Hooray for funfetti! Do you remember Funfetti cake mix? Was it your favourite cake as a child? As a grown-up? Vanilla cake filled with little bits of rainbow sprinkle goodness is one of those treats that never gets boring–even the word, “funfetti,” is a party waiting to happen. As a blogger, I’m also a bit late to this party, as it seems there were so many fabulous variations of this cake (and so many other types of desserts) floating around the web last year, but since I am a huge fan of this cake, I couldn’t resist sharing it with you today. I made it again over the weekend as a welcome home surprise for my two little cakelets, Reese & Neve. They were away visiting Grant’s mom, “Nanny,'” for a few days, and I knew that they would do backflips to come home to funfetti cake (and to mommy & daddy, of course!).
So, as supercalifragilisticexpialidocious as “funfetti layer cake” sounds, looks and tastes, it couldn’t be any simpler to make. Okay, ready? You take your favourite vanilla cake and you add rainbow jimmies (you can also use the confetti quins) into the batter . . . oh, and then you bake it up. See, even if I tried to make it sound complicated, I couldn’t–it’s likely the most rewarding baked good you will ever make, considering it’s the most fun (ever!) and is so easy. Now, that being said, because we’re doing a scratch version of a famed cake-mix cake, I think it tastes the best to start with the whitest, fluffiest scratch cake possible, one that almost mimics a boxed cake.
So what I used this time was a modified version of the Fluffy Vanilla Cake that I posted awhile back. I have done this before using it as it was, which was also great, but this time I made just a few small changes: a bit more cake flour, a bit less sugar and a touch of almond extract (trust me, it doesn’t come out tasting almond-y, but just pure white cake yumminess), were some of the changes I made. For the frosting, I like to pair this cake with a sweeter frosting (likely due to childhood birthday cake memories), so I use my favourite variation, which is whipped and tastes like vanilla ice cream (for some inexplicable reason). Overall, it’s funfetti-tastic.
Since this cake was for my little girls only (not a big crowd), I didn’t want to do anything too crazy, tall or complicated, but the possibilities are endless, really. 4-layer? 6-layer? Domed? I bet you can’t go wrong. As for the decorating sprinkles, you can go crazy sprinkle happy with any variation you love. I personally love confetti quins, so I used those for the top (and a sprinkling on top of the center filling frosting layer!), well, that and I used up all of my rainbow jimmies in the batter. I may or may not have made an earlier double batch of this batter over the weekend, in which I forgot to add the, um, sugar! So, my stash of rainbow jimmies was drastically depleted before I made this batch. Boo! But honestly, you can add any or every sprinkle you own as the final decoration for your cake, and I bet it would look amazing–sprinkles never disappoint.
And, trust me, the funfetti doesn’t stop here. Check out these previous sprinkle treats from some of my baking friends around the web:
Naomi’s Funfetti Cheesecake Pops
Amanda’s Mini Funfetti Cupcakes
Heather’s Sprinkle Cake
Jessica’s Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes
Caroline’s Chocolate Covered Funfetti Cake Balls
Katrina’s Cake Batter Ice Cream Bread
Shelly’s Double Glazed Funfetti Donuts
- 1 cup 240 ml whole milk, at room temperature
- 4 large egg whites 120 g, at room temperature
- 1 whole egg at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons 10 ml pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon 1.25 ml almond extract
- 2-3/4 cups 315 g cake flour, sifted
- 1-1/2 cups 300 g sugar
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon 19.5 g baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon 5 g salt
- 12 tablespoons 170 g unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup Rainbow Jimmies or a few generous handfuls
- 3 sticks + 2 tablespoons 375 g unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
- 3.5 cups 400 g confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 3 tablespoons 45 ml milk
- 1 tablespoon 15 ml pure vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt
- rainbow jimmies quins or other any other sprinkles for decorating
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease, line with parchment, butter and flour two round 8-inch pans.
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In a medium bowl or measuring cup, combine and stir the eggs, 1/4 cup of milk, vanilla and the almond extract. Set aside.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the dry ingredients, including the sugar, together on low speed (I use the “stir” setting on my mixer) for 30 seconds.
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Add the butter and blend on low speed for about 30 seconds, then add remaining 3/4 cup of milk, and mix on low speed until just moistened. Increase to medium speed and mix for 1-1/2 minutes.
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Scrape the sides of the bowl and begin to add the egg/milk mixture in 3 separate batches; beat on medium for 20 seconds after each addition. Gently stir in the rainbow jimmies, until just combined.
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Divide the batter in two, spreading it evenly with a small offset palette knife. If you have a kitchen scale, weigh the batter in the pans to ensure 2 even layers.
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Bake 25-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes clean when inserted into the center. Be so careful to not over-bake. Check cake at 20 minutes, but not before, and once you feel it’s almost ready, set the timer for 2 minute intervals.
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Let cool on racks for 10 minutes before loosening the sides with a small metal spatula, and invert onto greased wire racks. Gently turn cakes back up, so the tops are up and cool completely.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter for 8 minutes on medium (I use “4″ on my KitchenAid). Butter will become very pale & creamy.
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Add remaining ingredients and mix on low speed for 1 minute, then on medium for 6 minutes. Frosting will be very light, creamy and fluffy.
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Best used right away (for ideal spreading consistency).
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Place a small dollop of frosting in the center of a cake plate or 8-inch round thin cake board, and place the bottom cake layer on top.
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Place 1 cup of frosting on top of the cake layer, and spread evenly with a small offset palette knife. Sprinkle a handful of sprinkles (jimmies, quins--anything!) on top of the frosting (optional).
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Gently place 2nd cake layer face-down on top. Place a generous scoop of frosting on top, spreading evenly with a small offset palette knife and working your way down the sides until you have a thin layer of frosting over the entire cake. Chill until set, about 30 minutes.
