Funfetti Cake Recipe

Apr 11, 2024

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Ingredients in Homemade Funfetti Cake

It doesn’t take many more ingredients to pull together a cake from scratch as it does to bake a box cake mix, and it tastes so much better! Take the few extra steps and give your birthday cakes an extra layer of something special. Here’s what you need:

Butter – one cup of salted or unsalted butter, softened to room temperature. This takes the place of vegetable oil.
Sugar – two cups white, granulated sugar
Cake flour – 2 and a half cups. Cake flour is preferred over all purpose flour for this homemade Funfetti cake recipe due to its lower protein content. The result is a finer texture, allowing for a lighter and more delicate crumb. Incorporating cake flour ensures that the cake is tenderly baked to perfection.
Baking powder – two teaspoons
Baking soda – half teaspoon
Salt – I like to use kosher salt if you have it, or regular table salt works great too.
Vanilla extract – using two teaspoons of clear extract will keep the white cake looking especially white, which will help the rainbow sprinkles pop.
Buttermilk – half a cup. Make your own by adding two teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice to 2/3 cup of regular milk and you have homemade buttermilk.
Milk – half cup of regular, whole milk.
Sour cream – you can substitute regular Greek yogurt too.
Egg whites – you’ll need 5 large room temperature egg whites. Using room temperature egg whites in this cake recipe is important because it incorporates better into the batter, resulting in an even bake and smoother texture. And egg whites without using the egg yolks help in keeping the cake a brilliant white color.
Sprinkles – any rainbow jimmies or sprinkles work great. The longer jimmies hold their shape better in the batter.

Bowl of white Funfetti frosting with colorful sprinkles.

Best Frosting for Funfetti Cake

Different frostings can be used to frost this fun confetti cake recipe, including our homemade Funfetti Frosting. You can also use a classic vanilla buttercream frosting, or vanilla or chocolate cream cheese frosting. Each frosting type gives the cake a special taste and feel that goes well with its colorful and fun style. Whether you pick a colorful Funfetti frosting, rich and creamy buttercream or a tangy cream cheese frosting, it’s all about what you like best and how you want your cake to taste.

Spreading Funfetti Frosting on top of baked Funfetti Cake.

Steps to Perfect Funfetti Cake

Whether you’re baking funfetti cupcakes, a layer cake or using a dripper pan, there are a couple steps to getting that perfect shape and texture:

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease your pans or line with parchment paper. You can use 6-inch round cake pans, or 8-inch or 9 inch pans, a rectangle pan, cupcake pan with liners, etc.
In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder and salt by hand, and set aside.
Lightly whisk the egg whites together in a smaller bowl, set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes on medium- high speed.
Add the eggs to the mixture and beat on medium speed until incorporated.
Mix in vanilla and sour cream until creamy.
Next, add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk and milk slowly until they’re all incorporated.
Finally, use a spatula to carefully fold in the rainbow sprinkles.
Bake 30-40 minutes until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let it cool on a wire rack, then frost and enjoy!

Variations and Additions

This basic cake is so easy to customize to any celebration that calls for a sweet treat. Here are some ideas:

Use specific colored sprinkles depending on the occasion. Blue or pink sprinkles for a gender reveal party, orange and black for a Halloween gathering, or red and green for a Christmas dessert. Use your imagination and make this recipe your own.
If you want a funfetti chocolate cake, simply add funfetti sprinkles to our easy chocolate cake recipe. Top with chocolate buttercream with colorful sprinkles as well.
Dust the top of the cake with a little powdered-sugar for added garnish.
Clear vanilla will give your cake an extra white color, but you can use regular vanilla extract too or a combination of vanilla and almond extract for a richer cake flavor.
Serve this cake at room temperature or straight from the refrigerator with a little chill to the frosting.

Fork with Funfetti Cake resting on a plate.

The Best Sprinkles for Funfetti Cake

Betty Crocker jimmies (or the long rainbow sprinkles) hold up best and won’t dissolve into the cake batter like other sprinkles. They’re vibrantly colored as well.

Favorite Cake Recipes

A slice of homemade cake just hits the spot when it comes to desserts! From birthdays to holidays to days that you need something special, try making one our favorite cakes for your loved ones: