Funfetti Cake Recipe – Step by Step Guide

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Funfetti Cake Recipe - Step by Step Guide

Funfetti Cake Recipe – Step by Step Guide: A delicious, moist funfetti cake with sprinkles for extra fun. It is covered in smooth Italian buttercream and topped with a white chocolate ganache. Welcome to your new favorite cake! This birthday cake might be the cutest ever!

Ingredients

For the Cake:

  • 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 213g
  • 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda 2g
  • 1 tsp baking powder 4g
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter 176g, room temperature
  • 3 egg whites
  • 3 tsps vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sour cream 120ml
  • 1/2 cup milk 120ml
  • 1/3-1/2 cup sprinkles 55g
  • 1 pinch kosher salt

For the Ganache:

  • 2 tbsp white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup candy melts 100g
  • 3 tbsp heavy cream

For the Italian Buttercream:

  • 5 large egg whites room temperature
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar 304g
  • 1/3 cup water 80ml
  • 1 pinch kosher salt
  • 2 cups unsalted butter 456g, room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 dashes cream of tartar

For the American Buttercream:

  • 1 lb unsalted butter 445g, room temperature
  • 2 lb confectioners sugar 907g
  • 1 tsp milk
  • 3 tsp vanilla
  • 1 drop pink food coloring
  • 1/3 cup sprinkles 55g
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

For the Cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 340 degrees F. Butter and flour three 6-inch pans. I use cake strips on my pans for more even baking as well. Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
  2. Mix the wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
  3. Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined. Fold in the sprinkles at the very end and mix at little as possible.
  4. Pour the batter into the buttered and floured pans. 
  5. Bake at 340 for about 30-35 minutes or until the centers are springy to the touch.

For the Italian Buttercream:

  1. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the room temperature egg whites, 2 dashes of cream of tartar, a dash of salt and 1/3 cup of sugar until soft peaks form.
  2. In a medium saucepan add 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water then place on low heat.
  3. Stir constantly until sugar melts and becomes clear. Maintain at medium high heat until temperature reads 235-240F.
  4. Drizzle the sugar into the mixer immediately. Run mixer until meringue is room temperature.
  5. Switch to a paddle attachment. Add room temperature butter into running mixer one piece at a time. Beat until butter is combined and mixture has reached a silky consistency. Add vanilla at this stage. Mix, then transfer to a piping bag.

For the Funfetti Buttercream:

  1. Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, salt, milk, vanilla and mix. Divide into 2 batches. 
  2. Add pink food coloring to one batch. Mix until a desired color is reached. Fold in sprinkles to both.   
  3. Transfer into 4 piping bags. Add a pink bag and a white bag to one piping bag and snip off the tip. 

For the Ganache:

  1. Chop up the candy melts. Transfer to a bowl. Melt candy melts, white chocolate and cream in the microwave until smooth. 
  2. Allow to sit for a couple of minutes and then whisk until there are no lumps. You might have to pop into the microwave for 20 seconds on half power if there are bits of unmelted chocolate.
  3. Add in a drop of pink food coloring (I use AmeriColor soft gel food coloring). The color will lighten slightly when the ganache cools. Transfer to a piping bag. 

Funfetti Cake with a piece being removed

For the Assembly:

  1. Pipe the pink/white buttercream between each cake layer. Use the individual bags of pink and white to alternate a piped crumb coat. Smooth out with an offset spatula. Chill for about 10 minutes.
  2. Pipe the Italian meringue buttercream on the outside of the cake. Smooth out.
  3. Chill for another 10 min. Add a skirt of confetti sprinkles to the bottom of the cake.
  4. Add ganache to the top of the cake. Smooth to create a drip look. Let the ganache cool. 
  5. Pipe dollops of Italian meringue buttercream around the edge with an 869 tip. 

FAQ

Q1. IS FUNFETTI CAKE WHITE OR YELLOW?

A classic funfetti cake is white. White cakes are made by omitting the yolks and adding another fat to replace the creaminess of the yolks. If you love a yellow cake feel free to make your own version, it will still be delicious!

Q2. CAN I PUT SPRINKLES IN CAKE MIX?

You can add almost any kind of sprinkle to cake mix with excellent results. For this recipe I used rainbow jimmies on the inside and confetti sprinkles for the skirt. Non pariels however are not the best option as they bleed and dissolve quite easily.

Q3. WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR FUNFETTI CAKE?

For a funfetti cake you’ll need a white cake batter, sprinkles and vanilla frosting. You can add extras like a colorful drip as I did or switch the flavorings up by adding almond extract or rose water instead of the vanilla.

I love the recipe below as the cake is quite moist and delicious but many people use a classic white boxed cake mix for their funfetti cakes.

Q4. HOW DO YOU MAKE FUNFETTI CAKE MIX BETTER?

The best funfetti cakes are made from scratch with real butter and vanilla. Using store-bought cake mix and frosting is convenient but the trade off comes in the form of artificial ingredients and preservatives.

Nutrition

  • Serving: 1 slice
  • Calories: 240kcal
  • Carbohydrates: 40g
  • Protein: 2g
  • Fat: 11g
  • Saturated Fat: 3g
  • Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g
  • Monounsaturated Fat: 5g
  • Cholesterol: 36mg
  • Sodium: 190mg
  • Potassium: 2mg
  • Sugar: 39g
  • Vitamin A: 50IU
  • Vitamin C: 3.3mg
  • Calcium: 10mg
  • Iron: 0.5mg

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