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Remove from refrigerator and cover cake with a final layer of frosting. Sprinkle until your heart's content!
Wrap baked cake layers tightly and store at room temperature for up to 2 days, refrigerator for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 2 months. Best eaten the same day as baked.
[cake layers adapted from Classic White Cake recipe on Baking Bites and Rose Levy Beranbaum’s White Velvet Cake]
Sweetapolita’s Notes:
- If you do not have access to cake flour, you can quickly and easily make your own to substitute. Learn how in this previous post, Bring Me Flours.
- This unconventional method of blending the butter with the sugar and dry ingredients first is called the “reverse creaming method,” and was pioneered by cake guru, Rose Levy Beranbaum.
- As with any vanilla cake, you can use 100% liquid egg whites in the cake layers (simply weigh them on your kitchen scale), which saves wasting the yolks.
- For the funfetti sprinkles inside the cake, you can experiment, but I recommend the Rainbow Jimmies
or the Confetti Quins that you see on top of my cake.
- For a 4-layer Funfetti Cake, you could simply slice each of your two cake layers in 2, or for a 3-layer cake, simply divide the batter among 3 round 8″ cake pans (the layers will be shorter, but you will have 3!).
- The cake base for this Funfetti version is a slightly adapted version of the Fluffy Vanilla Cake, so for the ultimate vanilla cake, you can simply omit the sprinkles in the cake layers.
- This batter makes fabulous cupcakes.
- The frosting tastes like vanilla ice cream–you’ll see!
- You may enjoy reading my previous post, 50 Tips for Baking Better Cakes.
Good luck & enjoy!
Wow. This cake is everything uplifting and fun! My BF has an affinity to funfetti cake, so I am bookmarking this recipe. Thanks!
That’s it! I’ve made my mind up…..making this for Maryam’s birtday next month! It looks beautiful Rosie and I’m sure Reese and Neve were super excited to be welcomed by such a treat!
OMG!! This looks amazing!! The best vanilla cake upgraded to a sprinkle fest!
I will definetly try this very very soon!! :D
Thank you so much for the best ideas!!
it’s gorgeous, but then again, I have a weakness for lots of frosting and sprinkles!!
This looks amazing Rosie! My 7 year old daughter has been begging for a rainbow sprinkle cake just like this, so this is perfect timing, she will be so excited! I was wondering if instead using of the almond extract I could just increase the vanilla extract by that amount? My son has a nut allergy so I never use any nut products in my baking. Thanks for another inspirational post!
I too was wondering about the almond extract question! I don’t have any currently and was interested in making this asap (as in tomorrow before class) and won’t have time to stop at the store. Everything I have on hand, besides the almond extract! Would love an answer to this.
Yep, you can definitely omit the almond extract, Cat! You can replace with more vanilla, or simply just leave it out. Enjoy!
That’s what I was thinking, but just wanted to be sure. Thanks so much! Going to surprise my mother with this tomorrow afternoon, so I’m excited you replied so quickly! Also going to use my scale for the first time for even more fun! Love your blog a lot.
I made this as cupcakes the other day and used Rosewater as I didn’t have any almond extract (no idea where it is, I know I’ve bought some fairly recently!) and the cakes turned out delicious.
I topped them with SMB as I love the texture and the fact it’s not very sweet.
Thanks so much, Audrey! Yes, you can definitely omit the almond extract, and just increase the vanilla (or really, you can just leave it out). I hope your little girl loves it! xo
Imitation Almond Extract works like a charm and is nut allergy safe!
Hi, I didn’t have any almond extract, so I used strawberry extract, or you could choose another flavor too, I couldn’t even taste the extract anyway so I’m sure it would be fine if you just didn’t use any. PS. The cake was the most amazing thing I’ve ever tasted and my family thought so too, so definitely have a go!!!
I have been looking for a good recipe for funfetti because they were requested by the mom-to-be of the shower I’m hosting in a few weeks! I will be testing these out in cupcake form tomorrow! Thanks!
This looks so fun to make because it is a funfetti cake after all. And look at those bright and pretty sprinkles! They’re everywhere on this cake, full of happiness inside and out. I bet your two little cakelets were pleased to see this and eat it as well!
Awww, that just puts a smile on my face. If a cake can look happy, that one for sure does!
Ooh prettyness! Will have to make this for my little nieces one day!
I bet the cakelets absolutely loved arriving home to this cake! I know it makes me super happy just looking at it :D
Thanks so much, Kathryn! They were pretty excited, and we ate it straight for 2 days–even my husband who swears he doesn’t like many sweets! :)
Simply GORGEOUS!
I LOVE funfetti sweets! It’s so pretty and crunchy and delicious! This cake looks amazing! Thank you for including me in the link up! :-D
I had some friends that used to be obsessed with funfetti! This looks SO much more delicious and prettier than the box mix!
Oh my WORD. Could this be any more gorgeous?! I love it! And thanks so much for linking my cupcakes. People are always asking me how they can turn them into a cake, and I have no idea since I know nothing about cake, so from now on I’m sending them here! Love.
This cake is perfection…as is everything you do. ;) I might be available for adoption. I’m sure my husband and kiddo won’t mind. I do dishes.
I can just imagine myself sitting on my couch… forking this beautiful cake, a big smile forming on my face. Can we please make this a reality?
But of course, B! xo
This cake makes me want to be 7 years old again. I am now racking my brain trying to figure out if anyone’s birthday is this week or if there is something on the books to justify making this cake!! ;)
This is too fun. Everyone loves funfetti. LOVE this, it’s gorgeous!
Thanks so much, Cassie!
