Funfetti cake made from fluffy and moist layers of vanilla cake and colorful sprinkles
Funfetti cake is a delicious vanilla cake with brightly colored sprinkles mixed in. This tasty cake made from my scratch white velvet cake and pairs perfectly with smooth and creamy easy buttercream and makes the perfect cake for a birthday celebration!
Birthday Cake
Funfetti cake is the cake recipe that everyone needs to have in their recipe box. Nothing says "It's a special day" like funfetti! Must be something about brightly colored sprinkles. I have made this exact cake for so many occasions and I am always amazed at the pure love it gets.
Part of what makes my funfetti cake so yummy is that the base is my ever popular white cake recipe. The crumb is delicate and fine and just melts in your mouth. I use farm fresh eggs, high quality butter and really good vanilla so that I get the most flavor possible into this cake.
The whole cake is layered up with my creamy dreamy easy buttercream and drizzled with a bright pink layer of water ganache (or you can use regular ganache). A few more swirls of buttercream and some sprinkles and your cake is done! You don't have to be a professional cake decorator to make a great birthday cake. The most important thing is that you made it with love and it tastes amazing!
How To Make Funfetti Cake From Scratch
When you bake from scratch it's super important to bring your eggs, milk and butter to room temp. If you're like me you ALWAYS forget to do this ahead of time so I'll give you my cheats. I put my eggs in a bowl of warm tap water for 5 minutes to warm them up.
Then I nuke my milk for exactly 40 seconds. Why do I know 40 seconds? Because when my little girl was a baby thats exactly how long it took to warm her bottle up so it was warm enough to drink but not too hot. Your microwave may be more powerful though so best to start with 20 seconds and see where you're at. Should feel neither warm nor cold.
If your butter is cold then cut it into small cubes and nuke for 10 seconds or leave at room temp for 10 minutes.
If you don't bring your ingredients up to room temp then a whole lot of stuff can go wrong. Your batter can curdle (or break) which can cause the cake to fall in the center. When you cut it you might see a wet layer forming at the bottom of the cake. That's the fat separating from the liquids and settling during baking.
I tend to use rainbow "jimmies" for most of my funfetti cakes but little rainbow nonperils also work really well. I definitely would not recommend using really chunky or large sprinkles because they can settle to the bottom of the pan while baking instead of being suspended in the batter.
After my cakes are baked, I let them cool for a bit but while still warm I wrap them in plastic wrap and pop them in the fridge to chill. Once the cakes are chilled I trim off the brown edges of the cakes on the sides, top and bottom. This just makes the cakes slices extra pretty when you cut into the cake.
When I am stacking my layers, I try to make my buttercream nice and even in thickness. Don't skimp on your filling.
Next comes the crumb coat. Just a thin layer of buttercream all over the cake to seal in any spare crumbs getting into the final layer of buttercream. Chill the whole cake again for 15 minutes to set the buttercream then another layer goes on. I use a bench scraper to get nice straight sides and an offset spatula to flatten the top and I'm crazy OCD but don't stress about perfection.
I am still obsessed with drip cakes so I made some bright pink water ganache to drip over the edges. The water ganache goes into a piping bag with a round tip to do the drip but you can also use a spoon. Then just spread out some more water ganache over the top of the cake and some more sprinkles. Place a few simple swirls of buttercream on top and that's all you need!
Funfetti Cake Frosting
You can definitely up the "fun" in funfetti by adding some sprinkles into your frosting but to me the fun is when you cut into your cake and see those pops of color from the sprinkles. Some great frostings that taste great with funfetti cake is easy buttercream which is light, fluffy and not too sweet or American buttercream which is sweeter and a favorite for kids. You can also go with stabilized whipped cream for a super light frosting. Keep in mind that whipped cream must be kept refrigerated.
My daughter's favorite part of the cake is the buttercream and I love that she even calls it buttercream. Teach em' young right? This is a pic of my daughter right after the cake photoshoot. She stands quietly behind the backdrop until I hand her the slice. Her "reward" for being patient. She always goes straight for that buttercream.
Funfetti Cupcakes
This recipe works great for cakes and cupcakes. I fill my cupcake liners about ¾ of the way full so that the batter fills the liner but doesn't over fill it. A quick swirl of buttercream frosting and some sprinkles and you're done! This recipe makes about 24 funfetti cupcakes.
Funfetti Cake Tutorial
Do you want to learn how to make this funfetti cake with pink drip? Check out my video tutorial in the recipe below I did with my daughter. She had a great time "helping" aka dropping sprinkles all over the floor but I admit it was worth it.
Recipe
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 14 oz All Purpose Flour
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 oz unsalted butter room temp
- 14 oz sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 6 egg whites fresh not boxed at room temp
- 10 oz milk room temp
- 2 oz vegetable oil
- 2 oz rainbow sprinkles
Water Ganache
- 6 oz white chocolate or candy melts
- 1 oz warm water
Easy Buttercream (Mock SMBC)
- 32 oz unsalted butter room temp
- 32 oz powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 8 oz pasteurized egg whites
Instructions
Cake Instructions
- *Note* It's very important that all your ingredients are room temp or even a little warm (eggs, milk, butter etc) Or your cake batter could curdle and result in a fallen cake. Pre-heat oven to 335ºF. Prep two 8"x2" cake pans or three 6"x2" cake pans with cake goop or other preferred pan release.
