If you’d have asked me what my favorite kind of cake was as a kid, I would reply without hesitation that it was Funfetti (specifically the Pillsbury box mix) with the canned rainbow chip frosting to match. The frosting came with a little pouch of rainbow chips that you could mix in by hand, so it felt like a fun little project. To this day, Funfetti cake remains my most popular flavor request from people of all ages, and for all kinds of events (even weddings!). There’s something about the sprinkles baked right into the cake that gets people jazzed, and for good reason. It’s basically a party waiting to happen!
Although I’ve swapped the canned Funfetti frosting for homemade, I’ve never been happier. This cake pairs so well with a variety of frostings since it’s a vanilla-based cake (specifically, my vanilla cake recipe with sprinkles folded in at the end!). In the past, I’ve topped it with buttercream flavors like vanilla, almond, cream cheese, raspberry and chocolate. Basically anything that pairs well with vanilla cake will go perfectly.
As far as sprinkles go, you’ll want to stick with very basic rainbow sprinkles called jimmies (the elongated kind, pictured below). I buy mine from the bulk section at the grocery store (such a great discovery!), and although you might be tempted to use fancier sprinkles or nonpareils I would not recommend it because many sprinkles tend to bleed their colors once they’re mixed into the batter. Trust me, I know from experience that some sprinkles can either tye dye your cake or turn it a weird green color. Your cheap-o rainbow jimmy sprinkles will be perfect for adding that pop of color without the colors bleeding, and with the inside of the cake looking so pretty, you can save the fancy ones for the outside.
Another thing about the sprinkles: I recently learned that coating them with a little all purpose flour keeps them perfectly suspended in the cake batter! You’ll notice 1 1/2 Tbsp of all purpose flour at the end of the recipe below, and that little bit of flour is every bit important for confetti-esque cake layers.
As far as decorating goes, the sky is the limit! To keep with the funfetti theme, I’ve used some Fancy Sprinkles in the Roller Disco mix on the outside of the cake to give it a fun, celebratory look. I added a few buttercream swirls with my Wilton 1M tip to the top, sprinkled generously, and called it a funfetti masterpiece. However you decide to decorate, slicing into this cake is like getting the party started.
Funfetti Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 3/4 cups (398g) cake flour, sifted before measuring*
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/8 cup (254g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 1/2 cup (513g) granulated white sugar
- 5 eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (168g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 1/2 Tbsp (22ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup (360ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (142g) rainbow sprinkles (jimmies work best)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch or four 6-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker's Joy is my favorite) and a wax paper circle fitted to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans.
- Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter for on high for two minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Add in sugar and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla and sour cream and mix for one minute on high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more.
- With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the milk slowly and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps.
- In a small bowl, coat the rainbow sprinkles with 1 1/2 Tbsp of all purpose flour. Then, gently fold the flour-coated rainbow sprinkles into the cake batter by hand. The batter will be slightly thick, but pourable.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pans (no more than 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 35-40 minutes. They’re done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they’re entirely room temperature before applying any frosting.
sour cream? can i use diy buttermilk?
Hi Aya! I have never substituted anything for the sour cream before. My hunch is that buttercream will be too much liquid since sour cream is more the consistency of yogurt. If you don’t have access to sour cream, I’d recommend substituting it for a full fat yogurt or omitting the sour cream and using buttermilk in place of the whole milk instead. Let me know if that helps!
Hi Whitney! I am making a 4 layer 8″ cake for halloween and I wanted to ask if this recipe is ok for 2 8″ pans? Or should I stick with the basic recipe that you have for your vanilla cake? Thank you!
Hi Jasmine! This funfetti recipe will make enough for two 8″ layers (plus a little left over). If you want to be more exact, you could double the basic vanilla cake recipe to make four 8 inch layers and fold in 1 cup of rainbow sprinkles total at the end. The funfetti cake is my basic vanilla cake recipe with added sprinkles 🙂 I hope your Halloween cake turns out amazing!
Had prepared the vanilla cake recipe already and my daughter just asked for fun funfetti. I love this blog!
Yay, Emily! Hope your daughter loves this cake!
