Funfetti Cake

A fluffy homemade Funfetti birthday cake with rainbow sprinkles topped with a light cream cheese buttercream frosting and an array of sprinkles. This Confetti Cake recipe is the perfect birthday cake!

Funfetti Cake

I am pretty sure every kid loves their birthday. I am also pretty convinced every kid loves sprinkles. This means kids will love this Homemade Funfetti Birthday Cake.

As I have shared before in many of my homemade cake posts, we take cake baking pretty seriously around here. Since my kids could talk and form sentences, I let them choose their birthday cake flavor. This has led to a lot of experimenting in the kitchen! Of course, since sprinkles are always a favorite, eventually one of my kids asked for a birthday cake with a TON of SPRINKLES. Basically…the more sprinkles, the better.

This is when the Sprinkles cake was born. If I ever want to really impress kids, I bake this cake. Hey, it impresses adults at the same time which is a WIN-WIN. I am not wasting my precious calories on some not-so-great birthday cake.

I am big on frosting…but it has to be homemade frosting made with all-natural ingredients I can pronounce. This simple vanilla frosting is made with softened butter, a touch of cream cheese for creamy richness, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a touch of milk or cream. The touch of cream cheese cuts the sweetness and adds a subtle tang. It’s a game-changing ingredient!

If you’ve ever searched for “birthday cake,” “party cake,” or “sprinkle cake,” you’ve likely come across the famous Funfetti Cake. Also known as confetti cake or simply a vanilla sprinkle cake, this fluffy and festive dessert is packed with rainbow sprinkles, making it perfect for birthdays, celebrations, or just because you’re craving something sweet and colorful.

Below you’ll learn step-by-step how to bake, frost, and serve a homemade funfetti cake that will be the star of any gathering.

Confetti Cake Ingredients:

To make this homemade funfetti cake, you need simple cake ingredients. The key ingredients to make this extra moist, tender, and fluffy is the combination of oil and butter, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla pudding mix.

Sprinkle Cake Ingredients:

• All-Purpose Flour: Can also substitute cake flour or use half cake flour and half all-purpose flour.
• Sugar
• Baking Powder
• Salt
• Butter, softened and cut into cubes
• Buttermilk: May substitute whole milk for buttermilk but buttermilk makes such a soft texture.
• Large Eggs
• Egg White
• Oil: Using a neutral type oil like canola or vegetable oil adds additional moisture and keeps the cake tender.
• Vanilla Extract
• Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix (dry): Makes the cake extra tender plus imparts more vanilla and cake batter flavor.
• Rainbow Sprinkles: Use your favorite type of sprinkles but generally a classic rainbow sprinkle or “jimmies” are used in this cake.

For the Vanilla Frosting:

• Butter, softened
• Cream Cheese, softened
• Powdered Sugar
• Vanilla Extract
• Heavy Cream or Milk (optional, for thinning)
• Rainbow Sprinkles (for topping)

Cake Baking Science:

Do you ever wonder why you use certain ingredients in homemade cake recipes? Baking is a science and when I am creating my cake recipes, I am carefully considering each ingredient and its role in the final cake.

1. Leaveners & Acids (baking powder + buttermilk) work together to create a light, airy crumb.
2. Fats (butter + oil) and sugars (granulated sugar + pudding mix) produce rich flavor, moisture, and a tender cake structure.
3. Eggs bind and add volume, while the egg white gives extra structure and lift.
4. Different types of flours have differing gluten amounts. Cake flour has a lower gluten amount than all-purpose flour so it can create an even more tender crumb. You wouldn’t use bread flour in cake recipes since the gluten amount is too high but it is perfect for bread,
5. Vanilla is crucial for both cake and frosting to bring out that signature sweet aroma.
6. Cream Cheese in the frosting lends a slight tang to balance the sweetness.
7. Sprinkles make it fun, colorful, and “confetti” themed—perfect for parties and celebrations.

Understanding each ingredient’s role lets you adapt the recipe as needed (for instance, adjusting sugar levels, changing flour types, or experimenting with different flavor extracts) while ensuring a successful, delicious homemade cake.

How to make Homemade Funfetti Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a standing mixer, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat the butter into the flour mixture, one cube at a time. Continue to beat until it resembles coarse crumbs.

• In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Add the 1/2 of the egg-milk mixture and oil and beat the batter is light and fluffy. Add remaining egg-milk mixture and vanilla pudding and mix just until combined. Take a spatula and scrape the sides of the bowl. Add rainbow sprinkles and fold into batter.

• Spread into greased (with non-stick cooking spray or butter/flour) 8 or 9-inch cake pans and smooth tops with a spatula. I like to use three 8-inch cake pans since it makes the cake taller. Bake for 16-22 minutes, depending on the depth of pans. If the cake layers are thin, they will cook for less time than the thicker layers.

• Let the cakes cool. Run a knife around edge of cake pan and flip over. Once the cake layers have cooled, frost with vanilla frosting. See the tips below on frosting the cake.

Vanilla Frosting:

If you want to make extra frosting decorations on the top, I suggest 1 1/2 times the frosting recipe.

• In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and softened cream cheese for 2-3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and cream together for several minutes. Add cream or milk, if needed. 
• Frost the cake and top with rainbow sprinkles. 

Tips for frosting a homemade cake:

Frosting a layered cake may be the most intimidating part of it all. Here are some tips that have helped me along the way. Keep practicing!

1. Cool the cake completely. Make sure each cake layer is full cool before applying frosting or the heat can melt the frosting. I like to place my cake layers in the freezer for at least 30 minutes since it makes it easier to frost.
2. Apply a crumb coat. What is a crumb coat? A “crumb coat” is a thin layer of frosting that locks in loose crumbs. Place one cake layer on your serving platter or a turntable. Spread a thin layer of frosting on top and around the sides of each stacked layer. Refrigerate the cake for at least 15–30 minutes until the crumb coat sets.
3. Use the right tools. I suggest using an offset spatula to first a cake. A bench scraper is great for smoothing out the sides of the cake. A cake turntable or lazy Susan helps you rotate the cake while frosting.
4. Make sure the frosting is the right consistency. If the frosting is too thick, it will tear the cake. If it is too thin, it won’t stick to the cake. If it is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of milk or cream. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
5. Frost in layers. After the crumb coat is set, add a generous scoop of frosting to the top center of the cake. Spread the frosting from the center outward, letting some frosting hang over the edges. Use your offset spatula or bench scraper to smooth the frosting around the sides, holding the tool at a slight angle while rotating the cake.
6. Smooth the frosting. Dip your offset spatula or bench scraper in hot water (then wipe dry) to get an extra smooth finish. The slight heat helps the frosting glide more easily. Hold the scraper or spatula at a consistent angle and apply light, even pressure as you rotate the cake. This helps remove any rough spots or air bubbles. I like to try to only do this one time.
7. Practice makes perfect. Keep trying and it doesn’t have to be perfect. If you do end up with a few imperfections, you can always hide them with piped designs, fresh fruit, extra sprinkles, or drips.

If you LOVE CAKE, here are some of the most popular CAKE RECIPES:

• Yellow Birthday Cake with Chocolate Frosting
• Love at First Sight Chocolate Cake 
• Red Velvet Cake
• Coconut Cake
• Orange Cake 
• Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Homemade Cake Recipes:

Berry Chantilly Cream Cake

Key Lime Cake

Coconut Cake

Vanilla Cake Recipe

Happy Baking, my friends!