Funfetti Cake
This homemade funfetti cake is the perfect cake recipe to celebrate your birthday! The funfetti cake layers are soft, tender, colorful and flavored with vanilla and almond extract for the perfect flavor. Of course, we have to pair the cake with the most nostalgic frosting, rainbow chip frosting!
Ingredients for Funfetti Cake
Funfetti Cake
- Cake flour – Use cake flour for a light and fluffy texture. I don’t recommend using all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Baking powder – Leavening agent to help the cake layers rise.
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Unsalted butter – Room temperature.
- Vegetable oil – Use your favorite neutral baking oil.
- Egg whites – Large egg whites, room temperature. Save the egg yolks for making pastry cream!
- Sour cream – Room temperature.
- Vanilla & almond extract – A combination of vanilla extract and almond extract creates the perfect funfetti flavor.
- Milk – Room temperature.
- Rainbow sprinkles – Use “rainbow “jimmies” for the best results.
Rainbow Chip Frosting
- White chocolate – Use white chocolate chips or white almond bark.
- Gel food coloring – To tint the white chocolate for the rainbow chips. For this recipe, I used four gel colors.
- Unsalted butter – Room temperature.
- Cream cheese – Room temperature.
- Powdered sugar – Confectioners’ sugar/icing sugar.
- Vanilla extract – Pure vanilla extract adds great vanilla flavor to the frosting.
- Salt – A pinch of salt contrasts
- Heavy cream – A bit of heavy cream helps make the frosting smooth and creamy.
Tools & Supplies
How to Make Funfetti Cake
- Prep and preheat: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare three 7-inch cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and parchment paper circles.
- Make the cake batter: Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Cream the granulated sugar, butter, and vegetable oil until light and fluffy. Add in the egg whites, sour cream, vanilla and almond extract, and mix until well combined. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk to the butter mixture, mixing until combined and smooth. Fold in the rainbow sprinkles.
- Bake the cake: Pour the cake batter into the prepared pans. Bake the cake layers for 26-30 minutes until the tops of the cakes bounce back when gently touched. Remove the pans from the oven and cool the cake layers in the pans for 15 minutes. Transfer the cake layers to a wire rack to cool.
How to Make Rainbow Chip Frosting
- Make the rainbow chips: Melt the white chocolate. Divide the chocolate equally into four small bowls. Tint the melted white chocolate with one drop of gel food coloring. Spread the colored chocolate in a thin layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet pan. Chill the chocolate for about 10 minutes. Cut the chocolate into very small pieces.
- Make the rainbow chip frosting: Whip the unsalted butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined. Add in the vanilla extract and salt and mix to combine. Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream. Turn the mixer to medium speed and whip the frosting for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Fold in the rainbow chips.
Note: If the white chocolate seizes up after you add a drop of gel food coloring, DO NOT PANIC! Simply add a few drops of vegetable oil and stir until the chocolate is smooth!
Check out my baking tutorial on how to frost a layer cake to learn more specific techniques to fill, frost, and stack a basic layer cake.
Recipe Tips
- Check out my baking tips posts on 10 Tips for Baking Perfect Cakes and 10 Tips for Making Perfect Buttercream to learn tips and tricks for making the most out of this recipe.
- Use “jimmie” sprinkles in the funfetti cake batter for the best results. I don’t recommend using nonpareil sprinkles because the colors will bleed into the cake batter. Larger, chunky sprinkles will also not work in this recipe, because they will not easily melt into the cake.
- Use as many colors as you could like to create the rainbow chips for the rainbow chip frosting.
- Because the rainbow chips are a bit chunky, I don’t recommend piping the frosting. If you would like to do any piping on the cake, reserve a little of the frosting before mixing in the rainbow chips.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store the cake?
- Store the cake in an airtight container or in a cake box in the refrigerator for about 3 days. Cover any exposed cake with plastic wrap to prevent the cake from drying out.
- Serve at room temperature for the best taste and texture.
Can I use a different type of frosting?
- Absolutely! Some great options that would pair perfectly with the funfetti cake would be vanilla buttercream frosting, Swiss meringue buttercream, shortcut Swiss meringue buttercream, or cream cheese frosting.
Can I use different size cake pans?
- Yes! You can use two 9-inch round cake pans or three 8-inch round cake pans. If you use 8-inch pans, the cake layers will be a bit thinner.
- Baking times will vary depending on the size cake pans you are using. For three 8-inch cake pans, start checking at around 22 to 24 minutes and for two 9-inch pans, start checking around 30 to 35 minutes.
- The best way to tell if the cakes are done is to gently touch the top. If the cake bounces back and doesn’t leave an indent, the layers are done baking. You could also use the toothpick test.
What should I do if the white chocolate seizes up after adding the gel food coloring?
- Don’t worry! You can fix it! Sometimes the chocolate can seize up because the gel food coloring is more water based. Just add a couple drops of vegetable oil to the chocolate and stir until it is smooth.
Other Funfetti Recipes You Will Love
- Easy confetti cake
- Confetti cupcakes
- Funfetti whoopie pies
- Funfetti cupcakes
- Frosted funfetti cookies
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Funfetti Cake
Yield: 12 servings
This homemade funfetti cake is the perfect cake recipe to celebrate your birthday! The funfetti cake layers are soft, tender, colorful and flavored with vanilla and almond extract for the perfect flavor. Of course, we have to pair the cake with the most nostalgic frosting, rainbow chip frosting!