Hi
Just wondering if you can tell me what 1 cup is equalavent to in grams?
Would appreciate this very much
Thanks
Hi Diana! Knowing the weight of 1 cup in grams depends on the ingredient (1 cup of cake flour will weigh less in grams than sugar, for instance). I just bought my first kitchen scale and am currently working on converting all of my recipes to grams this week! I’ll make an announcement as soon as they’ve all been converted. Sorry for any inconvenience and make sure you’re signed up for my email list to catch the announcement first thing!
I tried to make this cake twice and had the same problem each time…it is hard to describe. The cake has a good rise, is completely cooked on the outside, but from the middle bubbles out cake batter that is raw and seeps onto the top of the cake without cooking. I’m sure I’ve done something wrong, but I have no idea what it is. I thought I followed the directions exactly!
Hi Julianna! I’m so sorry that’s happening! Usually when the cake is raw or gummy on the inside, it can mean two things: you need to bake it a few minutes longer (until a toothpick inserted comes out completely clean), or something went wrong while creaming the butter and sugar together. Make sure your butter is room temp and soft before starting the creaming process, and try creaming the butter and sugar on medium-high (instead of full blast) for only two minutes. I hear that creaming for too long can lead to too much air incorporation, leading to gummy streaks inside the cake even though its baked.
Thanks for the DIY tip on making your own cake flour!
No problem, Veronica! Hope you love the recipe!
Hi, what kind of food coloring did you use for this buttercream?
Hi Roxanne! I used Americolor food color gel in Lilac for this soft purple buttercream.
I’m making a three layer 10 inch cake for a birthday. Should I just double the recipe or do you have another suggestion?
Hi Kayla! Yes – I would double the recipe for a three layer 10-inch cake 🙂
What’s the best grocery store cake flour to buy? I have found unbleached cake flour..so many options.
Hi Cindy! I have only ever used Softasilk and Swans Down, which are both enriched bleached cake flours, but I am sure that unbleached is great! Sounds healthier 🙂
Hi Whitney
So glad I stumbled across your blog, it’s amazing! I’m planning to make a 3 layer 6 inch cake using this recipe (minus the jimmies) and I’m wondering since I only have 2 tins if the third lot of batter can sit while the first 2 cakes are baking? If so, do I leave it at room temp or refrigerate it?
Thank you!
Hi Kirsten! Thanks so much for the kind words! The batter can definitely sit at room temperature while the first two layers are baking. Just cover the top of the mixing bowl with saran wrap and then when you’re ready to bake the third layer, give the batter a stir before pouring it into the tin.
How did you get the sprinkles to attach to the sides of the cake in such a perfect pattern? Especially the upper part where they are sparse…did you toss them onto the frosting one at a time? And the bottom part where they are thicker…?
Hi Donna! To add sprinkles to the cake finish, I make sure the buttercream is still slightly wet for the sprinkles to adhere. I place them by the handful around the base of the cake, then place them one by one on the upper part of the cake by pressing the sprinkle onto my finger and touching it to the cake finish. Here’s a video of the process with a different cake, but the same technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hWwaFvcYHY
Do you have a go to butter cream recipe? I usually make either a whipped cream frosting, or a cream cheese frosting. But I think these would be too soft and the sprinkles would just get absorbed into them…..thoughts?
Hi Adriane! I do have a go-to buttercream recipe: https://www.sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-buttercream-recipe
I made this cake in two 8in round pans and at the end I found that all my jimmies went to the bottom of my cake! How can I prevent that?
Hi Mackenzie! Sorry to hear your jimmies sunk to the bottom of the cake. That doesn’t usually happen with the jimmies I use, but I did read a tip recently about preventing the sprinkles from sinking in a funfetti cake: add the sprinkles to a bowl and coat them with 1.5 tbsp of flour before gently folding them into the batter. You can use cake flour or all purpose flour for that part. Apparently it keeps them from sinking!
Hey! I want to use this recipe to make an ombre cake with a dark, milk and white chocolate layer! Do you think it will work if I divide the batter in three and add a 1/2 cup of melted milk, dark, or white chocolate to each to obtain three different layers? or would that ruin the baking?
