refrigerate or if i can leave out?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Christie! You will store the cake at room temperature and either in a cake container or wrapped well-using saran wrap. I hope that your sister enjoys her birthday cake and has a wonderful birthday! ๐
Marina
I have two 9โ cake pans will I need to make any changes to the recipe if I want to do a two layer cake?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Marina! Since you wish to make a 2-layered cake, the easiest way is to use my white cake recipe and add in sprinkles. This recipe is based on the white cake and the calculations are done for you already. The only note I have would be to be sure to use sprinkles/jimmies or round sequin “quin” sprinkles, do NOT use nonpareils or they may bleed through your batter and ruin the coloring of your cake. I hope that helps! Happy Baking! ๐
Kate
It might be my corona-time mind but I think I missed a whole step?! I didnโt see where you combine the butter/sugar/oil combo with the flour mix?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Kate! You will do this in Step 7. You will gradually alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. ๐
Fatima
Can you substitute buttermilk for the milk in this cake?
Sam
Yup!
Donna
Could you use cake flour instead of all purpose flour for this recipe ?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Donna! Yes, that will work fine, though I believe it is not a 1:1 substitution. Happy Baking! ๐
Haley
Would substituting almond flour for all purpose flour make a huge difference in the recipe?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Haley! Unfortunately it would and I don’t think I would recommend it for this cake.
Amanda
Can I make this in 2 circle pans or a 9×13 pan?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Amanda! This recipe fits nicely in a 9″ x 13″ being pan so I recommend using that instead. Enjoy! ๐