Ingredients
Funfetti Cake
- 2 ½ cups (313 g) cake flour
- 3 tsp (3 tsp) baking powder
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (114 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
- 5 (5) large egg whites room temperature
- ¼ cup (60 g) sour cream room temperature
- 3 tsp (3 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) almond extract
- 1 cup (240 ml) 2% or whole milk room temperature
- ½ cup (80 g) rainbow sprinkles
Rainbow Chip Frosting
- 1 ⅓ cups (240 g) white chocolate chips or white almond bark (about 9 oz)
- 1 drop (1 drop) gel food coloring (4 colors)
- 2 cups (454 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese room temperature
- 5 cups (600 g) powdered sugar
- 3 tsp (3 tsp) vanilla extract
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- ¼ cup (60 ml) heavy cream
Instructions
Funfetti Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (176℃). Prepare three 7-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and parchment circles.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the granulated sugar, unsalted butter, and vegetable oil until it is light, pale, and creamy. Add in the egg whites, sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and mix until well combined and smooth.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed in between each addition (⅓ dry ingredients, ½ milk, ⅓ dry ingredients, ½ milk, ⅓ dry ingredients). Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Mix until the batter is combined and smooth but do not over mix the batter. Fold in the rainbow sprinkles.
- Divide the cake batter between the three prepared cake pans. Bake for 26 to 30 minutes until the cake layers bounce back when gently touched or an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove the pans from the oven and cool the cake in the pans for 15 minutes. Remove the cake layers from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Rainbow Chips
- Pour the white chocolate chips or roughly chopped white almond bark in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat the white chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until the white chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Divide the melted white chocolate evenly in four small bowls. Add on drop of gel food coloring to each bowl of white chocolate and stir well until well combined. Note: If the chocolate seizes up, add a couple drops of vegetable oil to the chocolate and stir until it is smooth.
- Line a baking sheet pan with a parchment sheet. Spread the colored white chocolate in a thin, even layer in four sections. Chill the white chocolate in the freezer for 15 minutes or the refrigerator for about 30 minutes until firm. Use a sharp knife to chop the chocolate into tiny squares. Set aside.
Rainbow Chip Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, whip the room temperature unsalted butter and cream cheese for 5 minutes on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides occasionally, until it is smooth and creamy.
- Add half of the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed setting until fully combined. Add the remaining powdered sugar and continue to mix on low until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and salt and mix on low until combined. Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream while mixing on low speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium and whip the frosting for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until is it smooth and creamy. Fold in the rainbow chips.
Assembling the Funfetti Cake
- Level the cooled funfetti cake layers with a serrated knife.
- Place one cake layer on a round cake board. Add desired amount of frosting to the top of the layer and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Add the second cake layer, more frosting, and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Add the final cake layer to the top of the cake. Be sure the bottom of the cake layer is facing up.
- With an offset spatula, add a crumb coat, a thin layer of frosting, to the top and sides of the cake. Use a cake scraper to remove excess frosting to smooth the sides. Chill the cake for 20 minutes.
- Add a generous layer of the rainbow chip frosting to the chilled cake with an offset spatula and add additional rainbow chips, if desired.
Notes
- Store the funfetti cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days.
- Serve at room temperature for the best taste and texture.
Made This Recipe?
Please leave a comment with a star rating to let me know how you enjoyed the recipe!
Categories:
Birthday, Cakes, Easter, Fourth of July, Nostalgic, Popular Recipes, Spring, Sprinkles, Summer, Vanilla,
About Courtney
Baker | 80s Lover | Cookbook Author
Courtney is a self-taught home baker and cookbook author of “Girls Just Wanna Bake Cupcakes”. She loves to create new and unique recipes while simultaneously listening to 80s music.
Hi, is it possible to make this as a 6 inch cake? Would anything need to change?
Hello! Yes, you can make this into 6-inch layers. The only thing that would change would be the baking time. You could probably get 4 6-inch layers that are thinner or 3 6-inch layers that are really thick. The baking time would vary depending on the number of pans you use. Bake the cake layers until the centers bounce back when gently touched. I would start checking between 20-25 minutes if using 4 pans.
I don’t have 7 inch cake pans. Can this be made in 8 inch or 9 inch pans?
Hi Kathleen! Yes, you can do either one. For the 9 inch pans, you are probably going to be about 2 layers. For the 8 inch, it can still be three layers, but they will be a little thinner.
I made the recipe as is and it was delicious! I’ve made many birthday cakes for my family and everyone said this is, by far, the best one yet! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!!
Hi Haley! So happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for trying it.
We have a guest with a nut allergy. Do you recommend omitting the almond extract or replacing it with more vanilla?
Hi Tania! I would recommend replacing the almond extract with even more vanilla extract for great vanilla flavor.
What kind of sprinkles are these?
Hi Donna! The sprinkles inside the cake are rainbow jimmies. The sprinkles decorating the cake are little pieces of tinted white chocolate that are in the rainbow chip frosting!