Hi Ali! I’ve never tried adding melted chocolate to the cake batter, so I can’t say whether or not it will work. You can certainly try it and let me know! Otherwise I’d recommend finding and following a recipe for a flavor ombre cake. Let me know what you end up doing!
Any chance I can just use all purpose flour instead of cake flour? Having toddlers, I tend to like shortcuts! Lol. Really want to try this recipe!
Hi Jenny! So the reason I use cake flour in the recipe is that it produces a much fluffier cake than all-purpose flour. Fortunately, you can easily make your own cake flour to use in a pinch. To make your own cake flour, spoon and level one cup of all-purpose flour and remove 2 Tbsp. Add 2 Tbsp of cornstarch. Repeat per the amount of cake flour you need, then sift the flour and cornstarch mixture 4 times (don’t skip that step!). After sifting, spoon and level to re-measure the amount of cake flour you need.
Hope that helps!
Hi Whitney,
I have made your matcha cake and it was really lovely. I notice this recipe is exactly the same (without the sprinkles and the added matcha powder for the matcha flavour of course), but the sour cream is alot more in this recipe, is this correct? Will there be any difference if i used 112g sour cream instead of the 168g listed?
Hi Amy! You’re right – this recipe is almost identical to the matcha cake. I added more sour cream to this recipe to make it a little more moist, but you can totally go with the 112g instead of 168g of sour cream.
Hi Whitney!
I am making a 3 layer 9 inch cake for my son’s birthday and I’m trying to figure out how to increase this recipe. (It looks AMAZING!) You say this is the same as your vanilla cake, just with jimmies, but your vanilla cake, with 2 1/2 cups of flour, is for 2 8-inch rounds. This has 3 3/4 cups of flour and is for 3 6-inch rounds. My confusion stems from the fact that 3 6-inch rounds should require 12 cups in volume, the exact same as 2 8-inch rounds. Where is the discrepancy in the recipe? Or in my calculations? What am I missing?!
Thanks for your help!
Hi Tori! I always like to bake tall layers (at least 2 inches tall), so that’s why this recipe creates a little more batter than the vanilla cake recipe for the double layer 8 inch. To make a 3 layer 9 inch cake, I would double the vanilla cake recipe and add 1 Cup of rainbow sprinkles. You’ll probably have some extra batter, but in my opinion it’s better to have a little more batter and have taller layers that you can trim down instead of having three shorter layers.
Hi can I use this recipe for cupcakes? How would that work?
Hi Bea! This recipe works wonderfully as cupcakes! Just fill the cupcake tins about 2/3 full and bake for 17 minutes at 350.
Hi Whitney, your cakes are beautiful! Can I ask, in this photo the cake looks taller then most cakes. In the photo is it a 5 layer cake?
Hi Sara! Thanks for the kind words! It’s a three layer 6-inch cake. Ends up being about 5.5 inches tall with the frosting.
Seriously delish! I was doubtful of the 5 eggs – but it was amazing! It’s a lot of cake batter though, much more than the normal cake box amount.
I’ve got a bag of it and the vanilla buttercream frosting sitting in my fridge. Wondering how long it’ll keep and/or if I can put it in the freezer. Do you know?
Thanks Ashley! What size cake pan and how many layers did you make? I usually make this recipe in three 6-inch pans and only have a little bit of batter left over – enough for a few cupcakes. The sad news is that cake batter won’t keep. The fridge/freezer alters the chemistry of the cake so it’s no good after you first make it.
Hi from the UK, Whitney! My stepdaughter has asked me to make a cake for her baby shower and I’d like to use this recipe to make three 8” cakes. In the instructions, you say to prepare three 8” tins but in the comments you mention you usually use it to make three 6” cakes. As I want the layers to be reasonably deep, will the quantities here be enough for 8” cakes? Thank you.
Hi Ruth! This recipe makes enough for three 8-inch layers that end up being about 2 inches deep. That comment about the 6-inch layers might have been an old one, cause this makes enough for 4 6-inch layers but when I initially wrote the recipe it was written for 3 6-inch layers. Hope that makes sense! Enjoy!
