Funfetti Cake Recipe {Confetti Cake}

When it comes to birthday cakes, our confetti cake will make your next birthday celebration a festive event!

Our homemade copycat Funfetti cake recipe contains rainbow sprinkles mixed throughout the vanilla cake batter, with even more sprinkled on top of the cake’s vanilla buttercream frosting, making this cake perfect for birthdays or to brighten someone’s day.

Our cake is deliciously moist, thanks to the buttermilk and sour cream that’s mixed into the cake batter. You’re going to love how rich, sweet, and moist this sprinkle cake is.

Our funfetti cake is easy to make using simple pantry ingredients and so much better than using a store-bought cake mix.

Multi-layer cakes are beautiful when cut, and our funfetti cake is a joy to behold, with eye-catching neon colors in every layer.

What Flavor is Funfetti Cake?

Classic confetti cake is either a white cake or yellow vanilla cake, depending on whether or not a recipe calls for egg whites only or includes the egg yolks.

Don’t limit yourself to just yellow or white cake. You can make a chocolate funfetti cake by adding rainbow sprinkles to a chocolate cake.

You can also switch up the sprinkle colors to your liking- try using green and red sprinkles for a Christmas-themed cake, blue and red for the Fourth of July, black and orange for Halloween, or simply choose your favorite colors! There are so many possibilities.

Ingredients to Make a Funfetti Cake

Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make our homemade Funfetti Cake recipe. In Chef Speak, this is called the Mise en Place, which translates into Everything in its Place.

Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.

We used sour cream to make this recipe, but you can use plain or vanilla Greek yogurt to make this cake. You can also change up the flavor a bit by using almond extract in place of / or in addition to the vanilla extract.

You can also use cake flour to make our confetti cake, but you will need to add an additional six tablespoons and one teaspoon of cake flour to the dry ingredients.

How to Make a Funfetti Cake (Confetti Cake)

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease and line 3 – 9″ cake pans with parchment paper.

• Add the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt to a large bowl.
• Whisk to combine the flour mixture and set aside until needed.
• Add the room temperature unsalted butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl and electric hand mixer).
• Whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes).
• With the mixer running on low, drizzle in the vegetable oil.
• Whip until well blended. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix again.

• Add the room temperature whole eggs one at a time with the mixer set at medium speed.
• Mix until each egg is incorporated, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl between each addition.
• Add the vanilla extract and the sour cream to the bowl.
• Mix just enough to combine.
• Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter.
• Mix just enough to combine.

• Add the buttermilk to the mixture.
• Mix just enough to combine, then add the remainder of the dry ingredients, mixing just enough to combine.
  *Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl between each addition to make sure everything has been mixed.
• Add the rainbow jimmies to the cake batter.
• Gently fold them into the batter using a rubber spatula.
• Divide the batter between the cake pans, spreading it evenly.
• Place the pans on the center rack of a preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

• Place the pans on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes.
• Run a butter knife around the edges, then invert the cakes onto the cooling rack and remove the parchment paper. Let the cakes cool completely before frosting with the vanilla buttercream.

How to Make Vanilla Buttercream

• Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
• Whip on high speed until smooth and fluffy (1-2 minutes).
• Add the powdered sugar to the whipped butter, one cup at a time.
• Mix on low speed until the powdered sugar is incorporated, then whip at high speed for one minute.
• Add the vanilla and milk to the frosting.
• Whip to combine.
  *If the buttercream is still too thick, add another tablespoon of milk.

Let’s Assemble the Funfetti Cake

• Level off the cakes if needed, slicing the tops off.
• Add a layer of buttercream to the top of the first cake layer.
• Repeat the process with the next two layers.
• Give the entire cake a thin layer of frosting to make the crumb coat. Place the cake in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
• Frost the cake with the remaining frosting and decorate with sprinkles.
  *Add the sprinkles to the top and sides of the cake immediately after frosting. Once the frosting sets, the sprinkles won’t stick as well.

Can I Replace the Buttermilk In This Recipe?

Buttermilk is essential to this recipe, but it can be made at home. There’s no need to buy extra ingredients if you’re looking to save money- use what you already have on hand!

To make homemade buttermilk, measure one cup of whole milk, then remove one tablespoon. Add one tablespoon of either lemon juice or white vinegar. Stir to blend well, and let rest for at least 10 minutes to allow the milk to sour.

Wouldn’t your friends and family love to sit down to a slice of this beautiful, moist, delicious cake? Don’t wait for a birthday or special occasion; our Funfetti cake is guaranteed to bring smiles to your table.

Store the assembled Funfetti Cake at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-4 days or refrigerated for 5-6 days. It can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to three months.

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