A light and fluffy, made from scratch funfetti cake (sometimes also called confetti cake)! 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. 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 originally bought the name, Sugar Spun Run, in 2012 and published a few posts super casually, photographed via iPhone-only, and focused on… whatever caught my attention that particular day. It was maintained sporadically, sloppily, and definitely without intention.
So in April of 2015 when I got the bill to renew my website, I almost canceled everything. 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, nearly 250 recipes later with a bright cheerful funfetti cake to show for it.
It’s now been two years of late, powdered-sugar filled nights, of re-making recipes over and over again (often only to decide that they really were just right the first time), of website code-induced headaches, and of desperately attempting to solve the Rubik’s cube that is my camera. 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, while today can’t rightly be called my blog’s “birthday”, I wanted to commemorate this two year anniversary anyway. Today I’m celebrating Sugar Spun Run’s Unbirthday, and slicing up this confetti-colored, sprinkle stuffed, 3-layer, from-scratch Funfetti cake just for the occasion. 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). Developing this recipe took weeks, and 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). 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 spatula into the cake batter. This is easy to do– it takes only about 5 minutes– and is critical for a light and fluffy 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. 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 cake into thick 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 posts (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 without you coming back day after day, and I know I wouldn’t 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 Run is here to stay.
Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway. –Earl Nightingale
Funfetti Cake from Scratch (and an UnBirthday)
Ingredients
- 9 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups granulated sugar (600g)
- 1 cup canola oil vegetable oil would also work (236ml)
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups+ 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (all of the flour goes into the cake batter, you will also need additional flour for preparing the cake pan) (516g)
- 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ cup milk (355ml)
- 9 egg whites room temperature preferred
- ½ cup sprinkles* (80g)
Buttercream
- 1 lb unsalted butter softened to room temperature (453g)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 cups powdered sugar (750g)
- 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.
- Add sugar and oil and beat until all ingredients are well-combined and creamy.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and then stir in your vanilla.
- In separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and 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.
- In separate bowl, combine your egg whites and, with a hand-mixer on high-speed, beat until stiff peaks form.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add salt and beat again for about 20 seconds.
- Gradually, about 1 cup at a time, add powdered sugar, waiting until each cup is completely mixed before adding the next cup.
- 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.
- Add flavoring (vanilla extract or emulsion). and stir on medium-high for 30 seconds.
- 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
Jessica Snedker
Could I bake the cakes one night and decorate the next day? Would the cakes still be fresh? I want to make sure the cakes are fully cool before decorating. Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Absolutely! Just wrap them tightly in plastic once they’ve cooled and decorate the next day 😊
Michelle
I want to make this for my husband and am wondering if we can use any other oil than canola or vegetable such as coconut, ghee, avocado, etc?
Sam
Hi Michelle! I know a number of people have successfully used avocado oil. 🙂
Rachel
Hi! Can I substitute butter for the oil? This is my go to funfetti recipe but someone I’m serving can’t have oil so wanted to know if I could use butter instead? If so how would I incorporate??
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Rachel! Substituting the oil for melted butter would definitely make the cake more dry. 🙁
Joyce
I have not tried your recipe yet but intend to. The cake decorated is beautiful and I was wondering the company you ordered your sprinkles from. The decorated cake and sprinkles is a total match. I also enjoyed the email when you and your precious son made pop tarts. He was fun to watch. Please do more segments with him. Your website is terrific. I look forward to checking my email!!!
Sam
He really is such a joy! It can be tough to get him to cooperate sometimes…. I’m glad you enjoy the emails and all of the tasty treats. I am able to get my children to cooperate a little bit better for pictures, so if you have an Instagram account you can see them there a little more frequently. You can follow me @sugarspun_Sam 🙂
Joyce
Thanks for responding to my email. Can you let me know where you got the sprinkles from to use in recipe Funfetti Cake? Thank you for your kindness.
Sam
I actually buy a lot of sprinkles from Country Kitchen Sweet Arts and make my own blend. 🙂
Sue
Can you substitute egg whites with pasteurized egg whites?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Sue! We actually don’t recommend using liquid egg whites for this recipe. They can be very difficult to whip to stiff peaks and the whipped egg whites are key to this cake’s structure and texture. 🙁
Mamma Sarah
This cake rises a lot, make sure to fill your pans only about 2/3 full. In that case it might actually require 4 round cake pans. Also the cakes looked beautiful right after taking out of the oven but then sunk like crazy! At least they taste good even if they don’t look great.