Thank you so much for replying so quickly.
Hi again Whitney. I’ve made this cake today ( minus sprinkles) and although it tastes really moist and buttery, the texture is very fragile. It’s not dry and crumbly but is breaking easily. I wondered whether the size of eggs could be to blame? I’ve used Uk large which weigh around 70g each in their shell. Do you have any advice, please? This is a trial run for the baby shower cake! Thank you.
Hi Ruth! Is the texture fragile while the cake is still warm? Or is it too light and fluffy at room temperature? If it’s breaking apart while warm I would recommend cooling to room temp before handling the cake layers. Also, I didn’t realize that UK eggs weigh more than US eggs, and after a quick google search it looks like one US large egg = one UK medium egg. It might be worth another go with medium eggs!
Hello Whitney. Just an update on my previous comment to let you know that using the medium eggs (UK) worked a treat. Following your YouTube series also gave me the confidence to decorate the baby shower cake with an ombré buttercream icing (your recipe again) , add a border of sprinkles and add swirls to the top. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to taste this one but my stepdaughter was over the moon with it and said it was absolutely delicious! Thank you.
Yay, Ruth! All of that makes me so happy! I’m so glad the recipe was a hit, worked well with the UK medium eggs, and you felt confident in your decorating after watching some tutorials 🙂 amazing job! And thank you for following up, it’s so helpful for me to know that egg sizes vary by location!
Hi!
With the cake flour, I’m purchasing it and there is the option for plain flour or self raising flour type, which one should I purchase?
Thank you
Hi Sally! For cake flour, use the plain flour version (not the self rising). The self rising has baking powder added to it, so it will end up adding too much rising agent to cake recipes. The brands I love are Swans Down, Pillsbury Softasilk, and Bob’s Red Mill.
Thank you so much. Can’t wait to make this. Im following the vanilla cake recipe and adding the cup of sprinkles to make a three layer 9inch cake. So excited for my nearly 2 year old little girl to blow out her candles on this cake. I’m
Hi,
I am wanting to make 3 x layers (1.5inch thick) using 7inch tins. Is this recipe okay for this or do I need to increase the re pie?
Hi Vicky! This recipe will make a little more than enough for pans of that size as-is. Just be sure to fill them no more than 2/3 of the way full. Enjoy!
Hi. Can this recipe be used to make cakes that will be decorated with fondant.?
Hi Shanti! All of my cake recipes are great for using under fondant, this one included!
Hi Whitney,
Thanks so much for your blog! I’m wondering how long your cakes keep in the fridge once frosted? Wondering how far I can make ahead of my daughter’s birthday party!!
Also do you have any tutorials on cutting a cake of this size?
Many thanks!!
Jess
Hi Jess! So happy to hear you’re loving the blog 🙂 Once a cake is frosted, you can store it in the refrigerator for a day or two and it’ll be fresh for the birthday party! I usually frost and decorate my cakes the night before a party, but you could definitely do two nights before and still have a fresh cake. Just make sure you bring it to room temp by taking it out at least an hour before serving. I don’t have tutorials on cutting a cake (that’s a great idea for the future!), but this video is super helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_6MbvKpBuc
How can I made a raspberry and chocolate buttercream for this cake?
Hi there! I have recipes for both of those buttercream flavors. Here is the raspberry buttercream recipe: https://sugarandsparrow.com/raspberry-buttercream-recipe/ and here is the chocolate buttercream recipe: https://sugarandsparrow.com/chocolate-buttercream-recipe/
Hi Whitney!
Love this recipe! I made it a few times now! Wondering if you could provide a link for the great cake stand? It’s so hard to find in smaller diameter and height. Thx!
Courtney
Hi Courtney! So happy you love this recipe as much as I do! The cake stand was a gift from my sis in law years ago and I can’t find the exact one online anymore, but this one on Amazon is super similar and the same size: https://amzn.to/2Ry1dQ6
Hi Whitney
I had made the vanilla cake smash recipe from your blog and it worked perfectly. I doubled the recipe as i needed to fill two 6-inch x 3 inch springform pans.