- Combine your flour, baking powder & salt and set asideCombine your milk, oil and vanilla extract and set aside.
- Place butter into the bowl of your stand mixer and cream until smooth. Sprinkle in your sugar with the paddle attachment and mix on medium until mixture is light and fluffy and white.
- Add in egg whites one at a time (roughly) and let fully combine after each addition before adding the next.
- Add in ⅓ of your dry ingredients and let combine. Add in ½ of your liquids, then dry, then liquids and the rest of your dry. Let mix until just combined.
- Fold in your confetti or jimmy sprinkles. Don't over mix.
- Add batter into prepared cake pans. sprinkle more sprinkles on top of the cake batter if desired. bake at 335 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center.
- Let cool ten minutes then turn out cakes onto a cooling rack. Wrap warm and place into the freezer to flash chill. This locks in the moisture. Once cool but not frozen you can then trim off the brown edges of your cakes and frost as desired.
Water Ganache Instructions
- Melt chocolate in microwave or in a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water (bane marie) and add in water. Whisk until combined. Add food coloring if desired. Let cool to 90 degrees (Should feel slightly cool to the touch but still liquid) and drip over your frosted and chilled cake.
Easy Buttercream Instructions
- Place egg whites and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment. Whisk to combine. Add in butter in small chunks then vanilla and salt. Whip on high until light and fluffy and white. Optional: switch to the paddle attachment and mix on low for 15-20 minutes until all air bubbles are gone.
- Optional: switch to paddle attachment and let mix on low for 15 minutes to get all the air bubbles out. Frost cake as desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Genevieve says
Looks delicious! Can this cake be made a day or two in advance? Any suggestions for storing?? Thank you!
The Sugar Geek Show says
If you're not going to use it right away I would freeze it to avoid the cake drying out. Wrap in two layers of plastic wrap.
Beatrix says
Easily the best Funfetti cake ever. Super moist and light! I used both almond and vanilla extract to give it that extra bit of flavour and it worked a treat. For sure my new go to recipe!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Thank you so much!
Nancy says
Liz, this recipe is AMAZING! I'll never make another recipe's funfetti cake because this one is literally perfect! How many cups of batter would you suggest for a 10 inch round cake pan?
On that note, do you have a chart of how many cups of batter per size of cake pan? And maybe how many cups of frosting per size of cake? If not, that would be a blog post and/or video I might cry of happiness for.
Thank you for sharing all your knowledge with us!
The Sugar Geek Show says
No I don't because it just depends on the cake batter. I fill my pans to be about 3/4 of the way full. A 1 1/2 batch would be enough for two 10" rounds.
Melissa says
Hi Liz!
Love your recipes and whole site, I make your vanilla cake all the time and everyone loves it! I made your funfetti cake before and love it but was wondering if I were to use cake flour would that change how I mix it together and will I have to change the weightings? I would just do the vanilla but I like the fluffiness that the eggwhite only version gives to funfetti...if I’m wrong on that please let me know ha! Thanks in advance!
The Sugar Geek Show says
If I'm understanding correctly, you are wanting the fluffiness of the vanilla cake but white and make it funfetti yes? If so, I would suggest trying out my white velvet buttermilk cake and fold in the sprinkles at the end. This is the recipe I actually prefer for funfetti now 🙂
Melissa says
Hi Liz,
Yea, I wasn’t sure if the fluffiness comes from the cake flour or the egg whites or a little bit of both so I was wondering if I could use cake flour in the funfetti instead of AP. I was going to actually try your white velvet tonight!
I’m trying really hard to replicate the taste and texture of the Pillsbury boxed funfetti and haven’t been able to get it right. Do you know what the flavor is? To me it seems like a mix of almond and vanilla but I haven’t had luck nailing it. Any suggestions for that specific flavor profile? Sorry this is so long...Thank you so much!
Melissa
Padei Lo says
Hi Liz, in your video you stated cake flour but on the written recipe you wrote down all purpose. Can you clarify which flour you used? Thank you! And I always love all your recipes! Never a disappointment
The Sugar Geek Show says
This cake is AP flour but you can make funfetti with any white cake recipe that you like 😀
Suzanne says
Hi Liz! thanks a lot for your amazing cakes!! always satisfied with the results 🙂 I was wondering if you can use store bought pasteurised egg white instead of fresh egg whites, will that make a difference in the texture or the taste of the cake please? Thanks a lot!
Amanda says
Would it be a problem to half this cake recipe?