It’s a little after 8 am here, and now you’ve already got me thinking about baking a cake! Sadly there’s too much on the schedule for it to happen today, but I will be thinking about funfetti all week now. I have to find a reason to make it soon! Thanks for the idea. So ridiculously easy looking, yet I’ve never once thought to try it from scratch! :)
Such a FUN & FESTIVE cake Rosie!
My favorite boxed cake mix was definitely the marbled cake because after the cakes were in the oven, my sister would get to eat the vanilla batter from the bowl and I would get to eat the chocolate. It was way awesome, and we never scraped the bowl clean to get every last drop into the pan, we always made sure there was tons of batter left for us to eat :P
My favorite boxed cake mix was definitely the marbled cake because after the cakes were in the oven, my sister would get to eat the vanilla batter from the bowl and I would get to eat the chocolate. It was way awesome, and we never scraped the bowl clean to get every last drop into the pan, we always made sure there was tons of batter left for us to eat :P
so fun!
This cake is so pretty!! Love it!
This cake is so pretty! Sprinkles just make me feel happy. My girls would love this cake.
Such a pretty and fun cake! Love this one Rosie!
So funny!! Such a great idea!!! And the result is superpretty and i bet is superyummy too! Thanks for sharing! Have a wonderful day!
this is PERFECT! I’m making a cake for my friend’s son’s 3rd birthday coming up in 2 weeks and this is exactly what I will make. I was tryingn to figure out ways to make it fun and cute for him, and the rainbow cake seemed like it has too much food coloring for my liking {although super cute}…so this is definitely the way to go
Thanks so much, Ana! I have a feeling this would be a super hit at the little guy’s birthday! xo
Gorgeous!!!
I’m confetti/funfetti lover myself :)
If you a sec check my blog for more confetti inspirations:
http://www.confetticookies.blogspot.com
Amazing cake!
I think I’m in love….with you, or at least the cake. My oven is broken, so I can’t run to the kitchen right now and make this sadly.
Perfection, Rosie! As always! :) Thank you gor linking my ice cream bread. Sprinkles make me smile!
Thanks so much, Katrina! xo
I want to come to your home, Rosie. You make the most beautiful cakes and everything else.
Thanks, sweet girl! You can come over anytime :) Just be sure to bring a truckload of your awesome goodies with you!
Absolutely adore your work! Always excited to view your new posts! Bless you for sharing your talents.
Thanks so much for such kind words, Deenie–I really appreciate it! xo
Oh, funfetti, who doesn’t love it? I refuse to make the box-cake version- thank you for this one! Now I have a resource if a friend insists on funfetti for their birthday ;)
Thanks, Andrea! It’s really liberating to have a great scratch-cake version of funfetti–no more box cakes is a great feeling!
Amazing cake….so beautiful and so much fun.
Stunning pictures I just wanna grab a slice from the screen
Thank you, Priyanka!
Question!! How sensitive is this cake? Unless I’m confusing the blogs I follow, I think one of your fluffy vanilla cakes needed very exact measuring (weighing recommended) to turn out as fluffy and perfect as can be. Is this one more forgiving? I just bought a scale, so maybe it’s time to break it out. Just need to buy some whole milk. I agree with many others. Such a fun and happy cake. Just what I need today. :)
Thanks, Kristen! Well, for best results weighing these ingredients is definitely the way to go, but I made this one a little less fickle, by adding a bit more cake flour, etc. It really was super delicious!
This looks sooo yummy! Another funfetti recipe I recommend is this Funfetti Cake Batter Fudge: http://pursuitofhippieness.com/2011/10/01/funfetti-cake-batter-fudge/
Ooh, Elizabeth, that looks so good too! Thanks for sharing!
That is one beautiful cake!
Do you have any tips for getting the sprinkles onto the side of the cake? I’ve always kind of awkwardly thrown them at the cake, but it never looks that pretty…
This just makes me smile! Love it!!
Funfetti! I didn’t know that word! in french we say: petits bonbons!
thank you for the links…it’s fun to find new sweet places! thank you for the sprinkles ideas too…we will bake mini cupcake for the fairies with funfetti on top!
I cant wait to try this cake…and so many more that Ive admired on this lovely website:) This is my favorite of all the baking sites Ive viewed on line, I love your cakes, cookies, colors (your daughters are beautiful too!) photographs and just your whole style is gorgeous!!!! When I receive an email from Sweetapolita I wait until the very end of the day so i can take my time and savor all the beauty of it, love it!!!
yes! funfetti!! i used to have to make funfetti cupcakes for the girls a year ahead of me in college!! LOVE!
Aww! I love funfetti cake! Can’t wait to make my own. What a happy little (BIG) treat!
I’ve promised to make one of my little cousin’s birthday cake next month and had been wondering how to theme it. This is perfect – thanks for the inspiration!
It’s so pretty and colourful! I’m definitely going to save this recipe for when I make my own.
there are just SO many sprinkles… I feel like I should be wearing a tiara while inhaling this!
Pretty sure I just died and went to sprinkle heaven. OMG! This looks so good, I want some right now!
I love this. Our friends just had a baby- I’m totally making this and bringing it over this weekend as their congratulatory cake! I’ll let you know how it goes…
There’s a good reason why this is called FUNfetti cake! It just has fun and happiness all over it and I’m sure the girls were very excited to see it waiting for them.
I’ve been on the hunt for a good vanilla scratch cake and I think this modified version of your original one may just do the trick!
I made your Fluffy Vanilla Cake yesterday, as I am on a quest to find a scratch cake that mimics the texture of a box mix. I’ve tried probably 30 recipes and every one was a failure when it came to the texture. I loved the Fluffy Vanilla Cake’s texture! So very close to a box mix! Tasted amazing, but it was just a teeny tiny bit dry though…is this one a little more moist? Or is there something else I should try to make it more moist? It didn’t need much, just a little.
