Funfetti Cake
My baking journey began with the humblest of origins –– boxed cake mixes.
As a kid, I used to proudly proclaim that my baked goods courtesy of Duncan Hines and Pillsbury were “homemade.” They were technically made at “home” after all! Under the literal definition, I think it still qualifies. Under the conventional definition, probably not.
Funfetti cake is the quintessential boxed cake mix. It was my favorite as a kid. I was always drawn to bright, colorful things. After all, who doesn’t love festive desserts? Plus it’s the perfect cake for birthdays and other celebrations.
I wanted to take a shot at making a funfetti cake from scratch. Four attempts later, I came up with my tried-and-true recipe — a colorful dessert made from a vanilla cake base with a decadent cream cheese frosting. And the best part? You don’t need to worry about being modest with the sprinkles, the more the merrier!
Behind the Recipe
Cake flour — Whenever I started experimenting with cakes, I had always used all-purpose flour since that was what I kept stocked in my pantry. Then I discovered cake flour. TOTAL GAME CHANGER. It keeps the cake light and fluffy.
Room temperature ingredients — This is super important to achieving a good batter! Make sure your eggs, milk, butter, and sour cream are all room temperature. I usually let them sit out between 30 minutes to an hour.
Proper measurement — Over-measuring or under-measuring your ingredients can be a disaster. Trust me, I’ve learned the hard way. I always scoop out my flour and sugar and then level it off with the back of a knife. This ensures I’m getting the correct amount.
Cake Ingredients
3 cups cake flour
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
4 eggs + 1 egg white, room temp.
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup whole milk, room temp.
1/2 cup sour cream, room temp.
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sprinkles (feel free to add more, this is just a starting point!)
Frosting ingredients
4 cups powdered sugar (you can adjust by adding or subtracting a cup depending on how sweet you want your frosting!)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cake Recipe
Details: Prep time approx. 15 minutes. Bake time approx. 30 minutes. Makes approx. 12 servings.
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 9” round cake pans with butter and dust with flour. Shake out excess flour from the pans. Set aside.
2. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and egg white one at a time. Then add in the oil, milk, sour cream, and vanilla.
4. Gradually add in the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Be careful not to overmix.
5. Fold in your sprinkles (the best part!). Again, be careful not to overmix.
6. Divide the cake mixture evenly between the two pans.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to finish cooling on a wire rack. Make sure the cake has cooled completely before frosting.
Note: I doubled the recipe to produce the cake pictured here. You may be wondering what happened to the fourth layer. While I originally planned for this to be a four-layer cake, the funfetti cake tasted so good that the fourth layer didn’t make it to the finished product. My tummy had no complaints however.
Frosting Recipe
1. Beat together the softened butter and cream cheese in a large bowl until creamy.
2. Add in the salt and vanilla extract.
3. Gradually add in the powdered sugar, I do one cup at a time. Mix until smooth and spreadable.
Note: You will want to double the frosting recipe for a three-layer cake.