The Sugar Geek Show says
No problem at all
Tiffane says
Hi I’ve never tried this recipe before but by the reviews it sounds really good. If I wanted to make a 4 layer cake with a 9in cake round what would I have to times the recipe by?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I would make a 1 1/2 batch. Then tort each cake in half length wise to get the four layers
Milena says
This looks great, I’m trying it right now. But as it bakes in the oven, I suddenly came up with a question about measurements. Do you measure your liquids in liquid ounces, or is everything measured by weight? When I switch to metric units, it all shows in weight (grams). I suspect this would alter the result quite a bit 🙂
The Sugar Geek Show says
I measure everything by weight
Milena says
The kids said mom made good cakes! My batter comes out very thick each time. I can scoop it into the pan and have to spread it around to even out. I weighed everything this time and it was roughly the same as when I used the volume units for the liquids lol. Anyway, this is delicious, my first practice cake is practically gone, second one is coming out the oven in 15 minutes.
Brittany Thurman says
Hey Liz! Is this funfetti recipe dense enough to carve and sculpt?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes it is
Emi says
Hi Liz!! I was wondering could I sub out the sprinkles for mini chocolate chips if I coat them with a little bit of the flour? I love you recipes so much and wanted to see your thoughts on that. 🙂 I'm making a birthday cake for a client in a couple days and the ones I'm finding are getting comments of being dry! Ewww no dry cake please.
Thank you!
The Sugar Geek Show says
You totally could, I dont think you'd even need to coat them, the batter is thick enough to support them
Emi says
Hi Liz!
I went ahead and adding in the mini baking chips with a coating of flour. But, I think you're right that I didn't need to do that.
The client loved the cake and it worked out. Thank you for your amazing recipes and tutorials!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yay! I'm so glad!
steph says
Amazing, as always! I know when I use one of your recipes it will be delicious
Martha says
I just made this recipe in 2 8” pans and set the time for 35 minutes. The cakes have not risen and seem to be raw. I followed the recipe exactly by measuring all the ingredients as stated. What could have gone wrong? Isn’t the batter supposed to rise?
Elizabeth Marek says
I'm so sorry it didn't work out for you.Perhaps you forgot the baking powder or yours is expired? There isn't any other reason a cake wouldn't rise.
Ashley says
what would happen to this cake if we use carton egg whites? just curious as i feel bad if i have to waste 6 yolks lol!
Elizabeth Marek says
You can absolutely use carton egg whites 🙂 That's what I use!
Hanako Narushima says
Hello Liz 🙂 It’s me again ... your avid fan 🙂 I am about to make your funfetti cake for my daughter’s birthday party next week. I am just wondering if I can use any kind of sprinkles? Should i Use the big ones or any kind will do? 🙂 Will be happy if you can answer me with this one Liz 🙂 thank you so much for sharing your wonderul recipes. I sweat for your vanilla cake recipe it’s my go to 🙂
Elizabeth Marek says
Either jimmies or confetti sprinkles. The non-perils just melt and dissolve away in baking
Stephanie says
If I make this recipe for cupcakes do I still bake them at the 335 temp?
Elizabeth Marek says
I would bake at 350ºF
Martha Reynoso says
Hi Liz! Just a comment and a question. I adore you and I’m a fan and I always bug you! When making cupcakes, this recipe makes more like 3 dozen. Also, when making cupcakes I baked at 335 per your instructions, but they took long to bake which I’m use to quicker bake times on cupcakes. Would 350 make a difference?
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes I would definitely bake at 350F for cupcakes.
Jewel B says
I made this cake for my family and it was absolutely delicious, full of flavor. Definitely adding this to my recipe Arsenal.
Maria says
Hi. I would like to do this cake and cover in fondant. I was planning to do it a day before and cover the following day in the morning. Do you suggest I freeze it overnight? And if so, do I need to defrost it for long or I can just take out of the freezer while I prepare buttercream and fondant and then cover immediately? thanks 🙂
Elizabeth Marek says
No need to freeze the cake. You might want to watch my how to make your first cake video for a timeline of baking and decorating. https://sugargeekshow.com/news/how-to-make-a-cake/
Sahana says
Hi Liz,
I would like to make this cake, but I have two questions about the water ganache when we add food coloring is there, a specific brand or a type of food coloring we need to use? My other question is would colored candy melts work for this recipe? Please let me know.
Elizabeth Marek says
You can use any kind of food coloring. I use americolor food coloring gel. Yes you can use candy melts, that is what I use.
Felicia says
Made it. Great recipe but i cut the powdered sugar and butter in half for the buttercream..
And skip the water ganache
Olivia says
Can I use almond milk instead of regular whole milk
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes you can
Patti Grogan says
Love the sound of this cake and wanting to attempt it for my daughters 1st birthday. However, she is dairy free so I was just wondering could I use a dairy free marg instead of butter and a dairy free milk like oat or almond milk. Thank you : )
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes you can
Patti Grogan says
Love the sound of this cake, I am wanting to make it for my daughters 1st birthday however she is dairy free am I able to use dairy free butter and milk for it please and it be okay? Thank you
Elizabeth Marek says
Oh yea definitely! Earth balance butter works great and any kind of dairy free milk