Homemade Funfetti Cake

As Samantha mentioned in her post yesterday, this past weekend we helped throw a wedding shower for our friend (and occasional BombPop guest blogger) Carolyn. My main contribution to the occasion was the cake. Carolyn is completely unabashed in her love of cake, and I am unabashed in my love of making cakes for her to eat. Since I already made carrot cake for her birthday earlier this year, I decided to attempt another of her favorites: funfetti.  I had never made a funfetti cake from scratch before, but I found this great recipe from Sweetapolita that made it seem pretty simple. Basically, you can just use whatever white cake recipe you prefer and add sprinkles to the batter before baking. Or, if you don't have a go-to white cake recipe, give this one a try. It's super fluffy and it pairs amazingly well with the whipped vanilla frosting and all the fun sprinkles!

Funfetti Layer Cake with Whipped Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:

For the Cake:
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 whole egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes
2-3/4 cups cake flour, sifted
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles

For the Frosting:
3 sticks + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes
3 1/2 cups (400 g) confectioners’ sugar (sift sugar before measuring)
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
rainbow sprinkles for decorating

Instructions:

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease, flour, and line two round 8-inch pans with parchment. In a medium bowl or measuring cup, combine the eggs, 1/4 cup of milk, vanilla and the almond extract. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the dry ingredients together on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and blend on low speed for 30 more 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.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and begin to add the egg/milk mixture in 3 separate batches, beating on medium for 20 seconds after each addition. Gently stir in the rainbow sprinkles until just combined.

Divide the batter equally into the two prepared pans. If you have a kitchen scale,  you can weigh the pans to ensure 2 even layers, but eyeing it works fine as well. I always tap my filled cake pans on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles before baking. Bake 25-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes clean when inserted into the center.

Let cake layers cool on racks for 15 minutes before loosening the sides with a small metal spatula and inverting onto greased wire racks. Gently turn cakes top-side up to cool completely.

You can store the tightly wrapped baked cake layers at room temp for 2 days or in the fridge for up to five.

For the Frosting:

As mentioned above, be sure to sift your confectioner's sugar before measuring, and spoon the sugar into the measuring cup the way you would with flour, rather than scooping, otherwise you will end up using way more sugar than you really need.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter for 8 minutes on medium. Butter will become very pale and creamy.

Add remaining ingredients and mix on the lowest speed for 1 minute, scrape down the sides, then continue mixing on medium for 6 minutes. Frosting will be very light, creamy and fluffy.

The frosting is best used right away for ideal spreading consistency. If you need to make it ahead of time, it will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days, just be sure to let it come to room temperature (about 2 hours) then whip with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, 2 to 5 minutes, before using.

Assembly:

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. The dollop of frosting will keep the cake from moving around if you are planning to take it anywhere.

You can use a silicone brush to knock off any loose crumbs from your cake layers before you frost them, to prevent them from getting mixed up in the frosting.

Place about 1 cup of frosting on top of the bottom cake layer, and spread evenly with a small offset spatula. You can add a layer of sprinkles on top of the frosting if you like.

Gently place the second cake layer on top of the first. Take a pretty generous scoop of frosting (2 cups) and spread evenly with a small offset spatula, and working your way down the sides until you have a thin layer of frosting over the entire cake. To make the sides extra smooth, place the cake on a lazy Susan or rotating cake stand, and run a bench scraper along the side of the cake while rotating. Chill cake until frosting is set, about 30 minutes.

Remove from refrigerator and cover cake with a final layer of frosting, if you have any remaining. Then comes the best part: sprinkle time! I chose to just sprinkle the top of my cake (and to use the same kind of sprinkle on the inside of the cake as well as the outside) but feel free to get as creative with this part of the process as you like!

No matter what kind of sprinkles you use or how many, this cake will be the most festive and colorful ever. It's basically impossible to eat it without smiling.

For a 4-layer cake, simply slice each of your cake layers in half, or for a 3-layer cake, divide the batter among 3 round 8″ cake pans (the layers will be shorter). This recipe can also be used for cupcakes, just reduce baking time to 15 minutes.

I hope you had as much fun reading about my funfetti cake as I did making and eating it!