My light and fluffy, completely from scratch Funfetti cake recipe has over 600 five-star reviews and has even been featured on TV! ⭐️ It’s a soft white cake speckled with sprinkles and iced with buttercream frosting, perfect for beginners and advanced bakers alike. Makes the perfect homemade birthday cake! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Homemade Funfetti Cake Recipe
My fluffy Funfetti cake (also known as confetti cake) has been one of my most popular recipes for years (right up there with my “worst” chocolate chip cookies). Flecked with sprinkles, a plush, super soft texture, and a buttery, caramelized vanilla flavor–what’s not to love?
Developing this cake took me weeks and is still one of my proudest accomplishments (right there with my French macaron recipe). When I finally nailed it, I found that there were a few key ingredients that really made a difference, namely, whipped egg whites.
For maximum, fluffy softness (and snow-white color), this recipe calls for plenty of egg whites (and no egg yolks–save those for your tiramisu!). You’ll whip these separately with an electric mixer until they reach stiff peaks and then fold them (gently!) into the cake batter. This is easy and quick to do, and it’s critical for a light and fluffy white cake (don’t get me started on yellow Funfetti cakes–there should be no such thing!).
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Perfect taste, perfect texture. Largely thanks to the afore-mentioned whipped egg whites and a combo of butter and oil in the cake batter. Oil adds moisture, while butter adds flavor, so by mixing the two you achieve perfect balance. This is how I’ve designed so many of my cake recipes, and once you try it you’ll see why.
- Bright white color. This serves as the perfect backdrop to colorful sprinkles. This Funfetti cake gets its pristine color from using egg whites only, clear vanilla (instead of regular vanilla), and a neutral oil.
- So soft and fluffy. This gorgeous texture comes from a critical ingredient: whipped egg whites. I’ve repeated this technique in several recipes since, including my lemon cake, strawberry cake, and Oreo cake. All have a plush, light-as-air texture!
- Frosted with an easy peasy classic buttercream, though you could technically use any frosting you like. Fruity pebbles frosting, strawberry frosting, and cream cheese frosting are all nice alternatives!
What You Need
For the Cake Layers
- Flour. Back when I was first developing this recipe, cake flour was difficult for me to find and when I could, it was pricey. I developed this recipe specifically with the intention of achieving a light fluffy texture with regular ol’ all-purpose flour (and it worked *perfectly* if I do say so).
- Egg whites. It’s important that you separate your own eggs (do not use eggs from a carton) and make sure not to get even a drop of yolk in the whites. Room temperature eggs work best, so try to remember to set yours out ahead of time if you can. If you forget, use my trick to quickly bring eggs to room temperature (just make sure to thoroughly dry the eggs before cracking them).
- Milk. Whole milk is my preference, but I suspect a milk substitute (like almond milk) would work just fine. Whatever you use, ideally let it come to room temperature before adding it.
- Butter & oil. As mentioned above and used in my white cake and vanilla cake, a blend of the two balances flavor and texture of this Funfetti cake perfectly. For the oil, opt for a neutral cooking oil like canola, vegetable, or avocado oil (I like avocado oil, but it’s a bit more yellow and so colors the cake slightly). Using a particularly yellow butter or oil can affect the color of your cake.
- Baking powder. Not baking soda! It will seem like a lot, but it’s not (we’re making a big cake!). There is no baking soda in my Funfetti cake recipe, and that’s intentional. While this isn’t the main reason I don’t use baking soda, baking soda encourages browning and adding it would actually make the cake more golden inside.
- Vanilla. To maintain that pristine white color, I use clear vanilla in the cake layers. If you would rather opt for natural vanilla flavoring it will work perfectly well, just know your cake may be tinted a bit more golden.
- Sprinkles. Your sprinkle choice matters! Nonpareils can bleed into your batter and ruin that pristine white color. Stick with jimmies or quins–they add color without any bleeding.