I love your blog,a nd will most certainly be checking in regularly!
What a gorgeous cake! I think I have to make up an excuse to celebrate something so that I can make this! Wonderful recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Looks delicious! I used to love funfetti when I was younger :)
Funfetti is the best! I loved this cake as a little girl, and I bet your girls went crazy over it :). Beautiful & FUN cake Rosie!
Funfetti! The best kind of cake! Yours is stunning!
What a gorgeous cake! I love the use of almond extract, it always gives such a yummy flavor to things! I am sure the girls were super excited to get home to this!
I think that if there was a cake that embodied all things celebratory and childish (in the best possible way, of course), this is it! And this post reminds me to really make an attempt at your fluffy vanilla cake. Great post and great photos as always!
How cool is this cake! Who cares if I’m a 25 year old boy. I want this cake for my next birthday. Ok. Who am I kidding. I’m probably going to make this cake this weekend.
I’m definitely going to go check all those other funfetti treats out. Thanks for sharing ’em.
I get pretty excited about funfetti cakes and I even baked myself the Momofuku Milk Bar birthday cake for my 30th! I your version of the classic funfetti cake. Looks fantastic :) Sprinkles make me happy!
Just curious, I noticed you said you have a Kitchen Aid mixer, what size? I am in desperate need of a stand mixer and am overwhelmed by trying to decide what size and what brand with all the mixed reviews of pretty much any brand I look into…any thoughts?
Hi Karlie,
I do swear by KitchenAid mixers, and I have 2 that are like my babies! They are both 5 QT, but as for ease of use and aesthetic, I love the artisan mixer. Here’s a link to the one I have: KitchenAid KSM150PSIC Artisan Series 5-Quart Mixer, Ice
Hope that helps!
Perfection! I am always in love with your gorgeous cakes! And this one is so fun too :) I’m sure your girls loved it! I totally want to be your neighbor… I offer my babysitting and dishwashing skills if you pay me in cake :)
Hi, Rosie! This comment doesn’t have to do with this post in particular, but I wanted to let you know that your blog inspired me to try baking a cake from scratch for the first time. I’m not much of a baker, and growing up, I had no idea there were cakes that didn’t come from a box. I used the recipe for buttermilk vanilla cake (store-bought frosting, sadly, because I had some leftover that I needed to use up). I don’t even have an electric mixer, so I had to do a lot of whisking, but the end product was delicious and the whole process a lot of fun. I’m definitely going to do this again in the future, maybe try another recipe. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks so much for the wonderful comment, Grace! I’m so very glad to hear you’re inspired, truly–it means a lot to hear that. I sure hope you’ll continue to whip up scratch cakes and that you’ll keep me posted! xo
Funfetti! Dayum fine looking cake, I say. Love your cakes and sweets and treats, Rosie. This is no different. Really spectacular stuff…and love the pics too!
Any post that has supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in it is a winner by me :) This is very cute. Isn’t it amazing sometimes how the simplest design makes the cutest cake? I wonder if I can talk my almost 6 yo into having a galaxy quest shaped funfetti cake; that would be easy and I wouldn’t have to worry about the details of the ship :) thx!
I’m all for a funfetti cake! I can’t wait to give this one a try! It looks amazing :)
Thanks, Vanessa!
Rosie, I love you and your rainbows! This is the prettiest cake of all!
cute & colourful…love it
have a lovely weekend xx
I made this cake for my friend’s golden birthday party and it was a hit! I especially love the whipped vanilla frosting, its so yummy! I will definitely keep this recipe in mind when I need to make a cake!
i want this so badly i love funfetti!!
Thank you sooooo much for sharing the cupcake version with me for my premature birthday celebration ! You are the best!!!!! xo
Rosie! Your creations are so beautiful!! This one brought back sweet childhood memories :D
Another absolutely gorgeous looking cake, you inspire me to bake pretty things! :) The only problem being that my lovely boyfriend is diabetic and I have yet to come across a decent low sugar cake recipe, perhaps such a thing does not exist! If you know of one, or come across one, do send it my way! :) xxx
Very very beautiful …
My kids love funfetti!
Too adorable! I’ll definitely be trying your Funfetti Cake. And Thanks so much for including my Sprinkle Cake! We are sprinkle sisters!
(I really must get some of those confetti sprinkles.) :)
xxoo
Thank You so much, now I know what I bake for my son birthday. Yours sound better then chocolate one.
This cake looks such fun and is a totally new concept to me and probably most of England which is where I’m from. However, I tried to make it today and I just dont think our sprinkles come up to scratch. I tried two types, including some nonpareilles but as soon as I stirred them in they just melted away leaving no colourful specs :-(. I’m quite disappointed as it was going to be my offering for a Cake Club I am hosting tomorrow night. Do you think that sprinkles in the US are different/work better? Any tips would be great.
I’ve made sprinkles cupcakes today for my daughter here in the uk and had the same problem, in one cake mix they disappeared completely so I tried a different cake mix that was a bit thicker and it was a little better but they were only just visible ☹
Funfetti cake is pretty much the best — so fun to see a homemade recipe for it!
hi rosie! i just fell upon your site through sweeteats.com and i love your blog! you and your children are beautiful! i’m looking forward to trying your recipes. :)
Hay!
Can i make this recipe for cupcake? do i need to change anything?
Thanks!!
Rona
How pretty!! I love all of the pink and funfetti :) This makes such a cheery birthday cake!
Beautiful! I love sprinkles except when they explode in my kitchen and I seem to find them for months afterwards I am sure they hide in dusty corners and roll out when I walk!
I have a soft spot in my heart for funfetti! Something about the sprinkles just makes it taste even better! I love the jimmies IN the cake and the different sprinkles ON the cake!
