Funfetti Cake with Rainbow Sprinkles and Macarons

Funfetti cake is one of those classic cakes that is ubiquitous with childhood and birthday parties. And no matter your age now, I’m guessing that this colorful sprinkle cake would bring a smile to your face. This is a from scratch, high altitude tested recipe for a buttery, buttermilk birthday cake, full of confetti sprinkles, and frosted with fluffy vanilla buttercream. I decorated the cake with a scattering of rainbow sprinkles and French macarons.

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So what’s a Funfetti Cake?

The Pillsbury Company created the Funfetti cake in 1989, and they also own the trademark. This colorful cake is also sometimes called a confetti cake, and of course, a sprinkle cake. Traditionally, Funfetti cakes are white cakes, rather than yellow cakes, which are reminiscent of the fluffy white cakes from box mixes that so many of us grew up eating on our birthdays.

The cake batter shouldn’t be so thin that the sprinkles sink to the bottom of the cake pan, so I developed a slightly more dense, but still soft and fluffy butter-based white cake recipe specifically for Funfetti cake, so that the sprinkles stay perfectly suspended in the batter as the cake bakes. It’s incredibly moist and flavorful from a combination of butter, buttermilk and sour cream, and both vanilla and almond extracts give it a classic birthday cake flavor. By whipping the butter to lighten its color as well as using only egg whites, the color is nice and white to highlight all the pretty sprinkles throughout the cake.

Ingredients

Cake

• Unsalted Butter. Adds richness and fat, to make up for the lack of egg yolks in the recipe. When creamed with the sugar, it lightens in color for a whiter cake.
• Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
• Egg Whites. Add protein and structure, while using just the whites preserves the white color of the cake.
• Cake Flour. With a lower percentage of protein than all-purpose flour, cake flour makes a light, fluffy cake.
• Baking Powder. Leavens the cake.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Buttermilk + Sour Cream. Adds moisture, richness and acidity, for a soft, tender cake crumb.
• Vanilla + Almond Extracts. I love the combination of the vanilla and almond extracts for a classic birthday cake flavor.
• Sprinkles. You can use any sprinkles that you have, but nonpareils are so tiny that they tend to melt and bleed too much into the cake batter. Preferably, use confetti sprinkles or quins, for more vivid dots of color throughout the cake.

TIP: Whenever you make a recipe that uses just egg yolks, such as ice cream or lemon curd, save the whites in a freezer bag, labeled with the quantity and date. When you have enough, thaw them out to make a white cake or sprinkle cake!

Buttercream

• Unsalted Butter. Adds fat and richness, and makes a very fluffy frosting when whipped with the powdered sugar. In very hot weather, substitute vegetable shortening for up to 50% of the butter, to make a more stable frosting. Using half shortening also makes a much whiter buttercream.
• Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
• Meringue Powder. Adds stability and improves the texture.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
• Milk. Add only if needed to thin the buttercream a little to your desired consistency for piping or spreading.
• Food Coloring. For the subtle blush color in the frosting, add 2-3 drops “soft pink” gel food coloring.
• Sprinkles. Use a variety of nonpareils, quins, jimmies, or even sugar pearls to decorate your cake!

Instructions

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350, and spray the bottoms of four 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 10 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy. Beat in the egg whites, one at a time, beating each for about 15 seconds before adding the next egg white.  Scrape the bowl down and beat for 15 more seconds.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt.  In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, vanilla and almond extracts.
• With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk mixture, starting and ending with the flour, being careful not to over-mix.  Add the sprinkles and use a large spatula to briefly fold the sprinkles in, as well as any remaining bits of flour.
• Divide the batter between the pans, weighing each to make sure the batter is evenly divided.  Use a spatula to smooth out the top of the batter.
• Bake the cakes on the center rack for about 28-30 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs clinging to it, and the centers spring back when lightly touched.
• Set the pans on a wire rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting. As the cake cools, it’s normal for it to pull away from the sides of the pan, and for the top of the cake to settle and flatten, since this is a slightly dense, butter-based cake.