SAM’S TIP: If you want to use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour, you must substitute properly. If you are using weights, the weight is the same; if you are using cups, you will need 4 ½ cups of cake flour.
Frosting
This is a big three-layer cake, so you will need quite a bit of frosting to cover and decorate it. Just giving you a fair warning before anyone is alarmed by the amount of butter you’re about to see 😉.
- Butter. Yes, we are using a full pound (or four sticks) of butter here. Remember, this is a big Funfetti cake! I use unsalted butter and add salt separately, but if you use salted butter you likely won’t need to add any salt (taste-test the frosting and add a inch if needed — salt helps cut the sweetness and deepen the flavor).
- Powdered sugar. I highly recommend measuring your ingredients with a kitchen scale for the most accurate results (I link to the one I use in the recipe card, it’s inexpensive). It can be very easy to over-measure powdered sugar, much like measuring flour!
- Heavy cream. We’ll whip this into the frosting for a light and fluffy texture. Whipping cream or double cream would also work.
- Flavoring. For the frosting, I sometimes like to use Princess emulsion instead of vanilla (I also use this in my frosted animal cookies–another fun recipe). It accents the buttercream with notes of citrus and almond and keeps it from being overbearingly sweet. If you don’t have any or can’t find it, regular vanilla extract works perfectly.
SAM’S TIP: For that popular Milk Bar birthday cake look, frost your funfetti cake scantly on the outside and top with my confetti crumbs!
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Funfetti Cake
Make the batter
When making the batter, you’ll want to start with an electric mixer or a stand mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment) to combine all of your ingredients thoroughly and properly. Creaming the butter in the beginning is actually important for the best texture.
You want to make sure everything is well-combined, but also be careful not to over-mix (this comes into play when adding the milk and then again adding the egg-whites). Over-mixing the batter can cause dense, dry, or sunken results.
Whip the egg whites
Before you begin, make sure your bowl and beaters are completely clean, dry, and grease-free. Even a tiny bit of grease can prevent your egg whites from whipping properly!
Stiff peaks are our aim here! This means your egg whites will have greatly increased in volume, they’ll be bright white in color, and they’ll be fluffy. To test that you’ve reached stiff peaks, lift your beaters straight out of the whites. The peaks should hold firm without folding over or falling back in on themselves.
Fold in the egg whites and sprinkles
Gently is the way to go! Gently stir in all of the egg whites at once along with your sprinkles.
Use a spatula for this step and not your mixer. Your aim is to NOT over-mix. Instead, the goal is to combine everything without deflating those egg whites we just spent all that time whipping. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure everything is well combined.
You will lose some of the volume as you fold the batter, but try your hardest to incorporate the egg whites gently without totally deflating them.
Bake
Use the toothpick to test your cakes for doneness; a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean or have a few crumbs when inserted in the center of each cake.
It’s important to keep a close eye on your Funfetti cakes as they near the end of the bake time; underbaking your cake can cause it to sink, while over-baking can dry it out (even just a minute or two too long can do this).
The outsides of the cake bake into a pretty golden color, but don’t panic! The insides will still be snow white.
Decorate
Let the cake layers cool completely before you decorate the cakes. I recommend using my buttercream frosting (in the recipe card below) as it’s a classic Funfetti cake pairing, but I have a whole catalog of frosting recipes that would work well here. Just note that most of those recipes are for 2 layer cakes so you will have to scale up by at least 50%.
I also recommend doing a crumb coating on the cake before decorating. This mean applying a thin layer to the outside of the cake then freezing it for 15 minutes before continuing to decorate. This will catch any crumbs and help your frosting apply more smoothly.
SAM’S TIP: New to cake decorating? I have a guide on how to decorate a cake that’s perfect for for beginner cake decorators! You’ll learn everything from what equipment you need to how to do crumb coat.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe makes about 12 cups of batter.
For a two layer Funfetti cake: I recommend you make my white cake recipe and add ⅓ cup of sprinkles. That recipe is actually the same as this one, but scaled down to fit two pans (and doesn’t have sprinkles, obviously!).