I made this as cupcakes and they were very light and yummy, not to mention really fun and festive, especially served on a 3-tiered stand. But the frosting – oh, that frosting! I mean, it featured all the normal ingredients, but somehow the particular recipe or the technique or something about it made the frosting just sing! I’ve never tasted frosting that delicious before. WONDERFUL!!!
hi Valerie !
just wondering how many cupcakes you got out of the cake recipe?
thanks :)
i love funfetti! its so cute and girly!! any tips for baking this gluten free?
I can’t wait to make this cake it’s absolutely beautiful! It will be perfect for my daughter’s 2nd birthday. I had a question though, will this cake hold up if it’s covered in fondant? Thanks in advance!
so I tried to make this cake, but I used nonpareils…I used pink and red because those are the colours I wanted to use for the theme of the cake. they just turned the batter hot pink! is it safe to say that nonpareils are a no-no for funfetti batter?
(p.s. LOVE this site and everything on it…your girls are adorable, and so are all the pics of your finished products!)
I made this for my son’s 3rd birthday as he requested a “Max Ruby Cake.” The icing was spectacular!! Everyone seemed to love the cake (I couldn’t try it as I have gluten sensitivities). Thanks for sharing this fun cake!
I baked the cakes tonight! Can’t wait to make the frosting and decorate tomorrow. You know it, but I <3 your blog. Thanks for doing what you do!
Hi Rosie
I just baked this cake for Maryam’s party tomorrow. The icing tastes divine (even better than vanilla ice cream) and because my caek wasn’t level (my own fault!!), I sliced off part of the top. Tasted so so good! My second Sweetapolita cake and both have been amazing. I’ll tweet you what everyone else thinks after the party. Thanks for a superb recipe!
WOW! Just made this cake for my friends and she loved it! Everyone at school wanted some. This is such a good idea and they all got a big suprise when the cake was cut. Such a cool idea! This is my new favourite website loved all the recipes i have made so far! :)
I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am to have found your website. I, too, have been on the search for a delicious white cake from scratch. I came close, but yours hits it right on the head! Thanks so much for sharing!
What a fantastic blog!
I kinda just want to dip my face in to all the cakes they look so good!
Where do you buy your sprinkles? Any good place online?
Anna
Just wondering if this could be made in a square cake pan, and if so what would change? my boyfriends birthday is in may, and this is what I wanted to make, but im doing a computer keyboard design on top out of fondant, thus needing it to be square. please let me know :)
kaylee
Hi Kaylee,
You can definitely make this cake in a square pan. Not much would change, aside from possibly the baking time, depending on the size of the square pan you’re using. I always recommend checking any cake at 20 minutes (and not before), and then in 2-3 minute intervals. I hope this helps, and Happy Birthday to your boyfriend!
I made this cake for my fiance when he came home from a trip and it was so delicious. He had never had funfetti cake before, but he loves white cake. Thank you for posting this recipe so that I could share the joys of funfetti with him. I am so glad I found your blog.
First, I would like to say that this recipe is downright amazing (even though I haven’t tried it yet, it truly does). But, I was curious what times and temperatures you would suggest using if I was to make them into cupcakes :)
Hello! I was just wondering what the difference was between the funfetti cake and funfetti cupcake recipe? Does it make a difference if I use the cupcake recipe for cakes? Thanks!
Lacey
I have been coveting this recipe for ever since you posted it, and just got a Kitchenaid mixer on the weekend so I tried it last night! I ran into a problem, though. I used 8″ baking pans, but it took so long (about 45 minutes) for the inside to be cooked that the outside is pretty brown and kind of hard, and altogether the cake is a bit dry. Any tips for fixing this?
This was my test run… my husband’s birthday is this Friday so I have to perfect it by then! LOL
Thanks! :)
how many cups of frosting does this make? would it be enough to cover (not fill) a 2-layer 8 inch round?
I made this cake last night as a practice prior to my husband’s birthday. It tastes fabulous, especially the icing. However, ALL of my sprinkles ended up at the bottome of the pan. I followed your recipe EXACTLY except I used 2% milk instead of whole. What benefits does whole milk provide in baking recipes? Is it possible that the milk swap caused the sprinkles to sink?
HELP!! My husbands birthday is in 4 more days!!!
It wasn’t the 2% milk. I followed the recipe exactly as well, and ALL my sprinkles ended up at the bottom, too. *SAD FACE* I’m thinking next time I’ll either sprinkle them over the top (if they fall through, it might take longer so some will get “stuck” in the cake) and/or use the tiny little balls/chop the jimmmies up (thinking smaller bits might float a bit better).
Hi Rosie. Well I made this cake last weekend for my daughters 19th birthday. This is the cake she requested, as she and I both love you!!! Any way, I had to make this twice, I was an idiot on the first cake and forgot to add the baking powder, DUH. So, on to the second try. Well, just let me say that she loved it!
Thank goodness I started the process the day before she came home from college. I made your strawberry frosting, which is amazing. The only thing I did differently was to reduce the strawberry purée which made the fruit flavor more intense. I was actually impressed at how beautiful it turned out, and I did it!!!! Thank you so much for the many recipes and inspiration.
Hi there. I would like to thank you for your wonderful recipe with such clear and precise instructions. I made this cake for my son’s fifth birthday at school and the kids seemed to love this cake. I will be making some more in cupcake form for the family get together this weekend. I will definitely be trying more of your recipes.
I just made this recipe in cupcake form and they turned out perfectly!! The cake was so moist and delicious. It was also a very simple recipe to make. Thank you so much! This cake will be perfect for my daughter’s first cake for her birthday!!
