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
Anita Zimmer
I made this cake for the first time on Sunday for my daughterโs 19th birthday. So good!! I liked that it had butter for flavor and oil for texture and egg whites for lightness. Whenever I see egg whites and folding, I Shudder because no matter what I do, it never comes out fluffy. Not sure if I donโt have the right texture of whites, do I over fold and need more fluff showing and stop folding? I would appreciate more pictures along this step to help guide me.
My husband has requested this for his birthday cake in September, so I have another shot! Flavor was awesome, so I will work on my technique!
I used a cream cheese and whipping cream frosting- so light fluffy and stable!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the cake, Anita! I am actually working on editing a white cake recipe video now that I plan to share with the next few weeks. In the meantime, my strawberry cake recipe has a video that shows you this process that you can reference. ๐
Stephanie
What cream cheese and whipping cream frosting recipe did you use? I would love to know ๐
Anita
It was a by bakingamoment.com โWhipped Cream Frostingโ. it called for 1package of cream cheese, 2 3/4c. Heavy whipping cream, 1 cup powdered sugar and 1tsp. Vanilla extract. Very easy, vey fluffy, and didnโt disintegrate on the cake (I kept leftover frosted cake in itโs called the fridge).
Shanin
How many cupcakes would this recipe make?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Shanin! I actually have a confetti cupcake recipe that I would use instead. It yields approximately 15 cupcakes. ๐
Kestra
Hi! We made this cake but were surprised to find it too sweet, as we normally love sweet things! Do you have any advice on cutting the amount of sugar in the recipe? Could we cut it in half? Would we need to alter other ingredients to match?
Sam
Hi Kestra! It’s really a to-taste kind of alteration. I can’t really tell you how much to cut it by. ๐
Mary
Hi Sam.
I have been following your recipes for a month now and I like how detailed you explained it.
I will be trying this cake soon. I am just wondering if I can substitute the unsalted butter for salted butter in making the frosting. Can I also adjust the powdered sugar if it is too sweet for me?
Thank you.. ๐
Sam
Hi Mary! Thank you so much for following along! You can use salted butter, but be sure to follow my tips in my post about substituting salted and unsalted butter. Unfortunately if you reduce the powdered sugar you will be altering the texture of the frosting. Enjoy! ๐
Hannah
Hi again! I have one more question. If I only have 2 regular cake pans, can I bake the third layer in a springform pan that is the same size? Thank you so much!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Hannah! If it is the same size, then you should be ok. ๐
Jill
Can I use gluten-free flour and a sugar substitute? I’m making for a friend and she is borderline diabetic and gluten intolerant.
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Jill! Unfortunately, I do not have experience using gluten-free flour or sugar substitutes therefore I can not provide you with any personal recommendations. I know in many of my other recipes people have had success with the 1:1 gluten-free flour so hopefully, you have the same success in this recipe. If you experiment, I’d love to know how it turns out for you! ๐
Liza
Hi!
I haven’t made this recipe yet but I am going to tomorrow and I have a couple questions about it. What type of salt should I be using, kosher salt or table salt? And then should I use whole milk or another type of milk?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Liza! You will want to use table salt and I reccomend using whole milk if you have it on hand. I hope that your cake turns out amazing! Happy Baking. ๐
Shannon
Made cupcakes today.. omg so good! I’m not typically a vanilla cake fan but wanted to test before using for my daughters bday cake… and I’ve eaten 3 cupcakes so far today!!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the cupcakes and I hope that your daughter does too! Thanks for trying my recipe. ๐
Hannah
Hi! I have made this cake before and it turned out AMAZING!! I just wanted to ask how many cups of batter the recipe makes, so I can make even layers. Thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed this cake recipe, Hannah! I have not measured the amount of batter before, so I am not 100% certain. The next time I make this cake, I will be sure to add that information. ๐
Jay
Hi! Iโm looking to make this in 3 6โinch pans. Do you have any recommendations of temperature and time changes? Thank you so much!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Jay! I have not tried this recipe in 6″ pans before, however, others have and had success. Since I have not tried it myself, I can not provide you with exact bake times. I reccomend just keeping an eye on it. Enjoy! ๐
Rachel
Love this recipe! I made this cake for my son’s first birthday smash cake. I made his smash cake and 2 dozen cupcakes from this recipe. Since I didn’t use the same size pans I just monitored closely for cooking time, it was 38 mins for the heart shaped cake and 22 mins for the cupcakes for me. I’ve only made a few cakes from scratch and read her recommendations on measuring flour as well as the link to the technique for frosting. Both were very helpful and I recommend reading those. I hadn’t whipped egg whites like that before and didn’t really get “peaks” but they were fluffy and the top was looking like ripples. Maybe I should have gone longer but it still turned out to be a very light moist and delicious cake and cupcakes. I need to watch some videos on whipping/beating the egg whites to get better.
Thank you for this recipe!
Sam
Hi Rachel! I am so glad you enjoyed the cake so much! Thank you for the feedback on how long you baked everything in your different pans. I actually whip egg whites to stiff peaks in my video for strawberry cake if you want to see how it is supposed to look. ๐
Emily
I made this today and it tastes SO YUMMY! But it fell in the center while it was baking. Any ideas what I did wrong for that to happen? Iโm totally at a loss!
Sam
Hi Emily! Typically this cake will fall if you your egg whites didn’t quite make it to as stiff peaks as they should, or if they were over-mixed after being combined, or if the cake is under-baked. There are a lot of variables here. ๐
Emily
Hmmm I suspect maybe it was the egg whites not quite getting to the stiff peak stage. I was impatient and my baby really hates the sound of the mixer ๐๐. Iโll definitely try it again, because like I said, it tastes really really good!! Thanks for answering!
Julie
I havenโt tried the cake yet, but the batter was delicious ๐. I followed the directions exactly, but the cakes seem to have sunk & are crispy around the edges. Is there something I should do differently next tine?
Sam
Hi Julie! There are several things that can cause this cake to sink: if your egg whites weren’t whipped quite enough, if they were over-worked when stirred in, or if the cakes were under-baked. It sounds like your oven may be running a little bit hot if the edges were crisping.
Melissa
Really simple to follow and the cake was super moist and flavourful. Itโs definitely on the sweeter side which is to be expected with all the sprinkles! I used my own buttercream recipe so this review is just for the cake – Iโll definitely be using this one again.
Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for trying my recipe, Melissa! I am so glad that you enjoyed the cake. ๐
kathie dunton
Can cake flour be substituted for all purpose flour? Same measurements? Benefits?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Kathie! Yes, it can! Toย substitute cake flourย forย all-purpose flour useย 1 cup plus 2 tablespoonsย cake flourย for every cup ofย all-purpose flour.ย Either flour will work well. The results will be about the same. I hope that you enjoy the cake. ๐