I now wanted to make a tiered cake. I was thinking of using double the vanilla cake smash recipe for the top tier with sprinkles and then this recipe for the bottom tier. My pan for the bottom tier is 8 inch x 3 inch springform pan. Do i double this recipe to make 2, 8 inch pans?
Thanks!
So happy you love the vanilla smash cake recipe, Nili! This funfetti cake recipe is essentially the same as the vanilla smash cake recipe, and will make enough for two 8-inch pans as-is. If you double it, you’ll have enough for all the layers you need (top tier included)!
Thanks Whitney! I’m making it tonight. Fingers crossed! 🙂
I am so confused, even after reading the recipe and comments multiple times. Does this recipe, minus the jimmies, make enough batter for 3/ 8″ round pans?
Hi Desiree! Yes, this recipe makes enough for three 8-inch rounds as specified in the recipe directions. I originally wrote it for three 6-inch rounds, but it truly makes enough batter for three 8-inch rounds, which is why I added that size to the directions.
Hi Whitney!
I have three 9″ pans, will this recipe work ok for this size or do I need to 8″ pans? BTW I am making a cake for boy/girl twins birthday cake.
Thank you!
Hi Meleia, it should work fine to divide this recipe equally between three 9 inch pans. I usually fill my 8-inch pans about 2/3 full, which yields baked cake layers that are about 2 inches tall. So with 9 inch pans, your cakes will be somewhere around 1.5 inches tall once baked, but it will totally work. Let me know how it goes!
Hi Whitney,
We love using our bundt cake pans for making cakes. My little one loves all of the curves that our pan creates. Can this recipe be adapted for a bundt cake pan?
Hi Ashley! I’ve never tried baking a layer cake recipe in a bundt pan before, so I can’t say for sure how it will turn out. After some Googling it seems like a layer cake recipe like this one will work in a bundt pan if you bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes. Be sure to fill the pan no more than 1/2 to 2/3 full. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
Hi!
Could you please tell me the minimum depth the 8” pans will need to be?
I have some but they are only about 1 and 1/2” deep, will they work?
Thanks so much can’t wait to bake this cake
Hi Jasmin! My 8-inch pans are 2 inches deep. Your shallower 8-inch pans will work fine as long as you fill them no more than 1/2 full (instead of 2/3 full as the recipe instructs).
Thanks so much for your quick response!
Hi Whitney,
I have tried this recipe about 10 times now and I absolutely love it. Here’s my question, do you recommend using cake baking strips with this cake and if so would I need to increase the baking time? I have used them before but my cake always comes out sticky. Thanks
Hi Joi! I’ve actually never used baking strips before. I would do a little research to see if the ones you have require altering the oven temp/baking time and go from there!
What size cake pans do you use?
Hi Rebekah! This recipe is written for either 6-inch or 8-inch cake pans. The cake pictured has three 6-inch layers.
Thank you!
I have made this recipe twice and it’s delicious! I had the same issue both times. The sides, after being cooked, are super crunchy. The first time I simply overcooked the cakes because my oven (convection gas) must run hotter than expected even though I baked it 30 min. The second time I watched it carefully starting around 20 minutes and ended up only baking a few minutes longer than that. The middle was perfect, but all three pans had crunchy and dark top, sides, and bottoms that I ended up removing because another blogger recommended it when using light icing colors. Either way I think it would have to be done because they tasted burnt. Anyway, I assumed the first time was because I overcooked the cakes, but I can’t figure out how to avoid this disparity between the interior and exterior of the cake next time. Any ideas or thoughts? Also, how many batches of your vanilla buttercream do you need for the 3 layer 8”? I doubled it and that was enough to ice the whole cake but nothing left to pipe. I had to run out and buy buttercream from the grocery store bakery (life saver in a pinch) to pipe and design. I still ran out of icing mainly because I am new to piping and had to practice some.
Hi Julie! Since you have a gas convection oven, the temperature needs to be altered to accommodate it. This recipe is written for a conventional oven. Next time, try lowering the oven temp by 25ºF (so bake at 325ºF). This is most definitely why your edges burned. You’ll also need to keep an eye on the baking time, since convection ovens tend to cook food faster even at the lower temp. Here’s everything you need to know about convection ovens vs. conventional: https://www.cnet.com/how-to/what-is-a-convection-oven/
As for the buttercream, next time make 2.5x the recipe so you’ll have enough for piping after filling and frosting. Simply multiply each recipe by 2.5 and you’ll be good to go!