Hello,
Just wondering how many cupcakes come out with this cake recipe?? a dozen, or two?
thanks so much :)
I wanted to make a funfetti cake for my daughter’s 3rd birthday. After scouring the internet for recipes, I decided to make this one. IT WAS FABULOUS! The icing DID taste like vanilla ice cream. My daughter loved adding the sprinkles to the top of cake. Next time I will cut the tops off each cake layer just to make them stack easier (I knew better than to leave them as is). Thanks for the recipe!
This is fantastic Rosie!!! My soon to be 3 year old daughter loves sprinkles and I was thinking of trying them In a cake batter … Never heard of funfetti before …. I shouldn’t have been surprised when I googled vanilla sprinkle cake and your website came up!!!!!! I can not believe I have missed this cake on your website I’m a frequent visitor …. Almost daily!!!! I made your chocolate fudge and salted caramel layer cake just yesterday!!!!!! Which was AMAZING!!!! keep up the great work …… I’ll be maki g this cake in a few weeks time and icing it following the technique from your video you have just posted. Thanks again x
This is a lovely cake – eaten same day, it’s really one of the best I’ve ever had and so easy to make. Next time I will skip the yummy, creamy and softest buttercream ever and use Chantilly whipped cream instead. I just found that the buttercream made it overly sweet, however this may be bc I used vanilla bean paste rather than vanilla extract in cake mix and found the vanilla component slightly too pronounced. I couldn’t find Funfetti in Australia, so I used the closest alternative and the colours bled slightly, so I will be on the lookout for larger, more solid sprinkles. I adore your blog and thank-you so much for sharing and all your hard work Rosie. I also love your video tutorials – your narrative is perfect; just like speaking to a friend. I certainly look forward to more posts. 17.06.2012.
I made a double batch of cake and frosting this weekend – in cupcake form! Baked the cupcakes at 350-degrees for 18 minutes. The double batch made exactly 4 dozen cupcakes. They were delicious! (A double batch fits in a 6-quart Kitchenaid no problem.)
As a comparison, LAST weekend I made this cake, in cake form, and it was delicious as well. I don’t think anything was lost in translation to cupcake form.
I made this last week and it was delightful! My sprinkles fell to the bottom of the pan which was a tad disappointing. Any tips?
Oh my God. I just discovered your blog and I think I fell in love. I have a blog too so I am going to try this recipe and put a link to yours, I live in Spain and I didn’t know about funfetti cake. xo
All your cakes are amazing and creative!! Thank you for all your tips,recipes and ideas. I was wondering if your Whipped Vannila Frosting gets a crust to it?
Hi Rosie, I stumbled across your blog the other day and am in total awe of all the total scrumptiousness if everything. I simply had to make the funfetti cake the next day, my only issue was that all my sprinkles just vanished, but I am based in England and don’t know if our ‘hundreds and thousands’ as they are called here are just not the same? I just put loads in the frosting, and it was still lovely. Can you recommend a website that sells the sprinkles I need, and posts to the uk?
Hi! Just found this recipe- looks amazing but was curious if this cake can hold up fondant? Im wanting to make it for my daughters birthday! Thanks in advance!!
I use this cake recipe all the time and it always holds up to fondant :)
hi! ok so what did i do wrong? i consider myself to be a reasonable cook but when i made this cake all the sprinkles lost their colour and it tasted very eggy?
Hi Rosie! I need to make a funfetti WEDDING cake covered with fondant! Do you have any tips for making this cake more dense?
Hi Rosie,
I’m having a problem with the frosting–it’s coming out rather grainy and watery, and I am not sure what to do… Do you have any suggestions?!?
Hey,
I am having the same problem as Stephanie – not with your particular frosting recipe (which has the same ingridients I attempt to make when other recipes tell me to) but ALL the time! It gets so greasy looking and I help but think it’s the milk’s fault. I’m going to go try again but leaving the milk out this time. Let me know what you think.
I’m truly shock of how amazing this cake is. I made this cake today and my friends enjoyed eating it. The best part about eating the cake was the slight hint of almond extract. It definitely brought out the flavor of the cake. I had a bit of complications with the sprinkles that my cake turned into a purple confetti cake.
There were no rainbow jimmies sold at the store near me, so I had to use the rainbow pareils sprinkles. The pareils turned the cake purple and it had a bit of a crunch to it, because of the sprinkles’ hard coating. Regardless of the purple color, I was still able to see a bit of rainbow specks in the cake. If I were to use the pareils again, I would pour some on the batter and take a butter knife and gently cut through the mixture. This might prevent the cake from turning purple.
Instead of using the vanilla buttercream frosting, I used a marshmallow buttercream frosting. I was in a hurry to go to an evening engagement that I didn’t let the cake cool completely. This made my frosting melt a bit. (Lessoned learned). After lathering the cake with the marshmallow icing, I wasn’t content with the outer appearance of the cake. I ended up putting a layer of whipped cream on top of the marshmallow frosting. The people eating the cake didn’t notice the mistake I made, so that was a relief.
Other than the purple colored cake and the frosting dilemma, I’m grateful that you shared this recipe with the world. Thank you for sharing your ideas and knowledge. I look forward to trying out other stuff that you’ve posted on your blog.
Cheerios & happy baking!
When you add the – between the amounts like 2 -3/4 cups of flour is it 2 cups of flour + 3/4 or you might need that amount?
Hi :) I’m making one of those Barbie doll cakes. Do you think this cake will hold up in the dome shape? It sounds delicious!!! Thank you.
My goodness, I have tried so many different vanilla cake recipes, but this is by far the best! I was a little worried about the way it looked when it came out of the oven, but it was perfect!!! Just came out of the oven and it smells great! Thank you!
Wow! This frosting is amazing! I’m having to practice a lot of self control to not eat it straight out of the bowl right now. I definitely “cleaned” the paddle thoroughly before actually washing it. Thanks for the delicious recipe!!