For a 9×13″ pan: you would technically need to reduce the recipe by ⅓. This can get tricky, so I usually recommend making the recipe as-is and using the excess batter for cupcakes (though they won’t have nice rounded tops–see below).
If you are looking for a good Funfetti cupcake recipe, I recommend making my confetti cupcakes or white cupcakes (add sprinkles) instead, as those form nice round tops. This recipe makes tasty cupcakes, but they bake up flat.
I do not recommend it, as they provide inconsistent results (and most say they are not meant for whipping). Instead, separate your own eggs and repurpose the yolks in another recipe like my pastry cream, crème brûlée, lemon crumb bars, lemon curd, key lime pie, or chocolate pie.
Yes! To do this, stir the food coloring into the batter before adding the egg whites. Gel food coloring is best for most vibrant color.
A big thank you to every one of you who has already tried my Funfetti cake recipe and reviewed it 💕 I appreciate you!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
Funfetti Cake from Scratch
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 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
- 1 ½ cup (355 ml) milk
- 9 (315 ml) large egg whites room temperature preferred
- ½ cup (80 g) sprinkles see note
Buttercream
- 1 lb (453 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar
- 6 Tbsp (89 ml) heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons LorAnn Princess emulsion or vanilla extract
Recommended Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (recommended)
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) and lining the bottoms of each pan with a round of parchment paper.
- In stand mixer (or using an electric hand 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 extract.4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt.4 cups+ 2 Tbsp (516 g) all-purpose flour, 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
- Measure out your 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.1 ½ cup (355 ml) milk
- In separate mixing bowl (use a clean, dry, and grease-free bowl, use glass or metal), combine your egg whites and stir with an electric mixer, gradually increasing speed from low to high and continuing to beat on high-speed until stiff peaks form.9 (315 ml) large egg whites
- Add egg whites and sprinkles to the batter. 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.½ 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 butter knife around the inside rim of each pan and carefully invert each onto a cooling rack.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Use the paddle attachment or an electric mixer to beat butter on medium-speed until smooth and creamy.1 lb (453 g) unsalted butter
- Add salt and beat again for about 20 seconds.¼ 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
- One Tablespoon 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 (89 ml) heavy cream
- Add flavoring (vanilla extract or emulsion). and stir on medium-high for 30 seconds. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to ensure all ingredients are well-combined.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. For more detailed decorating instructions, see my post on how to decorate a cake.
Notes
Sprinkles
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.Using 9″ pans
This cake may also be made in three 9″ pans, just decrease the baking time. Start checking the cakes for doneness at 25 minutes.Storing
Store this cake tightly covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This cake may also be frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap then foil, for up to 3 months.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.
Recipe originally published 4/13/16 — text and photos updated Feb 2025
Ashley
Could I make the cake ahead of time and store in the fridge for a couple days? Or is it better to do it same day? Any advice?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Since the fridge tends to dry out cakes, we’d recommend preparing the cake layers, letting them cool, wrapping in plastic wrap, and letting them sit at room temperature until you’re ready to assemble. You can prepare the frosting in advance too and store that in an airtight container in the fridge. Hope that helps 😊
Rebecca K
I would love to know where you bought/what exact sprinkles you used in the pictured cae?
Sam
Hi Rebecca! I actually buy my sprinkles from a place online called “Country Kitchen Sweet Arts.” I then mix a bunch of them together to make my own blends so unfortunately I can’t tell you exact ratios and things like that. I just mix until it looks pretty. 🙂
Karlee
Love this cake! I use it for all my birthday cakes (and unbirthday cakes) and everyone always loves it! I have always used the recipe, printed, from the original site, but couldn’t find it tonight. I was SO HAPPY to find it online again!
Thank you!
