Funfetti Cake

My festive funfetti cake (often called confetti cake) is cheerful, sweet, and beyond delicious! The cake itself has a soft, moist crumb thanks to egg whites, buttermilk, and a combination of oil and butter. Rainbow jimmies are folded into the batter for lots of color throughout. The vanilla buttercream is sweet, creamy, and so fluffy!

My funfetti cake recipe has been a favorite of kids and adults alike since I first published it back in 2018. This new and improved version stays true to the original but is simplified to use fewer ingredients! Plus, a homemade funfetti cake is so much better than the boxed version that it’s worth a little extra time. For more cake recipes, try my butter cake, vanilla cake, and rainbow cake.

Ingredients

These are the main ingredients needed to make homemade funfetti cake. The full list of ingredients is in the recipe card below!

Flour — you can achieve an incredibly soft, tender cake with all-purpose flour!

Butter and oil — a combination of unsalted butter and liquid oil, like vegetable oil, ensures this cake is both wonderfully moist and soft and has a rich buttery flavor.

Buttermilk — buttermilk tenderizes the cake crumb and adds moisture.

Egg whites — egg whites contribute to the fluffiness of the funfetti cake, as well as providing structure. True white cakes are made without yolks for a lighter color and texture.

Sprinkles — like in my funfetti cupcakes, rainbow jimmies are the way to go here! They go directly into the batter, and you’ll also need extra to decorate the frosted cake. Or, try making homemade sprinkles for the cake layers and for decorating the cake!

Vanilla buttercream — this is a riff on my classic buttercream frosting recipe. You’ll need butter, sugar, salt, good-quality vanilla extract, and heavy cream.

4.94 from 865 votes

Funfetti Cake Recipe

Funfetti Cake made from scratch is perfect for special occasions! Colorful sprinkles are dotted throughout the soft white cake and coated in a delicious buttercream frosting.

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Cooling time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 12 servings

Calories 1129kcal

Author John Kanell

Video

Equipment

• ▢
  3 8 inch cake pans
• ▢
  Parchment paper
• ▢
  Cake Strips
• ▢
  Stand mixer with paddle attachment or handheld electric mixer

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• ▢ 3¾ cups all-purpose flour (450g)
• ▢ 2½ teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2⅓ cups granulated sugar (466g)
• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter softened (227g)
• ▢ ⅓ cup vegetable oil (80mL)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1⅓ cups buttermilk room temperature (320ml)
• ▢ 7 large egg whites room temperature
• ▢ ⅔ cup rainbow jimmies (100g)

For the Frosting:

• ▢ 1 pound unsalted butter (450g)
• ▢ 2 pounds powdered sugar (900g)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 3 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream
• ▢ Rainbow sprinkles to serve

Instructions

For the Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease three, 8-inch round pans with baking spray or butter and flour, then line the bottoms with parchment paper. (I also used cake strips on my pans for even layers.)
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar, butter, and oil on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.
• Add the egg whites in three parts, mixing on low until fully combined before adding the next. Stop and scrape the bowl down occasionally. Add the vanilla and beat until fluffy, about 20 seconds.
• Add one-third of the flour mixture, then mix on low speed until combined. Add half of the buttermilk and mix until combined. Repeat with another third of the flour, the remaining buttermilk, ending with the remaining flour mixture, mixing between each addition. Scrape down the bowl and ensure the batter is well mixed and no lumps remain. With a silicone spatula, fold in the rainbow sprinkles.
• Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cake pans and spread into an even layer. Tap each pan several times on a towel on the kitchen countertop to settle the batter and release any big air bubbles. Bake for 32 to 38 minutes, rotating the pans on the oven rack after 20 minutes, until the centers spring back when gently pressed.
• Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn onto wire cooling racks. Remove the parchment paper.

For the Frosting:

• In a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and salt on medium speed until very soft and smooth, about 2 minutes.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar, adding the heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed, to keep the mixture creamy. Beat in the vanilla. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 to 2 minutes, until the texture is smooth and fluffy.

For the Assembly:

• Place one cool cake layer top-side up on a cake stand. Spread 1 cup of frosting over the top of the cake all the way to the edge. Repeat with the remaining two cake layers.
• Transfer 1 cup of frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large, open star piping tip (I like the Ateco 869.) Spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides of the cake.
• Press rainbow sprinkles into the bottom of the cake, about 2 to 3 inches up the sides, like a “skirt”.
• Pipe dollops in 8 to 10 places around the top edge of the cake. Garnish with more sprinkles if you like.

Notes

• If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own buttermilk substitute with just two ingredients! Simply stir together 1⅓ cups (320ml) whole milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar. Check out my post for other alternatives if you don’t have milk but you do have sour cream, yogurt, or other dairy on hand.
• Swap the frosting: You can choose any of my frosting recipes to use on this cake! That’s a great way to customize it to suit your preferences.

Nutrition

Calories: 1129kcal | Carbohydrates: 154g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 55g | Saturated Fat: 32g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 129mg | Sodium: 446mg | Potassium: 129mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 123g | Vitamin A: 1516IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 104mg | Iron: 2mg

*Nutrition Disclaimer

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How To Make Funfetti Cake

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar, butter, and oil on medium speed before adding the egg whites in 3 parts. Then, add the vanilla.