I just made this cake and it turned out delicious! Thank you so much for sharing!
Yay, Yvonne! So happy to hear this recipe was a hit!!
I just made this cake for my daughter and it was absolutely delicious. Worked perfect!
Thank you!
I made this cake for my granddaughter’s birthday, and it was a big hit. The cake was moist and flavorful, and the floured jimmies baked really well throughout the cake. I used three 8″ pans, and wow, those layers were nice and tall! I also used the AmeriColor Lilac for the frosting, but I ended up with a different shade of purple than your beautiful cake. It may have been because I used a Swiss meringue buttercream frosting, but I’m wondering if you have any tips for making that color pop. Your cake is so awesome! I will definitely be making this cake again as it was both moist and very flavorful. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that this recipe was a hit, Joanne! Happy birthday to your granddaughter! And yes, you are totally right about the swiss meringue buttercream not being easy to color with standard color gels. I’ve never worked with it before, but I hear that you have to use a different coloring technique to achieve vibrant colors like that. It’s one of the reasons why I always use American Buttercream for everything I do. It’s on my list to learn more about swiss meringue buttercream someday and share what I know as I go! In the meantime thanks so much for taking the time to let me know how much you loved this cake recipe!!
Hello Whitney Congratulations on your new little bundle, being a mom is the best but tough.
I’ve tried many different recipes and my vanilla and yellow cakes always turn out heavy and dense. They aren’t dry just heavy. Any tips that might help me make it fluffy and light? Thanks so much!
Hi Jessica! Thanks so much for your kind words. When you say you’ve tried vanilla and yellow cake recipes, are you referring to my recipes or just those cake flavors in general? That will help me determine how to best help!
Good morning. I haven’t tried yours yet, but they are next in hopes they will produce a light cake. Maybe I should try them first and then let you know how they turned out. I’m using your funfetti recipe in the next few days!
Yes – the fluffiness of the cake mostly depends on the recipe you follow. I won’t be able to instruct you on how to make someone else’s recipe more fluffy, but I do hope that you find this funfetti cake to be fluffy when you try it. I did a lot of testing to make sure it ends up nice and soft!
Hi Whitney,
So I tried your funfetti cake! The cake batter was so light and fluffy, my husband tested it and loved it! A few mini later he goes, you know I’ll want to clean the bowl when your done! Ha! But I tried making it twice and both times my cakes fell in the middle. I live in Denver so maybe the altitude has something to do with it, i followed the recipe to a T and even let my over preheat for a long time to make sure it was warmed evenly. Please help because this cake is delicious! Thank you for sharing with us!
Hi Jessica! Yes, baking at higher altitudes requires some different oven temps/techniques that I’m unsure of since I’ve never baked at a high altitude before. I would do a little research to see what you need to alter to make a cake recipe work for high altitude baking and adjust this recipe accordingly. That is my best guess as to why the cake fell in the middle, but here is a blog post I wrote up with the most common reasons why cakes sink: https://sugarandsparrow.com/why-cakes-sink/ double check that list as well to make sure it isn’t one of those things in addition! Hope that helps!
Hey! So, I made this cake and the sprinkles all fell to the bottom or to the top, is there a way to prevent this?
Hi Caroline! Did you coat the sprinkles in flour as specified in the recipe? That’s the only way I know of to prevent the sprinkles from sinking.
Your notes are awesome for a novice baker. But I have 2 more questions: can I make a 4 layer cake using 6 inch square pans with this recipe, or would that alter the cooking time? also, if I replace the milk with buttermilk in order to omit the sour cream, is the measurement still 1 1/2 cups of the buttermilk?
Thank You!