TIP: Whipping the butter with the sugar for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients lightens the color of the butter to make a much whiter cake.

Buttercream

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for one minute until smooth.
• Whisk together the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt. With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar mixture by spoonfuls, mixing until combined.
• Add the vanilla, then whip on medium speed for 4-5 minutes until very light and fluffy, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add the milk only if needed for desired consistency.
• For the subtle blush color pictured, mix in 2-3 drops of “soft pink” gel food coloring.
• Stack and fill the cooled cake layers with the buttercream, then frost all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes to set the crumb coat. Frost all over with a final coat of buttercream.
• Before the buttercream crusts over, place the cake over a baking sheet to collect any stray sprinkles. Scatter the buttercream with rainbow nonpareils and quins. Decorate the top of the cake with colorful French macarons.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use any type of sprinkles in the cake batter?

You can use any sprinkles that you have, such as nonpareils, jimmies and quins, but nonpareils are so tiny that they tend to melt and bleed too much into the cake batter. Preferably, use confetti sprinkles or quins, for more vivid dots of color throughout the cake, and a combination of quins and rainbow nonpareils to scatter over the buttercream.

Where can I buy French macarons?

Macarons are available everywhere now, including Target, and many other major grocery store chains. And of course, if you have a local bakery that sells macarons, you can shop there, too. But whatever you do, don’t buy them if they’re not frozen, or at the very least, refrigerated. I bought a few boxes at Home Goods, and they were so stale, they were basically inedible. Macarons need to be kept frozen to stay fresh, and the ones my grocery store carries in the freezer section taste pretty great, and come in a variety of colors and flavors.

Do I have to use cake flour?

You can use all-purpose flour if it’s all you have, but cake flour has a lower percentage of protein, resulting in a lighter, softer cake, which is especially desirable in white cakes. In a pinch, you can make your own cake flour: Measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour, remove 2 tablespoons flour, then replace with 2 tablespoons of corn starch. Sift well.

Is this a light and fluffy cake or a dense cake?

This Funfetti cake is a little dense, due to the high amount of butter in the recipe, with a very moist, soft, tender cake crumb that’s sturdy enough to suspend the sprinkles throughout the cake.

Can I add sprinkles to any white or vanilla cake recipe?

No, you can’t. Some cake batters are too thin to support the sprinkles, and they will sink to the bottom of the pan. Other recipes might have a more delicate structure, and the sprinkles could cause the whole cake to collapse. Be sure to use a Funfetti cake recipe that’s been tested with the addition of sprinkles to ensure perfect results.

What kind of frosting did you use?

I frosted the cake with my favorite American Buttercream Recipe. One of the most fun things about a Funfetti Cake is getting to toss sprinkles at the frosting to decorate the cake.  And aren’t those rainbow macarons just beautiful? For the subtle blush color in the frosting, add 2-3 drops “soft pink” gel food coloring.

If I don’t live at high altitude, can I still make this recipe?

You sure can, although you’ll need to make a few adjustments, such as decreasing the flour by approximately 2-4 tablespoons, and increasing the baking powder by 1/2 – 1 teaspoon. This is a great article with specific recipe adjustments for various altitudes.

What if I only have 2 cake pans?

I baked this cake in four 8-inch cake pans, but if you only have two pans, you can split the cake layers after baking to get four layers. I much prefer baking cake batter in more pans, though, rather than splitting layers later. I haven’t experimented with baking half the batter at a time, but that’s also an option you can try if you have fewer cake pans.

Can I cut this recipe in half for a smaller cake?

Yes, you can cut the cake recipe in half, and bake the batter in three or four 6-inch cake pans.

Looking for other decorating ideas?

There are so many fun ways to decorate a Funfetti cake, with candles, different colors of buttercream and piped swirls of frosting on top. Here are two others I’ve done over the years.

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