Sarah
About how many standard sized cupcakes would this recipe make? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Sarah! Others have reported getting as many as 60 cupcakes from the batter.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so sorry to hear you’ve had issues with the recipe Julie. 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?). You can always try one of our other frostings, like our swiss meringue buttercream or cream cheese frosting. We hope this is helpful and that you’ll give it another go ❤
Jen
If I made cupcakes instead of the cake what would the cooking time be?
Sam
Hi Jen! Cupcakes should take about 17-18 minutes. 🙂
Lauren Blot
Cake was delicious used 3 nine inch pans. I found that the edges and outside cooked faster then then inside. My toothpick test the center was still batter and the edges were already very brown. By the time it was done the edges were burnt and I had to cut the edges off. Any suggestions?
Sam
O no! I’m so sorry this happened! Do you happen to have an oven thermometer to double check that your oven isn’t running hotter than it says it is?
April
Can I put this cake batter in the fridge the night before, then bake it the next day?.
Sam
Hmm, I’d be concerned about the egg whites deflating too much unfortunately 🙁
Kate E Law
Made this cake based off all the awesome reviews. I used vegetable oil as I ran out of canola oil. The cakes had a strong oil smell and unfortunately a strong oil taste as well. My whole family was disappointed in the taste as it was for my son’s birthday. Has anyone else had this problem?
Sam
Hi Kate! I’m so sorry this happened! It sounds like your oil may be bad. I would try it again with a new bottle. You shouldn’t taste the oil here. 🙂
Caitlin
When do you add the sprinkles to the batter? I don’t see that step listed in recipe…maybe I’m just missing it?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Caitlin! Add them in step 10 😊
Kathryn
Turned out almost perfect I turned at 17 minutes but got really brown so at the minimum cook time suggested it was a little browner and slightly over cooked. Kids still loved it if I make again any suggestions on lower temp or just check sooner? Thanks all your recipes are awesome
Sam
I’m glad they still enjoyed it! Your oven may be running a bit hotter so next time just check it a few minutes sooner. I bet they’ll love it even more if it’s not over-baked. 🙂
Katie S
Oh my goodness. This cake is the best white cake I’ve ever made. Fair warning…it makes A TON of cupcakes! haha I got 5 dozen from this recipe. Next time, I’ll halve it. 😀
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wow, that’s A LOT of cupcakes!! It’s a pretty big cake, so that makes sense…feel free to wrap any extras and freeze if needed ☺️
Melissa
Hi Sam, this is one of the best cakes I’ve ever tried! I’ve actually used your white cake (smaller) recipe and added my sprinkles in. I made it for my sister’s birthday and I can’t believe how good it tasted!! Everyone loved it. SO glad that I found your site which I can count on to have great recipes that work out the first time you try them! Thanks for all your hard work testing them out!!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Melissa! 🙂
Cynmath24
Hi
Will be making this cake for my granddaughter’s birthday sept 10,2022. If I bake, dirty ice and freeze now August 17, 2022 will the cake be ok? I’ve frozen other cakes but just need to make sure this cake freezes well.
Thank you
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi! This cake freezes nicely. Just make sure to wrap it very well. Enjoy 😊
Amber
Wanted to ask… if I only have two 9 inch pans what would suggest the baking time be? Thank you! Planning on making this for my son’s birthday!
*Will follow up with my review!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
It should just be a little less time, but we’re not exactly sure how much. The toothpick test should help! Hope your son loves it! 😊
Carol
Is this cake actually Fluffy? I am desperately looking for a Fluffy white cake. Ever one I make has been dense. I have done all the tricks, room temp ingredients, measured with spoon and sifted AP flour and also tried cake flour. Still all have been moist that is not my issue. I have a fabulous chocolate cake and want a white that is just as fabulous.
Sam
Hi Carol! Yes this is a fluffy cake! Whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks and not over-mixing them is absolutely critical to this cake turning out fluffy so take extra care on that step. 🙂
Laura F
Also is coconut oil an ok substitute for veggie or canola oil?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Laura! We haven’t tried this ourselves. If you do, we’d love to know how it turns out. 🙂