Made this cake and it came out dry. I measured everything as instructed. I didn’t think that I overbaked the cake but I can’t think of anything else. Had I taken it out earlier the middle would have sunk. Anyone else have this issue? Great frosting!
After looking on the web for a cake to make for my sons birthday party I found this one! I plan to make it today and I hope I can make it work.
Can you share what brands of almond and vanilla extract you use? I’m new to baking. I want to make this for my nephew’s bday party. Thanks
Beautiful recipe, made it today. Looks and tastes amazing!!! Added a bit of teal colour into the frosting that covered the top (the filling remained white) and it turned out exquisite! You are a great baker! Well done!!! Greetings from Greece
Made this yesterday for a funfetti-fan birthday cake, and it was a HUGE success! The layers were light and moist, the frosting was sweet and pillowy, and the sprinkles in the batter were a hit. Will definitely add this to my go-to festive cake list!
I’m so excited to try this recipe, but I have a very important question. I plan to use 2 round 8-inch pans, but how do I get the cakes to bake evenly so that the top is flat. Everytime I bake cakes, the middle sections are higher than around the edges and if I try to cut off the tops, it becomes so crumbly. I would love some good advice so when I bake this for my daughter-in-law, it comes out beautiful.
I made this cake back in march for my daughter’s first birthday and just made it again as cupcakes for a friend’s daughter for her 1st birthday. I am in LOVE with this cake and especially in love with the buttercream. Definitely my one of my favorite buttercreams and its a dream to pipe! For those looking to make cupcakes, I was able to get a solid 26 cupcakes from one batch of the batter, and one batch of the frosting was enough to frost all of the cupcakes. Thanks!
Does it crust well for the cake??
And is it stiff enough to hold up on it own… when piped on cupcakes?
The cake looks delightful but can I use whole eggs instead of egg whites?
I’m making it for my granddaughter’s second birthday this weekend! Thanks!
I made this cake for my son’s birthday, which is the 4th of July. I made it with Red and Blue sprinkles, and it was a huge hit. It was my first made-from-scratch cake ever and I was incredibly proud. I’m soooooooooo appreciative of this excellent recipe!!!!! It looked great, it tasted great. So thankful!
Remarkable expert articles and type of publishing. I believe I’ll check back on this web site in the future and find out exactly what else you’ve gotten in store :-) !
!! So i’m really going to check out if I truly could possibly come across anything in regards to cakes!!
I really love your recipes and want to try this one today. I actually wonder if I really need to line the pan with parchment. Here in Germany we never do this and it feels strange to do this now. We alwalys use springform pans. So do you think I need parchment anyway for this cake? Is it very sticky?
Do you need any other publications correlated to this particular one?
?! I’d prefer to look for more details on this particular field!! ;-) I just like the blog posts, regardless I want a little more info regarding cakes. Thanks for your insight!!!
I am eagerly awaiting this cake to be done, baking as I type. Very happy to have found your website and so many more cakes to try. I showed my son some choices and he went for the sprinkles for his birthday cake. Today is the trial and will save a layer in the freezer for next weeks cake. I am more on a quest for the perfect moist yellow cake, but will venture off and try this one out. I guess I can honestly say I am not one of those lovers of boxed cake, always like the moister denser home style. Although the boxed cake batter is delish! So I am very interested to see how this turns out. I could really taste the almond extract in the batter, but can also see how that makes it taste like the boxed version cake too. Anyway I will report back. Oh and I did use my hand mixer as I don’t have a standing mixer. Here’s hoping for luck in your contest as the amount I bake I certainly have been needing one. And another note last night was a half recipe of swiss meringue buttercream and wow it is what I have been searching for. There is a cupcake company that I always wanted to copycat and this is what they use! I had no idea. So very thankful for that recipe although I am not totally confidant with it yet. I found that it was of better consistency after coming out of freezer and thawing. Thanks again for all the great info on here.
Hello again. Checking back in with the cake making report. I do believe for a quest of the white cake reminiscent of the boxed cake this is the cake. Very similar in texture and taste. I still say better than box. Now for me as I stated before I really am only a fan of boxed cake batter tee hee. And not really into a quest for a boxed version, with all this expensive butter etc. used I want more of a traditional homemade cake flavour. Don’t want the guests to think I used box when I put an effort in. So am going to try the other layers on this birthday cake with a more yellow cake. Wondering if anyone has an opinion on what I should try next I think I will just add in some sprinkles with either the Vanilla Buttermilk or Vanilla Butter cake. Or I may leave sprinkles out and just have a middle layer of the funfetti cake as a surprise….Using the swiss meringue buttercream to ice. Opinions?
This looks awesome!! Does the frosting hold up to being colored, and used to decorate cakes? Would love to try it!
Oh my GOODNESS! I just made this and it is taking ALL of my strength not to shove my face into it’s sweet goodness! The cake is super moist and the frosting truly does taste like vanilla ice cream (and has the most delightful velvety consistency!) mmmmm, so wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing! I will definitely be back to try out your other recipes!(:
Hi! I want make a 1/2 sheet cake for a birthday. How many cake batters will I need to make? How long will it take to bake? Any tips will be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you!
Can u put buttermilk instead of full cream milk?
Hi Paula,
Yes, you can use buttermilk–that should work just fine. Enjoy the cake!
I want to make this cake for Easter, but turn it into cupcakes! Any idea how many cupcakes it would make (I’m assuming probably 22-24)? Or what the baking time/setting should be?
Thanks!
This cake looks so soft and fluffy! I’m a sucker for your white vanilla cake, but this looks darn delicious too! Oh and, sprinkles make everything better ;)
I just came across this recipe now and I’ll really like to try it. But the challenge I have is that I don’t have a stand mixer, I only have a hand mixer of 500g. Will it work?