Meredith
Can fondant be used on top of this cake or will it be too soft?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Meredith! Fondant would work well on this cake. 🙂
Sarah
I’m trying to make this today, but the flour measurement is not working out for me. I did both a measuring cup measurement and a weight measurement. I’m using King Arthur all-purpose. 4 cups + 2 Tbs leveled with a knife is more like 625g. I would need to drop almost 3/4 cup for the weight measurement to work out. Which should I follow?
P.S. The weight to cup measurement worked out perfectly for the sugar.
Sam
Hi Sarah! It sounds like you may accidentally be packing your flour into your cups too tightly. I do have a post on how to measure flour that can help account for some of the weight differences. You will want to use the grams listed as it is accurate. A cup of flour has been standardized on my site to be 125g (you may find some slight variations between sites of a few grams). The 516g will work and I’m afraid if you use the 625 your cake will come out a bit dry.
Samantha L
In your funfetti cupcakes, you have almond extract along with the vanilla. Can I add some almond to the cake too, or would the flavor be off?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That should work just fine. Enjoy!
Samantha L
Thank you for the reply! Could I ask add other mix ins, like crushed Oreos in addition to sprinkles, or instead of?
Sam
That should work just fine. I do have an oreo cake you could try if you are looking for the oreo flavor. 🙂
Ang
No bueno for me. I swear it is all in the measurements. I used my scale to measure in grams. I used the scale to measure my oil as well and I think that is where I went wrong. My cake is runny. And oh lord. the egg whites. I had more egg whites then I had cake batter. but I put all put all my measured ingredients in. Not sure that I would try this again. Im not a fan of -fetti. Its my daughters 18th birthday and she wanted one specially made by me. I flopped that up.
Sam
I’m so sorry this happened! I think the problem probably came from using the scale for your oil. While a lot of scales do have a ml setting on them, that is really only accurate to water so it’s best to measure liquids with a liquid measuring cup. 🙁
LaWaine
I need a three layer 10 inch cake . Can I 1 and 1/2 this recipe.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yes! Enjoy ❤
Tiya
Hello, I made your funfetti cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday last year and it was the best! I want to make this cake with cream cheese frosting this time. Would that work? If yes, how much frosting would I need to fill and frost this cake? Could you also please tell me if I need to refrigerate the cake if I assemble it the previous night? How long can the cake stay out at room temperature? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Tiya! You could definitely use a cream cheese frosting here. I would recommend increasing the recipe by 50% to end up with close to the same amount that this recipe makes. Since it is a cream cheese frosting, for safety I would recommend storing it in the refrigerator. 🙂
Tiya
Thanks for your response. How soon can I pull the cake out of the refrigerator before serving and how long can it sit out? Asking because it is for a kid’s Birthday Party 🙂
Sam
It will be ok out of the refrigerator for several hours as long as it’s not really hot and humid. 🙂
Amanda
Hello
I was just wondering if you know if this recipe would work out good for cupcakes. I know I would need to decrease the cooking time but any other helpful hints?
Sam
Hi Amanda! This will work for cupcakes. The bake time will be about 17 minutes. 🙂
andrea
This didn’t work out for me. My center fell too. So disappointed to spend all this time on it and not have it work out
Sam
I’m so sorry this happened, Andrea! The most common causes of the cake sinking are the batter being over-mixed or the cake being slightly under-baked. The egg whites are where you need to be really careful mixing the batter. Once they reach stiff peaks you can fold them in by hand very very gently. I hope this helps and your cakes turn out better next time. 🙂
Sarah
I have a question. Does this cake need to be refrigerated before and after serving?
Sam
Hi Sarah! There’s no need to refrigerate this cake. 🙂
Novice Nelly!
Hi! Probably a silly question, but if I have only TWO 8-inch round pans, I assume I should adjust the recipe (i.e., make 2/3) accordingly? Instead of messing w/ bake times? Thanks!
Sam
So you can do 2/3 of the recipe, or if you want a 3rd layer you can bake the two cakes, saving the other batter until the first 2 are done and then bake the third cake. You won’t need to adjust bake times for doing 2 cakes instead of 3. You just want to make sure you don’t overfill your pans. 🙂
Novice Nelly!