Hi Stephanie! I think you totally could, but the shape of a square pan requires more cake batter than a round pan, meaning your layers may be shorter when dividing the batter equally between them. Since I’ve never tried this recipe in square pans, I can’t say for sure what the baking time will be, but I would check at 30 minutes and go from there. And yes – if omitting the sour cream use 1.5 Cups of buttermilk. Hope that helps and enjoy!
I want to bake a 2 layer 6 inch cake as well as 24 cupcakes. Would 2 batches of this recipe be enough batter? Also how many batches of your vanilla frosting should I make?
Hi Sheryll! I actually think that this recipe might be enough as-is, but it might be cutting it a little close. I would make the recipe as-is and if you need more batter, use this recipe but add 1/4 cup sprinkles (same recipe but reduced amount of batter and no sprinkles) to make more cupcakes. You’ll need about 2.5 batches of my vanilla buttercream recipe to frost all of that. Hope that helps!
Hi Whitney! Congrats on your little one! (I follow you on IG). Any idea where I can get these dang specific sprinkles from for not an arm and a leg? The rainbow jimmies for the inside meaning. The only ones I’m seeing from Wilton just have white/red/pink/yellow/green/orange. I’d really like to find the ones like the above with the blue and purple too. I’m making a unicorn cake and her dress has good chunk of purple. TIA!
Hi Sara! Thank you so much 🙂 I actually buy the rainbow jimmies from the bulk section of my local grocery store (Winco)! Not sure where you’re located, but check the bulk section of your local grocery store. The baking goods aisle might have sprinkles too, just make sure they’re coated with a waxy film so that they don’t bleed their colors.
Hi again – you can disregard and delete my above comment if you’d like, I just found some on Walmart! Thanks though!
So good to know! I’ll keep the comment on here just in case anyone else is wondering where to look.
This is a great recipe! I made cupcakes and they needed exactly 17 minutes at 350*. It made about 48 cupcakes, so I’m very glad I didn’t double the recipe, but I will be saving this for the next time I need to make a cake or cupcakes. Very happy with it!
Yay, Alyssa! I’m so happy to hear that this recipe worked well as cupcakes! Thanks for reporting back how many cupcakes it yielded as well 🙂
Hi Whitney,
How much does the recipe serve? I am planning to use the 6 inch tins. How high will the cake be? My pans are 4 inch tall. I am having a double celebration at the same party so I will also be making cupcakes apart from the cake so I do not want too much waste
Thanks!
Hi Tiziana! The cake pictured is a three layer 6 inch cake that stands at about 6 inches tall, but the recipe makes four 6 inch layers. If you bake that additional layer, the cake will be about 8 inches tall. My cake pans are only 2 inches tall, and since I’ve never baked my recipes in a taller pan like the one you have, I’m not sure how the baking time/oven temp should be altered to accommodate the taller sides. I’ve heard that you should drop the oven temp by 25 degrees and bake for longer when using taller pans, but I’m not sure exactly how long they’ll need if you’re wanting to bake taller layers. Other than that, if you’re planning on using some of the batter for cupcakes, I have tested that before and they bake perfectly at 350 for 15-17 minutes! Hope that helps and let me know if you have any more questions!
Any tips if I want to use this for cupcakes???
Yes! This recipe works great as cupcakes. Just fill the tins no more than 2/3 full and bake at 350 for 15-18 min.
Cake is absolutely divine! Just wondering if anyone in Australia can recommend a brand of jimmys? Mine seem to have bled a little.
Does elevation or humidity change the weight of flour? I measured several times and re-sifted several times too and would get 398g with only 3 cups of flour.
Hi Ashley! I’m not sure about the elevation changing weight. Are you using cake flour or all purpose flour? Cake flour does weight much less than all purpose, so if you’re using the latter the weight will be much more. Hope that helps!
Hi Whitney! I love your cake-baking video series and I’m gearing up to make two “Smash Cakes” and 12 cupcakes for our 1 year olds using this Funfetti recipe. Thanks for arming me with the confidence to give this a try at home!
I purchased tins for 4″ cake layers (they are about 2″ tall). If I am doing 2 cakes, 4″ diameter, both 3 layers tall, and a batch of 12 cupcakes, do you have any suggestions for sizing this recipe? Would double be enough?
Kind regards!