Just made this yesterday for my friend’s birthday–it was the first cake I’ve ever made from scratch! Thanks for the incredible recipe and great instructions!
That’s amazing, Dani! Thanks so much for letting me know! xo
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I made it for my daughters 3rd birthday. It was so yummy. Everyone at the party loved it. Most importantly my daughter loved all the sprinkles. Thanks again.
Gorgeous cake! Sooooo fluffy! But my funfetti was bit to be seen! Not sure what ‘jimmys’ are here in the uk, I assume the same as rainbow vermicelli. Any ideas of what else I could use, I have the rainbow confetti sprinkles similar to those on the frosting. Thanks!
I just tried your frosting with a cake I did with my aunt! It was DELICIOUS! So glad I came across your blog. I’m a new blogger and your blog is very inspiring for me!
Amazing white cake! Just what I was looking for. And the funfetti is fun-tastic!
LOVE this cake! What’s your method of getting the sprinkles spread so evenly over the entire cake, specifically the sides? Thanks so much and can’t wait to try it!!
I saw this cake and I thought it would be perfect for my sister’s birthday. So i made it this past weekend and it turned out really great. My sister loved it and so did everyone else. Thank you for sharing your passion for cakes with us.
Hi!
I made this cake for my daughters 5th birthday recently and it was lovely. Looked amazing and tasted amazing too. I made 2 batches and had a 3 layer cake (I froze the other layer). It had a lovely texture and was not too sweet. Icing was lovely too, also not too sweet. Everyone loved it and I’m making the cupcake version tomorrow for a little tea party. Thanks for the recipe and inspiring photos. X
I want to use this recipe to make three 9″ cakes since I use 9″ round cake pans instead of 8″. Would I need to adjust the baking time any?
I really like the idea of your Funfetti Layer Cake for my daughter’s 3rd birthday this Sunday but was wondering if it would be possible to cover it in fondant icing rather than the vanilla frosting? I want to make her a princess castle type cake and I think the way to do that will be with fondant icing but maybe your cake is too soft to cover in fondant? Would appreciate your advice. Thank you
What a beautiful cake! I’m wondering if there’s about 4C of frosting in your recipe? I’d love to use it instead of store-bought as suggested (but not recommended!) on a Candy Corn Cake from I am Baker. Thanks! :)
The cake was velvety, spongelike and paired well with frosting….it was a smashing success. I love all your recipes-everything I have tried to make always turns out well.
I made your Funfetti cake this past weekend. It was very good indeed; and the vanilla frosting is really the bestest. It also does taste like vanilla icecream. The cake overall is fairly good; however, after a couple of days it tends to become “crumbly” (by that I mean you take a piece of cake with a fork and the cake breaks down a bit). I am thinking that adding more egg yolks and/or replace some of the butter with oil might solve this issue. I respectfully give your cake an 7 out of 10, and your frosting a 10 out of 10. Thanks for your recipe. Also, my cake looked really nice – not as nice as yours but close enough, which is good because sometimes recipes show you a very nice picture and when I make it myself, it does not look nearly as good. Cheers and Thanks Again! Regine
Hi Rosie, I’m planning on making this frosting for my cake for Valentine’s Day.
Problem is that I do not have access to a kitchenaid mixer or anything similar. Can I whip it by hand? Is it possible to do so?
I have a mixer that is very fast. It is impossible to adjust speed settings in it. What do I do!
I really want to make this frosting!
Made this today and it came out wonderful! I think my brother will love it :) last birthday before he goes off into the Air Force. I wish I could post a picture here of how pretty it came out! Here’s a link to the pic: https://instagram.com/p/15vvrpGoa0/
The weight for the egg whites is wrong. I believe it should be 120g, not 175g.
I tried this recipe for my cousin’s smash cake and it was tooth-achingly, eye-wateringly, bone-shatteringly sweet. There’s entirely too much sugar in it. It also tasted vaguely eggy.
On the other hand, my mum and sisters loved it, so maybe it’s just me.
I followed the recipe exactly, but when I checked it after 20 min, the middle sunk… A LOT. Any advice for next time??
Rosie hey! I bake custom cakes and use the inverse creaming method for all my vanilla/white base cake recipes. I have alot of baking experience between pastry school and working at Momofuku Milk Bar but, every once in awhile at the end of mixing my batter appears broken like the liquid isn’t fully emulsifed into the batter. It doesn’t happen all the time and I can’t figure out what I am doing occasionally different. It’s driving me crazy. Just thought I would see if you have any advice or if this has every happened to you.
Thanks,
Sam
I made this cake exactly as the directions call for but the cake was super dense and heavy. What could that be from? I’m used to baking in a gas oven aND this one was electric. Could that do it?
I made this for Easter and everyone loved it! My sister wants to make them as cupcakes. Do you have any tips? Like how long to bake them and what temp? I’m a beginner when it comes to baking so any tips on switching this recipe to cupcakes would be much appreciated :)
Can I use buttermilk instead of whole milk?
I bake my cakes in a countertop (toaster) oven. Can I bake the cake in one cake pan or how should I decrease the amount of ingredients so that the batter will fit in one 8″ cake pan
First time I used the Rose Levy Beranbaum reverse creaming. Super easy and it was a fantastic cake! I used the confetti quins – they still had a tiny bit of crunch to them. Next time will try the jimmies to see if they do not.
Found mini- mini-mini marshmallows to include in my sprinkle mix at Hobby Lobby – that made my 6 year old so excited.
I just recently found your blog, and your cookbook today! I am fairly new to baking and wanted to know how do I make this a 4 layer cake using 8″ pans? I’m not quite sure how to manipulate the ingredients to do so. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. BTW, I made the cupcake version of this recipe and we loved it.