Celebrate in style with this Funfetti Birthday Cake made from scratch. It’s moist, and sturdy, and covered in sprinkle goodness for a beautiful cake perfect for any celebration or birthday.
We are well known for made from scratch three layer cakes, and this newest one is no exception. People have gone positively crazy over The Most Amazing Chocolate Cake, and lately have been gobbling up The Most Amazing White Cake. Now it’s time to party in style with this Funfetti Birthday Cake. It is moist, flavorful, and will brighten anyone’s day with rainbow sprinkles. It is certainly one of the happiest cakes we’ve ever made, we dare you to try to eat this with a frown!
Lining Pans:
When making this particular cake, we highly recommend lining the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper. This will ensure that your cake will come out of the pan in one piece. We have also used both butter and nonstick cooking spray to grease the pan on this, and both worked out just fine.
Can this recipe be made into cupcakes?
Why yes it can! They are baked at 325 degrees for 20-22 minutes and this recipe makes about 36 cupcakes.
Can I make this recipe into only two layers?
Yes you can, you’ll need to divide the recipe by 2/3rds. But no, I won’t do the math for you. I truly believe that the best cakes with the ideal frosting to cake ratio must be 3 layers.
Egg Substitute:
There are numerous options for substituting eggs in baking recipes. You can always try using one of those.
Buttermilk:
Buttermilk reacts with the baking powder in this recipe to give the cake volume. To learn all about buttermilk, as well as learn how to make a quick and easy buttermilk substitute, please read this post.
Can I use a different pan size?
You are certainly welcome to try, but you’ll need to adjust cooking times and be careful as to how much you fill the pan. This recipe is written for 9-inch round pans, which is a standard size. A three tiered cake produces the ideal cake to frosting ratio.
Can I use a different frosting?
You certainly can! Feel free to frost this cake with your preferred frosting.
Gluten Free:
Use gluten free flours at your own risk. Not all gluten free flours are equal and most don’t work as a straight forward substitute for all-purpose flour. We have not tested any gluten free flours in this recipe.
Do I have to coat the outside with sprinkles?
Nope! You can decorate the cake however you would like.
Can I add sprinkles to the frosting for a funfetti frosting?
Yes! Once your frosting is made, simply fold in your sprinkles gently. This will keep the sprinkles from bleeding out their colors into the frosting.
Can I use non-pareil sprinkles?
No, I don’t recommend it as they bleed out their colors and won’t produce the ideal result for a funfetti cake.
How do I know when the cake is done?
Do not over bake this cake. Over baking a white or vanilla cake is the fastest way to dry it out. You can test your cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean your cake is done. I prefer to tap the top of my cake. I can feel whether or not the cake is done by seeing if it jiggles at all. If it jiggles, there is still liquid in the center.
How do I decorate my cake like the pictures?
In the photos and video we have covered my cake completely with sprinkles. This required almost 2 cups of additional sprinkles. Warning: it can get downright messy, so have a vacuum or broom handy. It’s a beautiful result, but it can get a bit crazy.
Storage Instructions:
Store your cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious cake recipes:
- The Most Amazing Strawberry Cake
- The Most Amazing Carrot Cake
- Luscious Lemon Cake
- The Most Amazing Chocolate Cake
Watch the video below where we will walk you through every step of the recipe with a video demonstration.
I’ve made this cake 2x for my daughters birthday. This year she wants a minions cake so I was going to do 2 sheet pans. How long do I bake the cake if it’s in a 13×9 pan vs the round 9” pans
I made this for my daughters birthday and this cake came out wonderful! It was super moist and the buttermilk gave it that perfect cake batter flavoring. Everyone kept complimenting me on how great the cake tasted. They thought I bought it from a local bakery! 🙂 I also love how easy to follow these recipes are! Definitely a must try, along with the chocolate cake.
I love your vanilla cake and make it often. I see that the difference in the funfetti and vanilla cake recipes is in the fat; butter and butter and oil. My question is: can I just add my sprinkles to your vanilla cake recipe and make it a funfetti or is there a reason why the funfetti is all butter? Thank you.
Paula, did you try adding the sprinkles to the vanilla cake? I’m curious about doing that with the vanilla cake as well, because I like to use at least some olive oil in my cakes. Thanks for the info!
I’ve been making the vanilla cake as a funfetti recipe because I didn’t know this existed and already had the other printed and in my binder! It works just fine but I’m excited to try this variation.
Do I use salted or unsalted butter for the frosting?
Either can work in this recipe. If you do use salted, just know that there will be a slight taste of salt to the frosting.
I’m looking forward to making this. Should I also grease the parchment?
No need to grease the parchment.
I bet this would have been fantastic had I not forgotten the VANILLA EXTRACT!!!! argh!!! Buttermilk cake anyone? It was quite moist tho
So easy and SO DELICIOUS
Hi, I’m wanting to make the vanilla cake on your website, but was wanting a vanilla cream cheese frosting .
Do you have a recipe for that? Or can I use the frosting for the funfetti birthday cake without the sprinkles?
Thanks!
Sure do! Here it is: https://thestayathomechef.com/perfect-cream-cheese-frosting/
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I have made it but all of my sprinkles just melted into the cake so no colours at all. To be honest I have no idea where are the blue and red colours went. 5he cake still tastes delicious though! Would you recommend any specific type of sprinkles?
Sounds like you used non-pareil sprinkles (the little round balls). You’ll need to use the other kind, otherwise they melt into the batter.