Yay, Pita! That’s so fun! This recipe should make enough for two triple layer 4 inch cakes + 12 cupcakes as is. You’ll want to bake the 4 inch cakes for about 25 minutes and the cupcakes for about 17 minutes. Enjoy!
Hi there! I love the flavor of this cake, but I’ve made it twice now and it turns out very dense. Any idea what I might be doing wrong? It is the best tasting vanilla cake I’ve ever made so hoping I can get the texture right next time!
Hi Amber! Some common reasons why a cake would turn out more dense: 1) making substitutions like using all purpose flour instead of cake flour 2) ingredients are not room temp (mainly too cold), 3) overmixing the batter at the end or overcreaming the butter/sugar in the beginning. If you are following the recipe to a t, I would just be careful not to overmix at the end. It’s easy to do. Just make sure you stop mixing when everything just starts to come together, then give the mixture just a few stirs with a rubber spatula. Hope that helps!
Hi there! Planning to make this for my sons upcoming birthday, it looks divine! If I do 3x 8” layers, how many people will this serve? Thank you!
Hi Suzana! So excited for you to make this cake for your son’s birthday! A cake that size should serve 20-24 people. Enjoy!
Hi- how many servings would this cake make? With 3 8-inch layers as you described? Having a birthday party with about 20 people and want to make sure I’ll have enough. Thanks!
Hi Sarah! A triple layer 8 inch cake will serve 20-24 depending on how large you cut the slices. Enjoy!
Wow! This is going to be my new go to recipe for birthday cakes (with or without the sprinkles) and I only wish I’d found it years ago. I made a trial cake on the weekend before I have to make the real deal for my daughters birthday party in a few weeks and my family can’t stop raving about it. Even my husband who grew up on cake (MIL is an incredible cake maker) said it’s the best cake he’s ever had. I put it together with your basic vanilla buttercream – I only wish I could get this as smooth as yours! Thank you so much – cannot wait to recreate it in a few weeks with a Harry Potter theme for the party!
Yay, Melanie! That’s so amazing! I’m happy it was a hit and excited for you to make it again. A Harry Potter themed party sounds like the best ever!
Hi, I am wondering whether I can make this with 7″ tins. Would I be able to split the mixture to make it a four level cake? Or would I need to make a larger mixture. Roughly how long do you think the cooking. time would be. Thanks in advance.
Hi Shell! You can divide the batter between four 7 inch tins and the layers will be slightly shorter (closer to 1.25 inch tall each instead of 2 inches tall each). I’m not sure about the exact baking time since I’ve never baked the layers in a 7 inch tin before but since they would be shorter, I would check them at 25 minutes for doneness, then add more time from there if needed. If you want taller layers, you can make 1.5x the recipe but note that you will have more than enough batter, so be sure to only fill the tins 2/3 full. Hope that helps!
Hello from England
I’m baking this cake for my daughters 5th birthday. I was wondering does it matter if the 8 inch tins are deep or shallow? I have 2 shallow and 1 deep so I’ll see how they turn out
Hi Bethany! My 8-inch tins are 2 inches tall, so that’s the size I wrote this recipe for. If you’re using a deeper tin I would recommend increasing the baking time.
Hi there I noticed in the directions you have to sift the flour before measuring it how exactly do you do that?
Hi Belle! I usually place a bowl on my kitchen scale, then sift the flour into the bowl to measure by weight. You can alternatively sift the flour into a bowl and then spoon and level the sifted flour into dry measuring cups. Hope that helps!
I tried both your vanilla cake and this funfetti cake and both batters split. I had my ingredients room temp and set a timer for the creaming of the butter and sugar. It kept happening when I added the milk at the end and the milk was definitely not cold. Looked to see if I could save the batter and ended up put in some tablespoons of flour but nothing worked. Not sure what went wrong here… I feel like vanilla cakes are my enemy haha
Thank you for the help!
Hi Lexi, I’m sorry to hear that happened. I know that the batter will end up looking curdled after adding the sour cream/vanilla and beating for a minute, but it should come together into a smooth cake batter after adding the flour and milk. Did you make any substitutions? And did you try baking the cakes?