Thank you! I ended up making the full amount the recipe called for and using two pans — they were very tall layers! And needed slightly additional bake time, but not much. The cake tasted AMAZING — one friend rated it 12 out of 10, haha. Thank you!
Sam
Awesome! I’m so glad it turned out for you. 🙂
Carolyn Johnson
Hello I’m going to be making this for my sons first party do you know how long it will be good for? His party is on a Saturday could o make it on a Thursday and still taste good?
Sam
Hi Carolyn! That will be just fine. I would store it in an air tight container to keep it as fresh as possible. 🙂
Amanda
This recipe was great! Everyone loved the cake. For a 12×18 cake pan would you recommend doubling the recipe or tripling?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Amanda! This recipe will make approximately 15 cups of batter. It looks like a 12 x 18 pan typically uses about 16 cups of batter, so you would probably be fine to make the recipe as is for the 12 x 18 😊
Felicia Nicole Rearick
I am sincerely you can help me. I need to turn this recipe into a gluten free and dairy free recipe. I have the butter and the gluten free flour figured out. I just want to make sure I can use Almond milk in place of regular milk.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Others have used almond milk successfully, so you should be fine! It may just make it a little bit dry. Let us know how it turns out for you, Felicia! 😊
Felicia Nicole Rearick
Thank you!
Alisha
Oh my gosh this cake looks amazing! I am curious which type of food coloring ( gel? brand?) you used for this cake. The colors are so gorgeous and vibrant! TYSM for sharing
Sam
Hi Alisha! I use Americolor gel food coloring. I do remember using electric blue and electric pink, but I can’t remember the rest of them. The gels are all very vibrant and you could play with really any colors you’d like. 🙂
Jacqueline Jourjy
This recipe is amazing! Always a favorite. The last few times I’ve made their cake, the cake turned out fairly dense and somewhat dry. Would you recommend trying cake flour instead of all purpose?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Jacqueline! We’re so sorry to hear you’ve had issues with the recipe recently. The most likely culprits of a dense/dry cake are over-mixing (make sure you’re combining wet and dry ingredients by hand), not whipping the egg whites fully to stiff peaks (make sure you also use a gentle hand when folding into the batter), and baking a bit too long (could your oven be running hotter than it lets on?). The recipe was designed with all-purpose flour, so it should turn out just fine with that! Hope that helps ❤
Jackie Jourjy
Hi Emily! Thanks for that feedback.
Regarding the mixing, just to be clear – I shouldn’t use a stand mixer to mix the wet and dry ingredients? This is what I’ve been doing.
Also, I just moved to a new home where the oven does seem to be hot. The surface and sides of the cake brown quickly before the inside is cooked. Would you suggest heating to a lower temp in this scenario?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So sorry for the confusion, Jackie! For this particular recipe, we do combine some of our wet and dry ingredients with a mixer, but we do so gradually to avoid over-mixing. Make sure you are only mixing until each ingredient is almost combined. As far as the oven temperature goes, we’d definitely recommend getting an oven thermometer or two to test its accuracy–most ovens are NOT at the temp they say they are. 🙁 Once you determine how hot/cold your oven is running, you should be able to determine how to adjust accordingly. If this issue arose when you moved (since you were able to make it with no problems before!) then it could very well be the oven causing the dense/dry cake.
Felicia Nicole Rearick
Every time I have made this recipe I use cake flour I also add an additional egg white and a sliver more milk and oil as well as 2 more tablespoons of butter. It has come out PERFECT every time
Bethany
Thank you for this beautiful recipe! Can I make this in a 13×9 pan? Or would there be any adjustments? Any idea of baking time (or what the internal temp should be)?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Bethany! This recipe will work in a 9×13, but you will have excess batter. We aren’t sure of a baking time, so just keep an eye on it 😊