Funfetti Cake!

Funfetti is the ultimate birthday cake!

In 1989 (which is the year I graduated from high school…gulp!), Pillsbury introduced the Funfetti Cake Mix, and birthdays were never the same. OK, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but it was extremely popular right out of the gate!

When my daughter turned 15 this year, a funfetti cake was her number one request. She saw the box at the store while we were grocery shopping and zeroed in on it, and I was more than happy to oblige. No disrespect to Pillsbury, but I knew I wanted to make it myself, so I set off on my mission to find a great recipe.

Lo and behold, I found none other than Claire Saffitz’s recipe for Confetti Cake. I have watched several of her videos, where she makes everything from homemade ramen to croquembouche, so I figured she’d be an expert when came to producing a fantastic and classic funfetti cake. I was not wrong. 🙂

Happy birthday, Mags! <3

Funfetti Cake

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Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

For Cake:

• 5½ cups cake flour
• 2 1/3 cups sugar
• 4½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1½ cups buttermilk or clabbered milk (see note)
• 1/3 cup neutral oil
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup rainbow sprinkles plus more for decorating

For Frosting:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 pound full-fat cream cheese room temperature
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 pound powdered sugar sifted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

 

For Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three, 9” cake pans and line with parchment paper.
• In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix on lowest speed with paddle for about 30 seconds to combine. (Alternatively, whisk to combine.)
• Add in the softened butter, buttermilk (or clabbered milk) and oil and beat on low until just moistened. Beat at medium-high for one minute. Scrape down the bowl.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites and vanilla. Turn the mixer to low and add the egg mixture to the flour mixture in two additions (alternatively mix in slowly with handheld mixer). Beat at medium speed for two minutes or until thick and pale. Fold in the sprinkles.
• Pour batter into prepared pans. Stagger pans on oven racks with two on the top and one on the bottom. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean, switching and rotating pans halfway through.
• Cool for about 10 minutes on the pans on a wire rack before removing from pans. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

For Frosting:

• In a stand mixer, or large bowl using handheld mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until completely smooth. Scrape down bowl and add salt and about half of the powdered sugar. Blend in powdered sugar until mostly incorporated, then add in the rest of the sugar, blending carefully. Once all the sugar has been incorporated, beat on high for about one minute. Frost cake that has been completely cooled.
• Note: to make clabbered milk, add about a tablespoon and a half of lemon juice or white vinegar to your measuring cup, then fill with milk to 1 ½ cup line.

Notes

Note: to make clabbered milk, add about a tablespoon and a half of lemon juice or white vinegar to your measuring cup, then fill with milk to 1 ½ cup line.