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 (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 salt
- 1 ½ cup (355 ml) milk
- 9 egg whites room temperature preferred
- ½ cup (80 g) sprinkles*
Buttercream
- 1 lb (453 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ¼ 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 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- Measure out your milk.1 ½ 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.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 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.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
- 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
Charlotte Battisto
My future daughter in law has asked for heart shaped funfetti cake for wedding. Will this recipe work for a 6-8-10 in heart cake? I’ve tried two of your other cake recipes, so good! But I am a little nervous for this one.
Sam
Hi Charlotte! This should be ok to bake in a heart shaped pan. I’m not sure how much batter these pans hold so I can’t say for sure if you would need to increase the recipe or how long to bake them. Good luck! 🙂
Stacie
Hi,
Can you use 2% milk in this recipe?
Sam
Hi Stacie! I haven’t tried it. It could potentially work. The cake may not be as moist though. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Whitney
Hi! I was wondering if for the frosting, you use a paddle or wisk attachment on your stand mixer.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Whitney! We use a paddle attachment. Enjoy 😊
Zarah
Hey can i add more butter and cut the oil to get more flavour into the cake.
Sam
Hi Zarah! Adding more butter could potentially dry the cake out a bit, but it should work. 🙂
Anu
Hi! Can this be used with carton egg whites?
Sam
Hi Anu! Generally I advise against it. While it may work, most carton egg whites say they won’t whip properly. Readers have reported mixed success, so I generally suggest using eggs you’ve cracked yourself. I hope that helps!
Jess
How would you adjust this recipe for baking at a high altitude? I’m located in Denver.
Sam
Hi Jess! Unfortunately I do not have much experience with high altitude baking so I can’t say for sure what/if any adjustments would be needed.
Michelle
Hey, I live in Denver as well, and the only adjustment I make to this recipe (which I make a lot) is to half the baking powder. I hope that works for you!
Cara
Hi Sam! I love your recipes, thank you! I really want to make this for my daughter, she’s begging for a Funfetti cake. I see a couple people have cut the sugar back – could you suggest any ratio changes of other ingredients that may need to be adjusted if the sugar in the cake and/or icing is reduced? Thank you!!
Sam
Hi Cara! I have not tried adjusting the sugar so I wouldn’t be able to advise on how to do it. 🙁
Mona
hi, I only have two 8″ cake pans. Can I just divide the batter for 2 8″ pans for this recipe? and how long should I bake with 2 pans. thank you
Sam
Hi Mona! You would have too much batter for 2 pans. You can make my white cake and add sprinkles to it. 🙂
Rebekah
This cake is delicious!!! Perfect for my son’s birthday!
Also I just have to say THANK YOU for writing the amounts of each ingredient under the steps. That makes is so much easier – I usually have to open the recipe on 2 tabs and go back and forth so I don’t lose my place.
Marianna Sagasta
How much would I need to increase the ingredients for two 10×3 rounds?
Sam
Hi Marianna! I haven’t tried it, but this cake will make about 12 cups of batter so you can use that to help determine how to adjust the recipe. 🙂
Jesse
Hello 😊 I’ve made this recipe before and it was wonderful as is, but was curious, have you tried this recipe with cake flour vs all purpose flour?
Sam
Hi Jesse! I have not, but as long as it is substituted correctly, you shouldn’t have any issues doing so. 🙂
marjorie
I am not a great baker and the cake came out great!!! My family was obsessed, not a slice left. The sprinkles I had were the bleeding kind so I folded them in last minute. The did bleed and I thought it would be ugly but it still came out perfect.
Jenn
Hi, can this be turned into a straight cupcake recipe, and if so, what would you recommend dividing it by? Thanks!!
Sam
Hi Jenn! You can make this into cupcakes, but they tend to shrink in on themselves. I am working on a cupcake similar to this cake, but I haven’t perfected it yet.
Valerie McNamara
Can this be made as a sheet cake?
Sam
Sure thing. 🙂
Jess
hi!! do you have measurements for 12 x 18? I tried another recipe and it was a flop I’m hoping for a good one here. I also noticed my first go around my cake didn’t bake in the middle despite having heating cores any advice? I have an order due Friday and I’m panicking
Sam
Hi Jess! I think you’d need to increase the ingredients by 50% to get enough batter for a 12 x 18. I don’t typically bake cakes that large, but my guess would be that maybe your oven is a little too hot? I hope this one works out for you. 🙂
Terri
I just had to comment because I know exactly what you went through! It was my dream to sew costumes and nerdy house items (I love making oven mitts and cookie sheet pads) but after some of the people that commissioned me got really nasty and hateful with me just because I wouldn’t change the price/give them a huge discount because it was all the sudden a gift ect. (Not to mention developing a heart condition) I almost completely quit sewing altogether. My wife convinced me to not take commissions anymore and only make what I felt was neat/useful and would sell. 4 years later hopping at conventions and I found out that people actually like what I make =) So keep on with your dream girlfriend! 🥰
Gaby Pizzo
Hi! Just wondering if there are any tips on keeping the cake as moist as possible if I make it the day before the birthday? Or do you recommend making this the day of?
Sam
Hi Gaby! If you frost the cake it will stay nice and moist, otherwise you will want to wrap cakes tightly in plastic wrap so they don’t dry out. 🙂
Diana
Hello, Any advice for baking in 6inch pans? Also, can the cake layers be made ahead and frozen before frosting?
Many thanks!
Sam
Hi Diana! I have not personally baked it in 6 inch pans so I can’t say for sure how long they would need to bake. I would make sure to not overfill the pans and keep an eye on them as they bake. It can be made ahead and frozen before frosting. 🙂