3. Add one-third of the flour mixture, mix on low speed until combined, then add half of the buttermilk and mix. Repeat this process to use the rest of the dry ingredients and the buttermilk, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Fold in the rainbow jimmies with a silicone spatula.

4. Divide the batter among three greased and floured 8-inch round cake pans lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F for 32 to 38 minutes. Be sure to rotate the pans on the rack after 20 minutes. Let them cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Make the vanilla buttercream in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Beat the butter and salt until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar. Add the heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to keep everything creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract, then beat on medium speed until fluffy.

6. Place one cake layer on a cake stand and frost all the way to the edge. Repeat with the other two cake layers. Before frosting all over the rest of the layer cake, including the top of the cake, transfer 1 cup of frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large open star piping tip (I like the Ateco 869) and set aside.

7. Press rainbow sprinkles into the sides of the cake.

8. Pipe dollops of buttercream around the top edge of the cake. Garnish with more sprinkles if you like.

New And Improved Funfetti Cake

My Funfetti cake recipe is one of the most loved cake recipes on the site! After several years and some helpful feedback, I decided to make it even better while still staying true to the original recipe. Here’s what I changed and why:

• More common pan size: I switched to a bigger, more common pan size (from 6-inch to 8-inch cake pans). This not only makes the recipe more convenient but also increases the number of servings. (Learn how to cut a round cake to make it go even further for bigger parties!)
• Combined two ingredients into one: By replacing regular whole milk and sour cream with buttermilk, you get the tenderizing benefits of the acidic ingredient and the added moisture all in one!
• Simplified the frostings: The old recipe uses both Italian buttercream and American buttercream. To make things easier, this updated version uses only American buttercream. But feel free to make my Italian buttercream recipe for this cake if you like that version!

Bake Flat Layers For The Sturdiest Cake

Baking flat layers is essential to prevent a domed, wobbly layer cake. By far, the easiest way to achieve this is by using fabric baking strips. These cake strips (which you can buy or make a DIY version) cool the sides of the pan to help the cake rise evenly, instead of the edges setting before the center and creating a dome on top. See my post on how to bake flat cake layers for more info and for my easy hack to make baking strips at home.

Decorate With A White Chocolate Ganache Drip

This is a fun alternative decoration for the top of the funfetti cake!

• Roughly chop ¾ cup (150g) pink candy melts. (I typically use Mercken’s or Wilton brands.)
• Place them in a heatproof bowl with 3 tablespoons each of white chocolate chips and heavy cream.
• Heat in the microwave at 50% power, cooking in 20-second intervals, stirring between each addition. Let the mixture cool to room temperature for about 20 minutes so that it is slightly thick but can still be drizzled.
• Test the ganache by drizzling down one side of the cake or a tall drinking glass to see if it’s the right consistency.

Different brands of candy melts will melt differently. If your ganache feels too thin, you can add more candy melts and microwave again. If it feels too thick, mix in additional warm heavy cream, 1 teaspoon at a time, to reach a drizzling consistency. For more ganache drip tips, check out my post about how to decorate a cake.

Can I Use Whole Eggs In The Cake Batter?

Yes! Swap all of the egg whites for 4 large whole eggs. If you use whole eggs, the cake won’t turn out pure white in color, but it will taste amazing either way! Or, use the leftover egg yolks to make lemon curd.

How To Make A Funfetti Sheet Cake

You can easily turn this sprinkle cake recipe into a sheet cake using a 9×13-inch pan. Spread the batter into a greased 9×13-inch baking pan, and bake at 350°F for about 45 minutes, tenting with aluminum foil after 30 minutes if the top is getting too dark. You will only need one-half of the frosting recipe for the sheet cake version since it’s just one layer.

Pro Tips For Making This Recipe

• Weigh your ingredients. The easiest way to accurately measure dry ingredients (particularly flour) is to use a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, fluff the flour in its container, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level off the top. Using too much flour will yield a dry funfetti cake.
• Use room temperature ingredients. Using room-temperature butter, egg whites, and buttermilk is key for a cake batter that blends easily. If you forget to set out the cold ingredients in advance, specifically the butter (which takes the longest to warm), follow my tutorial for how to soften butter quickly. You can pop the buttermilk in the microwave for 15-20 seconds and soak the whole eggs in warm water for 5 minutes before separating them.
• Taste your sprinkles. Did you know sprinkles can go bad? If they are old, they can start to taste rancid or bitter. Taste them before you stir them into the batter, and make sure there isn’t any off-putting flavor.
• Let cake layers cool completely before frosting. If they are still warm, the frosting will slide off, which can cause the layers to slip!
• Add sprinkles to the frosting! To make the ultimate birthday cake, add even more cheer by folding in ½ cup rainbow sprinkles to the buttercream right at the end of Step 9.
• How to store: Leftover confetti cake will keep if covered or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also freeze slices tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil for up to 3 months. Unwrap and thaw on the counter for a few hours before enjoying.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’ve tried this funfetti cake recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!