Funfetti Cake Recipe

I am a kid at heart, and a Funfetti Cake makes me laugh every time I cut into one. Three white cake layers, sprinkles folded through the batter, my homemade buttercream on the outside, and only 30 minutes of hands-on time before it goes into the oven. If you have a birthday coming up, then this is the cake for you.

Funfetti Cake

A funfetti cake is a white vanilla cake with sprinkles folded into the batter, baked in layers, and iced with buttercream. Pillsbury put the name on a boxed mix in the late 1980s, and the from-scratch version has been showing up on home birthday tables ever since. I love that it bakes in three 9-inch pans, a 9×13 casserole dish, or as 24 cupcakes, and the batter behaves the same way in all 3 formats.

I have to say, though, that 2 things do the real work in this cake, and they’re easy to overlook. The first is the cornstarch. I don’t usually keep cake flour in my pantry, so I replace 2 tablespoons of each cup of all-purpose flour with cornstarch. This gives the cake a lighter, more tender crumb. The second is the oil. It works alongside the butter to keep every slice soft and moist, even a few days after baking.

In my experience, both the cornstarch and the oil are non-negotiable. However, if I had to choose the single most important ingredient, it would be the oil. It keeps the cake soft and moist for days. I actually decided to make this cake for my own birthday this year, and OH MY!! Just follow my step-by-step directions and chef tips below, and I promise you’ll end up with the most decadent cake ever. I can’t wait for you to try it too.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Here is what goes into the batter and the finish of my funfetti cake, along with the swaps I actually use when my pantry is not fully stocked:

• All-purpose flour – The main dry ingredient and the structure of the crumb. Cake flour is the direct swap and lets me skip the cornstarch.
• Corn starch – The secret handshake that makes all-purpose behave like cake flour. It cuts the protein in the mix and gives me the lift and tenderness I want in a birthday-cake crumb. Potato starch is the direct swap.
• Kosher salt – I pretty much only use diamond crystal kosher these days, and this is obviously used to help balance all the sweetness.. It also helps in the leavening of the cake.
• Baking powder – Half of the leavening. It gives the batter its rise in the oven and the fluff I want in a layer cake.
• Baking soda – The other half of the leavening. It reacts with the acid in the buttermilk and gives the crumb a second lift.
• Unsalted butter – The main fat and where a lot of the flavor sits in a birthday cake. Unsalted only, since salted butter throws the sodium balance off from bake to bake. Bring it to room temperature so it creams properly with the sugar.
• Granulated sugar – The sweetness, and a texture ingredient once it is creamed into the butter. That creaming step is what aerates the fat and gives the batter its light body before any egg goes in. If a slightly less sweet cake is what is wanted, cut the sugar back a touch rather than swapping in a substitute sweetener.
• Vanilla – The base flavor of the whole cake. A real vanilla extract, not an imitation, since vanilla is the only flavoring in the batter and the difference shows up on the finished slice.
• Egg whites – Whites only, no yolks, so the crumb bakes a bright snowy white all the way through. Yolks would tint the cake toward yellow, and while a yellow cake is a fine cake, this one is meant to look like fresh snow with confetti in it.
• Oil – Over the years I’ve changed how I feel about oil and have mainly pushed to avocado oil. However, any neutral-flavored oil will do. I always look for organic, on sale, and cold pressed. This is the main ingredient in ensuring this cake is incredibly moist. If I had to say it’s probably the most important ingredient in this cake.
• Buttermilk – The acidity that wakes up the baking soda and the tenderness ingredient that keeps the crumb soft. Whole milk with a splash of white vinegar and rested a few minutes on the counter works as well.
• Sprinkles – The whole point of a funfetti cake. Any color mix works. I default to a classic rainbow jimmie for the batter.
• Homemade buttercream is my favorite frosting of any cake, and the one my wife calls the secret to life. It is full-fat and it is butter, and it is exactly what this cake wants on the outside.

How to Make Funfetti Cake

Whisk the dry ingredients: Whisk the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a bowl.

Cream: Add the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed for 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the vanilla and whites: Add the vanilla to the mixer, then add the egg whites one at a time.

Pour: I pour the oil into the mixer while it is running on low, and once it is worked in, stop the mixer and scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl.

Alternate ingredients: Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk into the mixer on low speed. Start with the dry, end with the dry, and add the dry in 3 additions with the buttermilk in 2. Mix each addition just until it is worked in.

Fold in the sprinkles: I fold the sprinkles through the batter with a spatula until they are just distributed.

Pan and bake: Divide the batter in equal parts between three 9-inch cake pans that have been lined with parchment on the bottom. Bake at 350°F for 27 to 29 minutes.

Cool: I cool the layers on a wire rack for 2 hours.

Prep the cream: With about 15 minutes left in the cake cooling process, make the buttercream recipe.

Frost: Level the layers and stack them with buttercream between each, and coat the top and sides.

Decorate: I load the extra buttercream into a piping bag for decoration on top.

Finish: Also, I love adding more sprinkles on top because why not?

Serving Suggestions

Most of the time, I make this cake for birthdays, and I always serve each slice with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream. The sprinkles and cold vanilla ice cream are simply hard to beat. My daughter usually asks for a second slice before the first plate is even half gone. This is the same reaction I get when I make my decadent blueberry cobbler in the middle of the summer.

I highly recommend making this cake anytime you want; don’t wait for a special occasion! I’m just sharing a few ideas based on how I love serving it. For a summer party, I’ll slice the layer cake into thin wedges and place a tray of molten chocolate lava cake next to it for the adults who want a richer dessert option.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: I bake the layers up to 1 day ahead and wrap each cooled layer tightly in plastic on the counter. I then frost the cake the day it is being served.

How to Store: Keep a frosted funfetti cake covered on the counter at room temperature for 4 to 5 days. Cover it in the refrigerator for 6 to 7 days when the kitchen is running warm.

How to Freeze: I skip the freezer for a frosted funfetti cake. The buttercream won’t hold when thawed and the sprinkle colors bleed into the frosting. Unfrosted cooled layers freeze fine when wrapped tight in plastic and then in plastic wrap. I thaw them overnight on the counter still wrapped before frosting the day of.

More Decadent Cake Recipes

• Strawberry Shortcake
• Pistachio Cake
• Apple Cake
• Pineapple Upside Down Cake 
• Coffee Cake